SWBC Mortgage Review: Is Everything Bigger in Texas? | The Truth About Mortgage.com

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Today we’ll check out SWBC Mortgage, short for Southwest Business Corporation.

They’re a Texas-based direct-to-consumer mortgage lender, which is part of a larger diversified financial services company called, you guessed it, SWBC.

Their claim to fame is being a top company to work for, and they boast that many of their loan officers have made the list of top 1% of mortgage originators in America.

They currently offer home loans in 40 states and the District of Columbia. Let’s learn more about them.

SWBC Mortgage Quick Facts

  • Direct-to-consumer retail mortgage lender founded in 1988
  • Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas
  • Funded nearly $4 billion in home loans during 2019
  • More than a quarter of total loan volume came from home state of Texas
  • Have branch locations in many states across the country
  • Licensed in 40 states and D.C.
  • All loan processing, underwriting, and closing is done in-house

Last year, SWBC Mortgage originated roughly $4 billion home loans via the retail channel.

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They allow prospective home buyers and existing homeowners to apply via their website or a brick-and-mortar branch.

A good chunk of their total loan volume comes from their home state of Texas, and they also do quite a bit of lending in Colorado, Tennessee, and many Southern states.

About two-thirds of total production came from home purchase lending, with about a quarter refinance business and the remainder powered by home equity lending (HELOCs).

At the moment, they don’t appear to provide mortgage lending services in the states of Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, or Wyoming.

Getting a Home Loan with SWBC Mortgage

  • You can apply directly from their website in minutes
  • Digital mortgage application known as TurnKey powered by Blend
  • Can link financial accounts and/or scan and upload documents securely
  • They say they’re generally able to close loans in less than 3 weeks

When it comes time to apply for a mortgage, you can do so directly from the SWBC website. They have a digital mortgage application called “TurnKey” powered by fintech company Blend.

As the name suggests, you can quickly get through the application thanks to technology like income and asset validation, which lets you link financial accounts instead of inputting that information manually.

At the same time, you can expect one-on-one customer service from a dedicated loan officer if you need any help along the way.

To that end, you can choose a loan officer to work with before you apply by using the directory on the SWBC Mortgage website.

Simply click on “Find a Pro,” then search by city, state or zip code, or by loan officer name. Once you find a branch, you can see who works in that office.

And once you’ve got your loan officer picked out, you can contact them directly or apply from their own dedicated webpage.

All in all, SWBC Mortgage makes it super easy to apply for a home loan without needless steps and wasted time. But you also get the human touch if and when you want/need it.

Loan Types Offered by SWBC Mortgage

  • Home purchase and refinance loans
  • Conforming mortgages backed by Fannie/Freddie
  • Government-backed loans: FHA, USDA, and VA
  • Jumbo loans up to $3 million loan amounts
  • Home renovation loans: Fannie Mae HomeStyle and FHA 203k (Standard and Limited)
  • Texas Vet Mortgage Loans

SWBC Mortgage offers both home purchase financing and refinance loans, including rate and term and cash out refinances, along with home renovation loans.

You can finance a primary residence, second home, or multi-unit investment property.

They’ve got all the typical loan types, such as conforming loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as government loans like FHA loans, USDA loans, and VA loans, the latter two allowing zero down financing.

They also offer home equity loans by way of HELOCs, so if you want to tap your home equity while leaving your first mortgage intact, you can do so.

It may also be possible to take out a piggyback second mortgage if you want to extend your home purchase financing while avoiding PMI.

If you have a particularly expensive property, they offer jumbo home loan financing as high as $3 million, with some of their jumbos coming with down payment options of just 10%.

They also have options for self-employed borrowers, and low down payment options (3% down) for those with little set aside in the way of assets.

Lastly, because SWBC Mortgage participates in the Veterans Housing Assistance Program (VHAP), they’re able to offer Texas Vet mortgage loans that come with special interest rate discounts.

In terms of loan program, you can get a fixed-rate mortgage, such as a 30-year or 15-year fixed, or an adjustable-rate mortgage, like a 5/1 ARM or 7/1 ARM.

SWBC Mortgage Rates

SBMC does not advertise or disclose its mortgage rates online or elsewhere to my knowledge. If you want to get pricing, you’ll need to apply and/or speak with a loan officer.

As such, it’s unclear how competitive they are relative to other mortgage lenders. The same goes for lender fees, which don’t appear to be posted on their website.

This isn’t necessarily a bad sign, it just means you’ll need to speak to someone to find those things out.

Once you have that important pricing information, you can compare their interest rates and closing costs to other lenders while comparison shopping.

Yes, you should take the time to gather more than one mortgage quote, otherwise you’re doing yourself a disservice.

SWBC Mortgage Reviews

SWBC says it has over 1,000 Google reviews, with an average customer rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars. Those reviews may be spread across their many branch locations, so be sure to filter by location.

Some of their locations are very highly-rated, such as the Oklahoma City branch, which has a 5-star rating out of 5 on Birdeye based on nearly 250 reviews.

You can also see individual SWBC Mortgage loan officers’ reviews on Zillow – some have more than others, but this is perhaps the best way to drill down and see how one person performs as opposed to just looking at the entire company.

Since they’re large and located across the United States, it may be best to look at individual reviews for an indication of future performance.

SWBC Mortgage is an accredited company with the Better Business Bureau, and currently enjoys an A+ rating.

SWBC Mortgage Pros and Cons

The Good

  • Can apply for a home loan directly from their website in minutes
  • Offer a digital mortgage application powered by Blend
  • Plenty of loan options to choose from including home equity products
  • Great reviews from past customers
  • Free mortgage calculators on site
  • A+ BBB rating

The Maybe Not Great

  • Not licensed in all 50 states
  • Do not advertise their mortgage rates
  • Do not list lender fees on their website

(photo: Nicolas Henderson)


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