Alterra Mortgage Review

Alterra at a glance

Established in 2006 to help provide mortgages to the underserved community of Hispanic first-time homebuyers, Alterra’s mission remains attuned to serving diverse first-time homebuyers in 40 states and the District of Columbia. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Alterra is part of the Panorama Mortgage Group and originates over a billion in home loans every year.

Alterra mortgage products

Conventional

• Alterra offers purchase mortgages and refinance loans.
• Conventional mortgages require a minimum 3% down payment and 620 credit score.

FHA

• Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans are available from Alterra and offer great flexibility on credit score and other requirements.
• FHA mortgages require at least a 580 credit score and a 3.5% down payment.

VA

• Mortgages backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA loans) are available from Alterra, however they don’t offer VA refinancing, cash-out refinancing or interest rate reduction refinance loans (IRRRL).
• The VA doesn’t require a minimum down payment or set credit score, but lenders set their own minimum qualifications; VA lenders typically require a score of at least 620.

Jumbo

• Alterra offers jumbo loans, which allow you to borrow more than the conforming loan limit in your area.

Special programs

• USDA loans backed by the Department of Agriculture can help rural homebuyers who have moderate or low income buy a home with 0% down and no credit score.
• First-time homebuyer programs are available depending on your income, credit score and location.

Alterra mortgage rates and fees

Rates

Alterra doesn’t publish its mortgage rates online. You can see current mortgage rates here to get an idea of what the interest rates are on the market. The national average mortgage closing costs last year was $3,860, which totaled 1.01% of the average home sales price.

On average, Alterra offered rates to borrowers around 0.86 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. That puts Alterra’s rates on the high side when compared to other large, national lenders, but that’s likely related to the fact that Alterra caters to underserved communities, including non-U.S. citizens.

Fees

The average total cost of taking out a mortgage with Alterra was $10,648 in 2022, according to data from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC). That included an average of $5,691 in origination fees.

Alterra’s application experience

You can apply for any of Alterra’s loans at a branch location in person, online or even on a phone app. Alterra partners with a secure app called Pronto+ that lets you apply and upload documents digitally.

Once you’re approved, Alterra provides a mortgage preapproval to show sellers when you make an offer that you’re financially able to purchase the home. When a seller accepts your offer, you can finalize the application with Alterra. Make sure you compare the official rate they quote you with other rates on the market.

How to boost your loan approval odds

Alterra doesn’t share the exact minimum requirements it uses to approve or deny your application. However, based on nationwide data from 2022, we can say that Alterra approved customers who — on average — had a 83% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio or better. Most had a debt-to-income (DTI) ratio higher than 43%.

In that same year, Alterra denied about 8% of its mortgage applications. That’s uncommonly low when compared with other large, national mortgage lenders. For comparison, most large lenders have denial rates in the low teens through mid-thirties and, at the highest end, some even stretch into the sixties.

Alterra’s customer service experience

You can call Alterra at 844-400-4565 or email them anytime on their website form. Alterra also shares the direct phone numbers and emails of its loan officers, which you can find on its loan officer page. If you’d like to talk with someone in person, you can use the Alterra branch locator to find the closest one to you.

How does Alterra compare to other lenders?

	Alterra	Rocket Mortgage	Mr. Cooper
Lender rating
Minimum credit score	580 to 620	580 to 620	Not published
Minimum down payment	0% to 3.5%	0% to 3%	0% to 3.5%
Loan products and programs	Conventional FHA VA USDA Jumbo	Conventional FHA VA Jumbo Home equity loans	Conventional FHA VA
Rate spread*	0.86%	0.42%	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) Alterra offered to mortgage customers in 2022. The higher the number, the more expensive the loan.

How we rated Alterra

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.

Alterra’s scorecard: 2/5

  Publishes rates online

  Offers standard mortgage products

  Includes detailed product info online

  Shares resources about mortgage lending

  Provides an online application