Vanderbilt Mortgage

Vanderbilt Mortgage Reviews

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About Vanderbilt Mortgage

Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance (NMLS #1561) is a national housing lender that operates under the umbrella of Berkshire Hathaway. It specializes in financing both new and used manufactured, mobile and modular homes. Vanderbilt also finances improvements for these types of homes, including energy-efficient upgrades.

    Pros & Cons

    Pros
    • Direct lending for used home purchases
    • Accommodates borrowers with lower credit scores
    • Numerous payment options
    • Home improvement loans with zero down
    Cons
    • No home equity loans or HELOCs
    • No in-person branches

    Featured Reviews

    Verified
    Corbin, KY

    The mortgage process at Vanderbilt was the simplest of all the others that I checked out and the best deal as far as interest and APR. I just did it over the internet. I also like...

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    Verified
    Cleveland, TX

    Vanderbilt made the process easy and everything was explained. … They kept me informed on everything. ... When I talked with the rep I worked with, it was pretty much to the point...

    Read full review

    Rates

    Vanderbilt Mortgage doesn’t display current rates on its website, but it does offer a mortgage calculator to provide an idea of what your mortgage might look like with different borrowing costs.

    When searching for a mortgage lender, you’ll likely see the terms interest rate and annual percentage rate, or APR. The interest rate is the cost of borrowing money from a lender, and the APR encompasses the interest rate plus other costs and fees of getting the loan. Both are presented as annual percentages of the principal. Understanding the difference helps while you’re comparing lenders.

    With some home loans, you have the option of a fixed-rate or an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM). As of publishing (2022), ARMs are growing in popularity due to high interest rates. When rates are low, fixed-rate loans can feel like the safer option — they provide predictable payments and can make budgeting more manageable.

    Over the past few years, Vanderbilt Mortgage’s average rates for home purchase loans have been a bit higher than the national average.

    Vanderbilt Mortgage average home purchase rate vs. national average

    YearDifference from national average
    2021 +2.86%
    2020 +3.29%
    2019 +3.65%
    Information pulled from public Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. Rates reflect noncommercial home purchase loans only.

    Application process

    Vanderbilt Mortgage’s digital tools make applying for a mortgage fairly simple and direct. After clicking on the “Apply Today” button, take a brief survey about the type of mobile or modular home you want, your ideal location and how much money you can put down. From there, customers give some brief personal information and details about income, and a loan specialist follows up.

    A reviewer on our site from Oklahoma said about their experience with Vanderbilt Mortgage: “We had to sell a home to buy another one, and the rep was wonderful. I talked to her one time, and she gave me a preapproval almost immediately, then started dealing with the place we were buying a mobile home from. … Also, the homeowners insurance that they offered us is right in line with what it should be and it's got great coverage. We're happy.”

    Vanderbilt Mortgage application features

    FeaturesAvailability
    Online application
    Mobile document upload
    Physical branches X
    Publishes minimum rate on website X
    Rate lock X
    Pre-qualification (no hard credit pull) X
    Certified approval letter

    Loan types

    Vanderbilt Mortgage originates mostly conventional loans. It offers portfolio home loans, which means it won't sell your loan on the secondary mortgage loan market — instead, it services the loan throughout the entire term.

    Vanderbilt also offers land loans, which can help if you plan to buy a plot of land and the home that will sit on it. Though the company offers financing for improvements, it does not offer home equity loans or HELOCs.

    In 2021, Vanderbilt Mortgage received 124,080 home purchase applications. Of those, it closed only 20,610 (about 17%) loans, and it denied 51,289 (about 41%) applications.

    Loan applications for home purchases only by year

    202120202019
    Home purchase applications 124,080 116,491 104,041
    Home purchase loans closed 20,610 21,638 17,173
    Home purchase applications denied 51,289 50,206 44,497
    Home purchase preapprovals denied 41 14 18
    Information pulled from public Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. Includes conventional, USDA, VA and FHA mortgages.

    Refinancing

    While rates were historically low in 2020 and 2021, refinancing became a popular option. Despite this recent increase in refis, Vanderbilt’s main focus is home purchase loans (89.1% of all its loans in 2021).

