Now it’s time to check out “Toll Brothers Mortgage,” a subsidiary of home builder Toll Brothers.
Toll Brothers is one of the largest home builders in the United States, which prides itself on being a luxury home builder.
Instead of relying on third-party lenders to provide financing to their customers, they have a built-in financing division.
This allows them to directly oversee the process and deal with the complexities of new construction financing.
They say they have a proven track record of smooth closings, and if they can offer you a mortgage rate that others can’t, they may be worth a look.
Toll Brothers Mortgage Fast Facts
- Direct-to-Consumer Retail Mortgage Lender
- Offers new construction loans and home purchase loans
- The parent company is the country’s 5th largest home builder
- Founded in 1967, it is headquartered in Fort Washington, PA
- License to do business in 24 states and DC across the country
- Nearly $2 billion in home loans was financed last year
- Most active in California, Pennsylvania and Texas
- Offers special mortgage rates to Toll Brothers customers
- Also operates a full-service title and insurance company
As mentioned, Toll Brothers is a major home builder, the fifth largest at last glance, behind only DR Horton, Lennar, Pulte, and NVR.
They are a publicly traded company (NYSE:TOL) and are currently valued at approximately $9 billion.
The company was established in 1967 and refers to itself as the leading builder of luxury homes in the country.
This includes both new construction homes and quick move-in homes. The company’s dedicated mortgage division is known as Toll Brothers Mortgage Company, or TBI Mortgage for short.
They exist solely to serve Toll Brothers customers who need financing for the purchase of their new home, and according to NMLS, they have approximately 77 loan officers on their staff.
In 2022, the company financed a good $2 billion in home loans, with 20% of the volume coming from the states of California and Texas and the other 9% from Pennsylvania.
The company also did business extensively in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Nevada and Virginia.
They are licensed to make loans in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee Is. Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
People purchasing a Toll Brothers home can also take advantage of in-house title, escrow and insurance services through the Toll Brothers Insurance Agency.
how to get started
To get started, you can visit a new home sales office or simply check out their website.
If you go online, they have a contact form and a loan officer directory that lists individual employees by state.
They can provide loan pricing and answer your mortgage questions about the loan process.
If you’re ready to proceed, they’ll ask you to complete a mortgage pre-qualification questionnaire and create a secure Toll Brothers account.
Within 14 days of signing the home purchase agreement, you will be asked to submit the loan application and upload the required documents.
Their digital loan app is powered by ICE (formerly Ellie Mae). This allows borrowers to begin the process from any device and complete most tasks electronically.
This includes e-signing required disclosures as well as linking accounts such as pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements.
If approved, they will provide you with a loan commitment as well as the terms required for funding your loan.
Importantly, loan approvals are valid till the completion of your home. And are integrated with Toll Brothers to streamline the builder process.
Since it can take up to 12 months to build a new construction home, their loan process may take longer than a typical existing home purchase.
But they also offer quick transfer properties, in which case the process will take only 30 to 45 days.
loan program offering
- home purchase loan
- Conventional loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
- FHA loan
- va loan
- Fixed rate mortgage: terms from 10 to 30 years
- Adjustable-rate mortgage: Initial fixed terms of 3, 5, 7, 10, or 15 years
- Available at primary residences, second homes and investment properties
While Toll Brothers Mortgage only offers home purchase loans (no mortgage refinancing), they do have a good loan menu.
This includes all the common offerings such as conforming loans backed by Fannie/Freddie, jumbo loans, FHA loans and VA loans.
The only loan programs they seem to be missing are USDA loans and second mortgages, although these are not widely used by home buyers these days.
They have a good selection of both fixed rate mortgages and adjustable rate mortgages, including 10-year fixed and 15-year fixed mortgages.
As for adjustable-rate loans, they’ve got 5/6 ARMs, 7/6 ARMs, and even an ARM with an initial fixed term of 15 years.
And you can get an ARM by taking out an FHA loan or a VA loan, which is less common.
So there’s no shortage of loan programs, and they finance primary residences, second homes, and investment properties.
Toll Brothers Mortgage Rates and Fees
Like other mortgage lenders, they do not have a page dedicated to mortgage rates, nor are they promoted anywhere else.
Instead, they simply say they offer “competitive rates,” which frankly doesn’t give us much to go on.
However, they do offer personalized financing packages and there is a good chance that they have some special financing offers for home builders.
If you browse Toll Brothers’ main website, you can see special things for certain communities.
I found a special offer of 5.99% on a 30-year fixed term, while rates are around 7.5% at the moment.
Recently, captive mortgage lenders of home builders have become difficult to beat, due to their large temporary and permanent mortgage rate buydowns.
Many are offering rates well below market if you buy a few homes on a specific date.
But always also take the time to compare their rates and fees with outside lenders. You’ll never know what else is out there if you don’t take the time to look.
LockSolid Rate Protection Program
Because the home building process can take time, Toll Brothers Mortgage offers a special mortgage rate program called “LockSolid Rate Protection.”
Because it allows home buyers to lock in a mortgage rate for up to 345 days with no costs until the loan closes.
The up-front lock deposit has been pioneered by Toll Brothers, giving buyers peace of mind in an uncertain mortgage rate environment.
Additionally, a float down option is available on many programs. So if the rates drop below the rate you locked in within 30-45 days of closing, they may re-lock your loan at a better price.
This program is available on both fixed and adjustable rate mortgages offered by the company.
Just keep in mind that it doesn’t always make sense to lock in a rate ahead of time. If you have an extended time frame, floating your mortgage rate may provide more opportunities.
Locking in a rate with a shorter lock period is also usually cheaper.
toll brothers mortgage reviews
There aren’t a ton of reviews specifically for Toll Brothers Mortgage, although I did find a few.
On Zillow, their 1.36/5-star rating across nearly a dozen reviews is quite poor. It’s not a huge sample size, but there aren’t any good reviews either.
Similarly, they have a 1.8/5 from other dozen mortgage reviews on Google for their Fort Washington, PA headquarters.
They have a 5-star rating on Redfin, but that’s only from three reviews. Meanwhile, their parent company has a 1.12/5 rating out of 85 reviews on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) ​​website.
However, the company maintains an ‘A+’ rating based on customer complaint history, so it appears that they handle issues that arise appropriately.
Take the time to read customer reviews and complaints and see what the common problems are and how you can avoid them.
At the end of the day, it may be worthwhile to use a builder’s lender if they offer a lower than market mortgage rate.
There is also a perception that they are in better coordination with the builder as the companies operate under the same parent company.
But based on complaints, that’s not always the case. So be sure to shop around and get quotes from other mortgage companies and some independent mortgage brokers as well.
Even if you decide to use a Toll Brothers mortgage, you can use those other quotes to negotiate a better deal.
Pros and Cons of Toll Brothers Mortgage
the good stuff
- You can apply for home loan online
- Introduce a digital, mostly paperless application operated by ICE
- Loan approvals will be good till the completion of your house
- May offer special financing incentives to Toll Brothers customers
- Lots of loan programs to choose from, including ARMs
- LockSolid Rate Protection Program
- A+ BBB rating
- Mortgage Glossary and Mortgage Calculator Online
maybe not
- Licensed in only a few states where they build homes
- Bad customer reviews
- Do not offer USDA loans or second mortgages
- Do not offer mortgage refinancing
(Photo: Montgomery County Planning Commission)
