Affordable Lender, but Not Available Everywhere

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Business Insider’s personal finance team compared Regions Mortgage to the best mortgage lenders and found its offerings to be fairly standard. It offers a wide range of mortgages to choose from and has low average fees. Regions mortgages are available to borrowers in certain states in the Southeast and Midwest.

We think Regions could be a good option for first-time homebuyers, since it offers a zero down mortgage option. But the lender doesn’t provide many details on who qualifies for this option.

Read our Regions Mortgage review to see what we like (and don’t like) about this lender. 

Overview of Regions Mortgage

Regions Company Background

Regions Bank is a full-service bank that serves parts of the Southeast and Midwest. In addition to mortgages, it also offers personal bank accounts, credit cards, investment services, and wealth management.

Mortgage Products Offered by Regions

Regions offers a variety of different types of home loans, including conventional and government-backed mortgages. It also has options for tapping into your home’s equity.

Regions Availability by State

Regions has mortgage loan officers in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

Regions Loan Options and Features

Fixed-Rate and Adjustable-Rate Mortgages

Regions has both fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage options. Its website doesn’t specify what term length options are available for its fixed-rate loans, though 15-year, 20-year, and 30-year terms are common offerings among mortgage lenders.

Its ARM options include 5/6, 7/6, and 10/6 ARMs. This means that your interest rate will be fixed for the first five, seven, or 10 years of the loan, after which it will adjust every six months.

Jumbo Loans

Regions doesn’t have a jumbo mortgage that’s available to all borrowers, but it does have mortgages that allow higher loan amounts for certain borrowers.

Physicians can get a mortgage for up to $1.5 million from Regions. Physician loans like this can help early-career medical professionals get a mortgage even if they have a large amount of student loan debt and little saved for a down payment. Regions has a similar mortgage for attorneys and certain types of medical professionals, but loan amounts only go up to $766,550. 

This lender also has a “high net worth mortgage,” which offers personalized financing for the bank’s Private Wealth Management customers. These loan amounts can go up to $5 million.

FHA, VA, and USDA Loans

Regions offers all three of the main types of government-backed mortgages:

• FHA loans: A good option for first-time and low-income homebuyers, since they come with lower rates and allow 3.5% down payments
• VA loans: A 0% down mortgage only available to military members and veterans who meet minimum service requirements
• USDA loans: Lets borrowers put 0% down on a home in an eligible rural or suburban area

Construction and Renovation Loans

Regions offers construction loans for borrowers who need financing to build a new home. Or, if you’re making renovations to a home that’s already been built, you can also get a renovation loan from this lender. Both options allow loan amounts up to $2 million.

Home Equity Loans and HELOCs

You can get a home equity loan or home equity line of credit (HELOC) from Regions. 

Home equity loans are installment loans, meaning you’ll receive the funds in one lump sum and pay it back over time at a fixed interest rate.

HELOCs work more similarly to credit cards, where your rate is variable and you can borrow against a line of credit. Regions also offers the option to convert some or all of your HELOC balance to a fixed rate, keeping your payments predictable.

Mortgage Refinancing

You can also refinance your mortgage with Regions. The lender offers both rate-and-term and cash-out refinancing.

Regions Mortgage Rates and Fees

Regions Current Mortgage Rates

Based on Business Insider’s review of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, Regions’ mortgage rates are around average compared to other lenders.

Regions doesn’t display its current rates online, so it’s difficult to get an idea of how much you could pay with this lender without talking to a loan officer or submitting an application. 

Closing Costs and Fees When Getting a Regions Mortgage

In 2022, the average borrower getting a conventional loan from Regions paid $1,820 in origination charges, according to HMDA data. This is relatively low compared to other lenders we’ve reviewed. 

Regions Mortgage Application Process

How to Apply for a Regions Mortgage

You can get started with Regions online or over the phone. If you live near a branch, you can also start the application process in person. 

Before you start an application, make sure you have all the necessary documentation with you to avoid delays. The documents needed for a mortgage application typically include pay stubs, bank statements, W-2s, tax returns, and any other documentation showing your income and assets.

