Sierra Pacific Mortgage Review: Serving Homeowners for More Than 30 Years | The Truth About Mortgage.com

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One of the older and more established mortgage brands out there is Sierra Pacific Mortgage, which has been around for more than 30 years.

That’s a lifetime in the mortgage industry, which has lots of young debutants looking to shake up what many feel is a stale process.

They’re a direct lender that offers a wide assortment of home loan products, including conventional loans, FHA, USDA, and VA loans.

The company offers home loans in 49 states via the retail, correspondent, and wholesale lending channels. Let’s learn more about them.

Sierra Pacific Mortgage Fast Facts

  • Direct mortgage lender based in Folsom, California
  • Privately held company founded in 1986 by Jim Coffrini
  • Originated more than $3 billion in home loans via retail channel in 2019
  • Nearly half of their loan volume comes from the state of California
  • Also operates a correspondent and wholesale lending division
  • Licensed to do business in 49 states
  • A top-25 mortgage company nationally

As noted, Sierra Pacific Mortgage is a direct-to-consumer lender that also operates both a correspondent lending division and a wholesale lending division for mortgage broker partners.

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They are an approved seller/servicer for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae, meaning they originate loans and retain them for loan servicing.

Last year, they funded over $3 billion in home loans via the retail channel, with nearly half of that total volume coming from the state of California.

So if you’re a California homeowner or home buyer, there’s a good chance you’ll come across Sierra Pacific if shopping your mortgage.

Many of their loan officers actually work for DBAs of Sierra Pacific Mortgage, meaning you may see a different lender’s name, such as 1st Choice Mortgage of Oregon or Cornerstone Mortgage.

Other DBAs include Agape Mortgage, Churchill Financial Group, Haven Lending, Mortgage Bankers Acceptance Company, Northwest Mortgage Lending, NW Capital Mortgage, PDX Homeloan, Silverado Mortgage Company, The Kuling Group, and Yosemite Mortgage.

Applying for a Home Loan with Sierra Pacific Mortgage

  • You can apply for a mortgage directly online or via their mobile app
  • But you need to select or get matched up with a loan officer first
  • They offer a digital loan process that allows you to securely scan and upload documents
  • Loan processing, underwriting, and funding are all done in-house to streamline origination

When it comes to applying for a home loan, Sierra Pacific Mortgage makes it easy.

You can apply directly online after selecting a loan officer to work with.

There is a loan officer directory on their website, which you’ll find after clicking “Apply Now.”

From there, you’ll need to choose a loan officer, which you can do by name, location, or by state.

If you’ve already been referred to someone, simply enter their name in the form. If you haven’t, you can search for a branch location near you, then browse the loan officers who work there.

Once you find someone you like, you can apply directly from their website, or alternatively download the Sierra Pacific Mortgage app.

They offer a digital loan application process that puts consumers in charge of their home loan from start to finish.

And everything is completed under one roof, including in-house loan processing, underwriting, and funding.

The free smartphone app SPM GO! allows you to complete the loan application via mobile, calculate payments, securely scan and upload documents, message your loan officer directly, and receive loan updates as you move through the process.

So you get the option to do most things yourself, or you can lean on your loan officer if you want a more personal touch.

Sierra Pacific Mortgage Loan Options

  • Home purchase, refinance, renovation, and construction loans
  • Conventional loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
  • Government-backed loans including FHA, USDA, and VA loans
  • Jumbo loans and non-conforming loan products
  • Home equity lines of credit
  • Fixed and adjustable-rate loan options available

Sierra Pacific Mortgage offers both home purchase loans and refinance loans, including rate and term and cash out refis.

You can also get a home renovation loan, such as a FHA 203k loan or a Fannie Mae HomeStyle loan, or a construction loan.

Additionally, they offer jumbo home loans for properties located in more expensive regions of the country, along with non-conforming loans for outside-the-box scenarios.

You can even get a home equity line of credit (HELOC) with Sierra Pacific Mortgage if you want to break up your loan into a first and second to avoid mortgage insurance.

They offer all the usual loan types, including conventional loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with government loans backed by the FHA, USDA, and VA.

As you might expect, you get the choice of a fixed-rate mortgage or an adjustable-rate mortgage, with various terms to choose from.

Sierra Pacific Mortgage Rates

One slight negative to Sierra Pacific Mortgage is the fact that they do not post their mortgage rates on their website.

So if you want to get pricing, you’ll need to contact a loan officer first for a free mortgage quote.

It’s unclear how competitive they are relative to other lenders, and you won’t know unless you shop your rate with other mortgage companies.

The same goes for lender fees, which aren’t posted anywhere on their website to my knowledge.

Be sure to compare both the interest rate and lender fees to other mortgage lenders when conducting your home loan shopping to see where they stand.

Sierra Pacific Mortgage Reviews

They say over 97% of their customers would refer friends and family, which is a good sign. But it’s hard to find reviews for the company as a whole.

Your best bet is to look up individual loan officer reviews who work for Sierra Pacific Mortgage, then choose one that way.

You should be able to find their reviews on Zillow and other websites like Yelp and Google.

Sierra Pacific Mortgage is not accredited with the Better Business Bureau, but they do enjoy an A+ BBB rating regardless.

At last check, they only had one customer review on the BBB website, and it wasn’t positive.

All in all, not too many reviews out there, but as noted, search by individual instead of company since they’re so large and operate under several DBAs.

Sierra Pacific Mortgage Pros and Cons

The Good Stuff

  • Can apply online or via mobile
  • Digital mortgage application process
  • Offer lots of different loan types
  • They service their own loans
  • Have a free smartphone app
  • Free mortgage calculators on site

The Maybe Not Good Stuff

  • Mortgage rates not featured on their website
  • No mention of lender fees
  • Not licensed via retail channel in the state of New York
  • Not accredited with the BBB
  • Limited customer reviews

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