Alliant Credit Union Mortgage Review
Alliant at a glance
| Minimum credit score: Not published Minimum down payment: 0% to 5% Available loan products and programs: Conventional, jumbo, refinance, home equity line of credit (HELOC) |
Our verdict: Alliant is a good fit for borrowers who want a low down payment mortgage that doesn’t require private mortgage insurance (PMI).
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Serves borrowers in 50 states and the District of Columbia Offers a low down payment and first-time homebuyer program Features a cash rebate program | No minimum required credit score published No FHA loans or VA mortgages No physical branches |
Alliant Credit Union is Chicago-based, founded in 1935 and now boasts more than 700,000 members. The credit union does not have physical branches, but offers access to over 80,000 surcharge-free ATMs nationwide. Anyone in the U.S. is eligible to become a member of the credit union by joining (at no cost) the nonprofit Foster Care to Success (FC2S), which supports teens in foster care attending college. Mortgage loans are available across the country.
Alliant mortgage products
Alliant offers conventional, jumbo and HELOC mortgages. While it doesn’t offer loans from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), it does have a low down payment program that allows first-time homebuyers to put down 0% — non-first-time homebuyers must put down at least 5% — and not pay private mortgage insurance (PMI).
Conventional
- Fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) available, as well as low down payment programs that don’t require PMI
- Mortgage refinancing and cash-out refinancing are available
Home equity
- Home equity line of credit (HELOC)
Jumbo
- Jumbo mortgage loans – traditional or refinance mortgages that lend more than $548,250. Alliant requires a minimum credit score of 620 for a jumbo loan.
Special programs
- Alliant Advantage Mortgage. First-time homebuyers could put $0 down and not pay for PMI. Non-first-time homebuyers may put only 5% down or have only 5% equity when refinancing, and also not pay for PMI.
- Alliant Home Rewards. You could receive a $6,500 cash rebate if you buy or sell through this program — double that if you both buy and sell through the program.
Alliant mortgage rates and fees
Rates
Alliant publishes its rates online for both its fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages. While it doesn’t charge an application fee or escrow waiver fee, a $1,350 origination fee applies for fixed-rate mortgages and most ARMs. Other fees such as PMI could apply, depending on your loan.
Compared to other large national banks, Alliant’s rates are on the higher side, and on average came in around 0.50% percentage points above the average prime offer rate (APOR) in 2022. The APOR is a benchmark rate that captures what is, in effect, the lowest APR a bank is likely to offer in the current market. Mortgage loans aren’t typically considered “higher-cost” until they reach 1.5 percentage points over the APOR.
Fees
The average total cost of taking out a mortgage with Alliant was $5,293 in 2022, according to data from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC). That included about $2,181 in origination costs, which are fees your lender charges to process your loan.
| Mortgage rates published online? | |
| Rate information updated daily or weekly? | |
| Lender fees disclosed? |
Alliant’s application experience
If you’re starting your homebuying process, you can apply for a mortgage preapproval with Alliant, which gives you a leg up when you go home shopping. Once you make an offer on a house that’s accepted, you can submit an online mortgage application with the credit union.
A loan officer will review your application and call you for about a 10-minute conversation. From there the loan officer guides you through the rest of the process.
How to boost your loan approval odds
Alliant doesn’t publish the exact minimum mortgage requirements it uses to evaluate your application. However, based on nationwide data from 2022, we can say that Alliant approved customers who — on average — had a 76% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio or better. Most had a debt-to-income (DTI) ratio below 40%.
In that same year, Alliant denied about 33% of its mortgage applications. That’s on the higher end but still within what we see with other large, national mortgage lenders. For comparison, some large lenders have denial rates in the teens, or even lower.
Alliant’s customer service experience
Alliant customer service is available 24/7 at 1-800-328-1935. You may email the mortgage department at [email protected] or contact a specific loan officer. About halfway down this mortgage page, the credit union lists its mortgage loan officers with links to their directory pages containing their direct lines, faxes, email addresses and business hours.
How does Alliant compare to other lenders?
| Alliant | PenFed | Mr. Cooper | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lender rating |  |  |  |
| Minimum credit score | Not published | 620 to 650 | Not published |
| Minimum down payment | 0% to 5% | 0% to 3.5% | 0% to 3.5% |
| Loan products and programs |
|
|
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| Rate spread* | 0.50% | 0.11% | 0.58% |
*Rate spread is the difference between the average prime offer rate (APOR) — the lowest APR a bank is likely to offer any private customer — and the average annual percentage rate (APR) each lender offered to mortgage customers in 2022. The higher the number, the more expensive the loan.
How we rated Alliant
LendingTree’s mortgage lender rating is based on a five-point scoring system that factors in several features, including digital application processes, available loan products and the accessibility of product and lending information.
LendingTree’s editorial team calculates each rating based on a review of information available on the lender’s website. Lenders receive a half-point on the “offers standard mortgage products” criterion if they offer only two of the three standard loan programs (conventional, FHA and VA). In some cases, additional information was provided by a lender representative.
Alliant’s scorecard: 4/5
Publishes rates online
Offers standard mortgage products
Includes detailed product info online
Shares resources about mortgage lending
Provides an online application