    Home purchase vs. refinance loans by year

    202120202019
    Home purchase loans 89.1% 85.7% 95.26%
    Refinance loans 7.1% 10.82% 1.9%
    Cash-out refinance 3.8% 3.48% 2.84%
    Information pulled from public Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data. Includes conventional, USDA, VA and FHA mortgages.

    Requirements

    After a loan specialist has reviewed your application, Vanderbilt Mortgage will explain its borrower qualifications for its conventional loan programs. Vanderbilt Mortgage works with applicants who have less-than-perfect credit and first-time homebuyers, so don’t be discouraged from applying even if you have a lower credit score.

    Vanderbilt Mortgage only offers conventional loans. To learn about lenders offering other types of loans, read our guides on FHA lenders, VA lenders and USDA lenders.

    Cost and fees

    Once you apply for a loan, Vanderbilt Mortgage provides a three-page Loan Estimate form with the estimated costs of your loan, including closing costs.

    Look over the form carefully for details about the rates and additional costs, including any origination, appraisal, survey, title or attorney fees. Vanderbilt states that most of its loans don’t have a prepayment penalty, so be sure to ask if yours does.

    Vanderbilt Mortgage does list some service fees, ranging from a $10 fee for assisted phone pay to a $150 recast fee. There is a $57 lien release recording fee at the time of publishing.

    FAQ

    How does Vanderbilt Mortgage work?

    Vanderbilt Mortgage offers financing programs for purchasing new and used manufactured and modular homes. You can start by filling out an online application. A loan professional will review your application and call you to explain what further documentation is needed and explain loan requirements. If land is part of your home purchase, Vanderbilt will order an appraisal and title search before issuing full approval of the loan.

    Is Vanderbilt Mortgage legit?

    Vanderbilt Mortgage is a legitimate company that has been lending for over 40 years. It is owned by Berkshire Hathaway.

    Where is Vanderbilt Mortgage available?

    Vanderbilt Mortgage makes residential mortgage loans in 33 states. It is not available in Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont or Wisconsin.

    Vanderbilt Mortgage Reviews

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    Page 1 Reviews 0 - 5
    Staff

    Reviewed April 3, 2024

    Working with VMF has proven to be a very positive encounter. I was experiencing some loss of income and had fell behind in my mortgage payments. My customer care representative, Melanie, was pleasant while offering options to help me catch up on my payments. With Hunter's approval, we settled on an option that not only would catch my payments up, would also allow me to get a head of my mortgage payments without stressing my household budget. What a relief, and to realize that VMF's goal is to keep people in their homes put me at ease. I would recommend Vanderbilt Mortgage & Finance to those looking for a mortgage company for quality service.

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    Verified purchase
    StaffLoan ProcessTransparency

    Reviewed June 4, 2023

    My fiancé and I are looking into buying a house and we’re both very young, and the lady we spoke with wanted the best for us and explained everything good. So I appreciated her. It’s not the greatest time to buy but she gave us some financial advice. We started looking at the beginning of February, and we moved in this week. We were, at first, thinking we were gonna be able to only afford a single-wide. But we ended up with a big, double-wide for the same price almost. We didn't have to move but it would be better for us to have moved so I'm glad we did. This is our first loan we've ever taken out and Vanderbilt’s reps were helpful, informative and easy to work with throughout this process.

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      Verified purchase
      Customer ServiceStaffTransparency

      Reviewed June 2, 2023

      I had a lady call me and she really took the time out to explain everything to me. She let me know their part in it and how they can help me. If I have any kind of problems, I can go to them if I need to speak to someone instead of doing it online. I can do it online as well. They have a website where you could do your payment or you could search your loan process to see what's going on. Then if you don't understand, they also have a representative that's there to help you with any kind of need or questions that you have. So that is also a plus.

      I like Vanderbilt because they work with you rather than your credit is where it needs to be or not. They are there to help you regardless of the fact. This was my second time applying for a trailer and I have been approved twice by Vanderbilt. I didn't go through with it with the first one, but I did the second one. But both times, they were the ones that picked me up to help me out.

