Top perks
Caters to underserved borrowers
"Underserved" means any group that is at a disadvantage because they have less access to financial products. Alterra's mission is to serve borrowers who have fewer options. That includes those with lower income, limited financial resources, or no SSN. It could also include borrowers using alternative documents to qualify and people pooling resources to buy a home. In other words, Alterra Home Loans is a good fit for creditworthy borrowers who typically have to jump through more hoops to get a mortgage and might not know they can qualify.
Bilingual
Alterra Home Loans is Hispanic owned and places a lot of emphasis on serving the Hispanic community. Spanish-speaking loan officers are available to work with any applicant. Also, the website can be displayed entirely in Spanish.
ITIN loans for foreign nationals
Many lenders require a SSN to get a mortgage. Alterra Home Loans is one of a small group of lenders that offer a special loan type for people who have an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) but no SSN. Since you don't have to be eligible to work in the U.S. to get an ITIN, undocumented immigrants are eligible to apply for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.
Specialty loans
Alterra Home Loans offers several loan options that not all lenders offer:
- USDA loans for lower-income borrowers buying eligible property (usually rural).
- Mortgages for non-warrantable condos that don't meet Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac lending guidelines. For example, if the building has five to 20 units, no single entity can own more than two. And commercial space may not account for more than 35% of the building. Those conditions would make it a hard no from some lenders, but Alterra will work with you.
- Portfolio loans for borrowers who need more flexible underwriting.
- A Home Possible mortgage, which is a 3%-down conventional mortgage for low- to moderate-income borrowers.
- