Now it’s time to look at “Inspire Home Loans,” the lending partner of home builder Century Communities.
They take pride in knowing how their parent company’s construction timelines work so that your home (and) loan stays on schedule.
Additionally, they offer special financing deals that are reserved only for buyers of properties in their communities.
This means you may be able to get a low mortgage rate that outside lenders simply can’t beat.
Read on to learn more about them to determine if they may be a good fit for your mortgage needs.
Home Loan Quick Facts Inspire
- Direct-to-Consumer Mortgage Lender
- Provides home purchase loans
- Founded in 2016, it is headquartered in Newport Beach, CA
- Wholly owned subsidiary of Century Communities
- The parent company is publicly traded (NYSE: CCS).
- Licensed to provide loans in 18 states across the country
- Nearly $2 billion in home loans financed in 2022
- Most active in California, Colorado, Georgia and Texas
- Also operates a title company and insurance agency
- Known for offering large mortgage rate buydowns
Inspire Home Loans is a wholly owned subsidiary of Century Communities, which offers ready-to-build and quick move-in homes in select states across the country.
Their parent company considers itself a top-10 home builder nationally, and is publicly traded under the NYSE symbol CCS.
The loan division has been in existence since 2016 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, CA.
Their primary focus is to provide home purchase loans to buyers of newly constructed homes in the many communities they operate across the country.
They are licensed in 18 states, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington.
According to HMDA data, they are most active in the states of California, Colorado, Georgia, Nevada and Texas.
Currently according to NMLS there are 63 Sponsored Mortgage Loan Originators (MLOs) on their staff.
Similar to other builder-affiliated lenders, Inspire Home Loans also operates a title insurance and settlement company called Parkway Title and an insurance agency called IHL Home Insurance Agency.
This means you can get one-stop shopping for all your home loan needs, although it is always wise to shop around for these third-party services as well.
how to get started
You can either visit a Century Communities new home sales office, or simply go online to connect with a loan officer.
If you go to their website, you can click on “Pre-Qualify Today” to access the loan officer directory, which lists several communities operated by their parent company.
After selecting a state, you will be able to select a community to see which loan officers service that particular development.
From there, you’ll see contact information and you’ll be able to get pre-qualified for a mortgage or log in if you’ve already applied.
Their digital loan application is powered by fintech company nCino. It allows you to e-sign disclosures, link financial accounts, and complete the app from any device.
Once you apply and are approved, you can meet the conditions electronically by uploading the required documents 24/7.
You will receive automatic status updates as your loan moves from underwriting to closing.
You can also rely on our dedicated, human loan team who is available to assist and answer questions when you have them.
They seem to provide a good balance of both technical and human touch to get you to the finish line.
And because they are affiliated with the builder, they will be able to communicate freely and keep your loan on track based on the status of construction.
loan program offering
- Conforming loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
- jumbo loan
- FHA loan
- va loan
- usda loan
- Fixed-rate and adjustable options available
- down payment assistance
- municipal bond program
As mentioned, Inspire Home Loans exists to serve buyers of Century Community properties.
Since this is what they focus on, they should have a good grasp of the process.
In terms of loan options, they have all the major loan programs a home buyer could need, including conforming loans, jumbo loans, and a full range of government-backed loans.
This includes FHA loans, VA loans, and even USDA loans when purchasing property in a rural location.
Both fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage options are available, including 15-year fixed, 5/6 ARMs, and 7/6 ARMs.
Additionally, they have access to several home buyer assistance programs, including down payment assistance and municipal bond programs.
These can come in handy if you lack down payment funds and/or need help with closing costs.
Ascent Club
Inspire Home Loans also offers free access to a program called “The Ascent Club”.
It provides financial insights and recommendations to help potential customers reach their home ownership goals.
This may include learning how to save for a down payment, how to build asset reserves, how to increase credit scores and even improve your DTI ratio.
The goal is to keep homeownership within reach if there are certain obstacles that are preventing you.
And whether you’re a first-time home buyer or a seasoned professional, they host free webinars to answer any mortgage questions you may have.
Inspire Home Loan Rates and Charges
They do not list their mortgage rates or lender fees online, which is not unusual. But when lenders do this I congratulate them. This is a plus from transparency point of view.
So we don’t know how competitive they are against other lenders, nor do we know whether they charge loan origination fees, underwriting and processing fees, application fees, etc.
Be sure to inquire about any and all fees when you first discuss loan pricing with a mortgage loan officer.
Once you get the rate quote, that combined with the lender fees creates your mortgage APR, which is a more effective way to compare loan costs from lender to lender.
Despite the lack of information, they advertise mortgage rate discounts on their home builder website.
And from what I saw, those were some of the largest permanent and temporary mortgage rate buydowns around.
In one example a 2/1 buydown offer was set at 3.5% for the first year, 4.5% for the second year, and 5.5% for the remaining 28 years.
When mortgage rates are close to 7.5% today it’s pretty hard to beat
But as always, take the time to shop around for your rate with other lenders, credit unions, mortgage brokers, etc.
Inspire Home Loan Reviews
On Experience.com, Inspire Home Loans have an excellent 4.89/5-star rating from over 1,500 customer reviews.
However, they have a score of 1.8/5 on Yelp out of about 30 reviews, although the sample size is obviously quite small. At Redfin they have a better 4.4/5 out of 7 reviews, which again is a small sample.
You can also search for their individual offices across the country on Google to see reviews by location. It may be more helpful if you work with a particular regional office.
Their parent company has an ‘A+’ rating on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website and has been accredited since 2015.
Despite a solid letter grade rating, they have a poor 1.05/5-star rating based on over 100 customer reviews. This may have to do with the numerous complaints he has filed over the years.
Take the time to read some of them to make sure how many of them relate to their lending division versus their new home construction unit.
Of course, chances are that if you are using Inspire Home Loans to get a mortgage, you are also purchasing a Century Communities property.
To summarize, Inspire Home Loans has the latest technology, a great range of loan programs, and can offer special pricing that outside lenders can’t compete with.
They have some mixed reviews, but mostly positive, although your mileage may vary depending on who you work with.
But even though there are hurdles to the process, the savings from a larger mortgage rate buydown may be worth it.
Still, take the time to shop around from third-party lenders, brokers, banks, etc. With other offers, you can negotiate and potentially get an even better deal.
Inspire Home Loan Pros and Cons
Good
- Digital Mortgage Application (can apply for home loan online)
- Mostly paperless loan process powered by nCino
- Lots of loan programs to choose from, including home buyer assistance
- Mortgage rate specials for buyers of Century Community homes.
- Lots of excellent customer reviews
- Free access to The Ascent Club
- A+ BBB rating
- free smartphone app
maybe not
- Not licensed in all states
- Do not list rates/fees online
- Provide only home purchase loans
- Large number of customer complaints
- Your loan cannot be repaid after closing