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      Verified purchase
      Customer ServiceStaffLoan Process

      Reviewed May 29, 2023

      The process with Vanderbilt was easy for newbies like us. It's something we would recommend to other people because of how easy it was. They gave us what we needed to do. If we had any questions, we had a person to contact throughout the entire process. If we did something wrong, they would give us a call or they gave us one of their direct numbers and we called them. They're very good at breaking things down. There were a lot of questions that we had no idea how to answer, but they helped us through the entire process.

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      Verified purchase
      StaffLoan ProcessRates

      Reviewed May 12, 2023

      Working with Vanderbilt was excellent and we were very comfortable. The process was very simple. We filled out the application online and they called us. We were approved and we went from there. We only talked to the reps a few times and they were very polite and nice. The process took a little while because we had to wait on our son to get their down payment for the trailers. The rate is a little high. But we were told it would be on a second mortgage. Overall, Vanderbilt was nice. They were polite and answered any questions and problems we had.

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      Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaffLoan Process

      Reviewed Dec. 5, 2023

      I contacted Vanderbilt about deferring a payment this month. I have been with Vanderbilt for almost 9 years. I let the phone rep know that I had recently diagnosed with an illness and was having problems with Christmas this year due to medical bills. Her response was “Christmas is not a hardship, you need to better budget for that.” I make my payment every single month on time with this company and the one and only month that I ever needed some understanding on MY loan, I was made to feel like total crap by this woman. I get that they deal with customers who probably try to pull this crap every other month but me and my husband both work hard every single day. She obviously is use to treating each person that calls in like they are total crap.

      My husband and I worked everything out but I can’t imagine what the single mom that’s trying to work things out occasionally to care for her babies would have to go through with dealing with with this crappy person on the phone that makes it nearly impossible to work with. I would not recommend Vanderbilt Mortgage for anyone trying to get a home loan. It’s obvious that their customer's best interest is not their priority. I will never go through them again. Ever.

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      Customer ServiceStaff

      Reviewed Nov. 30, 2023

      Spoke with Ralph about our mortgage being behind, he spoke with his supervisor Emma who was able to help us get fully back on track. It was very far the best customer service I’ve reviewed in 3 years having the home. If I could speak to Ralph when I have any more issues it would be a pleasure. He was absolutely genuine, dedicated to helping, very informative, and most of all Polite! Thank you.

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      Loan Process

      Reviewed Nov. 14, 2023

      I don’t have to work. I get my money from veteran's affairs and just because I don’t have enough to work. Have much work history. I have the money and credit but since I don’t have 6 month of work history they would not give me a loan. So if you're retired like me don’t have to work if you want a home loan!! I’d definitely don’t try to get a loan here! Because that only thing they care about!

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      StaffLoan Process

      Reviewed Oct. 24, 2023

      Today was by far the best experience I've had with Vanderbilt mortgage, my husband recently passed away, Emily and Erica were great at helping figure the best route for me. I'm always very nervous about calling but the ladies today were amazing.

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      Customer ServiceStaff

      Reviewed Oct. 5, 2023

      The representative Jessica was very rude and ignorant on the phone about me making payment arrangements on my account....I was very upset because without loyal customer like me since 2013 she would not have a job..... Where is the respect for the customers....I have had several rude representive in the past also so Vanderbilt need to give their loan representative more training on how to communicate with their customers on the phone because the customers are the reason why they get a paycheck...It was just so unprofessional...

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        Sources
        ConsumerAffairs writers primarily rely on government data, industry experts and original research from other reputable publications to inform their work. To learn more about the content on our site, visit our FAQ page . Specific sources for this article include:
        1. Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, “ HMDA Data Publication .” Accessed Aug. 24, 2022.

        Vanderbilt Mortgage Company Information

        Company Name:
        Vanderbilt Mortgage
        Address:
        PO Box 9800
        City:
        Maryville
        State/Province:
        TN
        Postal Code:
        37802
        Country:
        United States
        Website:
        www.vmfhomeloan.com