Cardinal Financial Mortgage Review 2024

Cardinal Financial overview

Cardinal Financial, also doing business as Sebonic Financial, is a national mortgage lender with both brick-and-mortar and online operations. Cardinal Financial is the parent of Sebonic Financial. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender offers purchase, refinance and government-backed loans as well as niche products like disaster relief home financing. Borrowers with this lender have closed in as few as seven days, but the average closing takes 30.

Cardinal Financial focuses on first-time homebuyers and borrowers who have faced credit challenges. Its proprietary technology sets it apart from other lenders.

Pros and cons of Cardinal Financial

How Bankrate scored Cardinal Financial

Affordability: 10/10

Cardinal Financial offers competitive mortgage rates on a diverse range of home financing products. To compare its costs to others, however, you’ll need to request a quote. (Many other lenders provide rates upfront online, or allow you to request a quote without waiting for a loan officer to contact you.) As far as fees, Cardinal charges a flat $1,490 per loan. While other lenders might not charge fees per loan, Cardinal’s APRs (which reflect the origination fees and interest rate) were lower than Bankrate’s averages at the time of this review. The lender participates in a variety of programs for first-time homebuyers, including down payment assistance.

Availability: 10/10

Cardinal Financial offers an impressively varied array of options, from conventional and government-backed loans to financing for special types of properties (think manufactured, rental and container homes). Cardinal also offers disaster relief loans.

Borrower experience: 8.5/10

Cardinal Financial has long emphasized a sensitivity to borrowers’ preferences, as evidenced in its pivoting from fewer branch locations to more online services. It has high marks from customers with the Better Business Bureau (and an A+ grade from the organization), plus a rating of “Excellent” from Trustpilot. The lender landed below average in J.D. Power’s 2023 customer satisfaction survey, however. The lender doesn’t have a mobile app, but does provide calculators, a mortgage glossary, easily digestible answers to frequently asked questions about the mortgage process and a blog with even more resources online. Its customer service hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.

Special offerings: Cardinal Financial’s Octane system

Octane is Cardinal Financial’s proprietary loan origination system. The technology guides you through the process, from displaying loan options (complete with closing costs) to offering e-sign capability. You can obtain a prequalification or preapproval through the platform, as well. If you end up financing with Cardinal, Octane also offers a way to obtain your loan details and track your account balance. The tool also offers an easy drag-and-drop tool to upload required documents.

Refinancing with Cardinal Financial

Cardinal Financial offers both rate-and-term and cash-out refinancing options. Its website offers a helpful refinance calculator that allows you to estimate how refinancing could affect your current monthly payment. The company lets you refinance a variety of mortgage types, including conventional, FHA and VA loans.

Learn more:  Choose the right kind of refinance

How to apply for a mortgage with Cardinal Financial

You can apply for a mortgage with Cardinal Financial in person at a branch location, online or by phone at 855-561-4944. Here are some tips to prepare for the process:

1. Check your credit report. It’s important to check your credit report before your lender does, in case there are errors that could impact not only whether you get preapproved but also your ability to get the best mortgage rate. Knowing your credit score also helps you decide what type of loan to apply for. If your score is in the very low 600s, for instance, an FHA mortgage might be best for you, as its standards are more lenient than those for conventional loans.
2. Gather personal and financial documents. With any lender, you must supply documentation about your income, assets and debts. This includes pay stubs and W-2s and account and loan statements.
3. Provide details about the property. You’ll need to provide the address of the home and submit to an appraisal. (If you’re refinancing, you might or might not need an appraisal.)

Learn more: How to get a mortgage

• Methodology

  To determine a mortgage lender's Bankrate Score, Bankrate rates lenders on a scale of one (1) to five (5) stars — with five (5) the highest rating — based on a variety of factors relating to the lender's products and services. To assign our ratings, we assessed each mortgage lender across three core areas:

  • Affordability. Annual percentage rate (APR) - 80%; assistance for first-time homebuyers - 10%; down payment - 10%

  • Availability. Loan products - 50%; licensing - 40%; credit score - 10%

  • Borrower experience. Rate transparency - 45%; customer service - 25%; convenience - 10%; days to close - 10%; rate locks - 10%; reputation (bonus)

  Learn more about our methodology.

  How we suggest lenders to compare

  To help you make the most informed decisions, our editorial team suggests two (2) alternative mortgage lenders for each lender reviewed in our comparison table. In most cases, these alternatives 1.) share the same strength (affordability, availability or borrower experience) as the lender reviewed; and 2.) rate highly for Bankrate Score. In the event more than two lenders meet these standards, we suggest the ones with the lowest APRs.