Regions Mortgage Overall Rating

Loan Types: 5 out of 5

Regions offers a wide range of loan types that should meet most borrowers’ needs, including more niche options like physician loans.

Affordability: 4.5 out of 5

We found Regions to be an overall affordable lender. Its average fees are on the low end, and it offers zero-down mortgage options for eligible first-time homebuyers. It also has multiple government-backed loans, which are often more affordable for first-time and low-income borrowers than conventional loans. But its rates are just average.

Customer Satisfaction: 4 out of 5

Regions generally has good reviews from previous customers, though some have had issues with the lender. In online reviews, many borrowers noted that their loan officers were professional and helpful. Some reviewers said they had issues with the lender’s customer service.

Trustworthiness: 4 out of 5

The Better Business Bureau gives Regions an A rating, rather than an A+, due to government action against the company. The BBB measures trustworthiness based on response to customer complaints, honesty in advertising, and transparency about business practices.

In 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered Regions to pay $50 million and refund at least $141 million in overdraft fees that the CFPB says Regions illegally charged from August 2018 through July 2021.

Regions Customer Experience

Regions Customer Reviews and Ratings

Business Insider looked at positive and negative customer reviews, online forums, BBB complaints, and other sources to understand what borrowers think about Regions as a mortgage lender. In reviews, previous borrowers generally had positive things to say about the lender and the mortgage pros they worked with. Borrowers frequently mentioned that their loan officers were communicative, knowledgeable, and made the process go smoothly. 

We did see some complaints about Regions’ customer service, with a few borrowers saying that they had trouble getting ahold of company representatives or getting their issues resolved.

Regions Customer Support and Service

Regions customer service is available over the phone. On the bank’s website, you can also search for a branch near you or schedule an in-person or phone appointment with someone from a local branch.

Pros and Cons of Regions Mortgage

Pros

• Average fees are on the low end
• Many different loan options to choose from
• Offers zero-down mortgages for first-time homebuyers

Cons

• Only available in certain states
• Doesn’t provide a lot of information about its loans online
• Lacks rate transparency

Benefits of Choosing Regions Mortgage

We like that Regions is so affordable. Its average fees are significantly lower than other mortgage lenders we’ve reviewed, and it has loan options that allow no down payment for first-time homebuyers. It also offers a good range of mortgages to choose from.

Potential Drawbacks of Regions Mortgage

Regions isn’t widely available, so you’ll only be able to work with this lender if you live in a state that it originates mortgages in.

We also had a difficult time finding details about some of the lender’s offerings and its credit requirements on its website. While Regions readily lists the types of mortgages it offers, it doesn’t share minimum credit scores for those mortgage. It also provides little information on its zero-down first-time homebuyer loans, including who qualifies or how the 0% down payment is achieved (for example, down payment assistance can come in the form of a grant or a loan). 

Comparing Regions Mortgage to Competitors

Regions Mortgage vs. Bank of America Mortgage

Bank of America is one of our favorite mortgage lenders, and it’s available in all 50 U.S. states. It’s a great choice for both first-time and repeat borrowers, offering multiple affordable mortgage options and up to $7,500 in closing cost assistance and up to $10,000 in down payment assistance.

But Bank of America doesn’t offer USDA loans, home equity loans, or construction loans, unlike Regions. Bank of America has relatively low rates and fees, though Regions’ average fees are a bit lower. 

Bank of America is the better overall choice, particularly for first-time and low-income borrowers, since it has more to offer in terms of homebuyer assistance. But Regions is also a good option if you live in a state where it’s available and you’re looking to keep your out of pocket costs low.

Bank of America Mortgage Review

Regions Mortgage vs. Wells Fargo Mortgage

Wells Fargo Mortgage has a lot of features that make it an attractive lender, including a down payment grant of up to $10,000 and a closing cost credit of up to $5,000. But it suffers from serious trustworthiness issues, earning an F rating from the BBB. Its loan offerings are also relatively basic.

In most cases, we think Regions is the better choice between these two lenders, unless it’s not available in your area or you’ve had a good experience banking with Wells Fargo. But because of Wells Fargo’s trustworthiness issues, we recommend proceeding with caution.

Wells Fargo Mortgage Review

Regions Mortgage Review FAQs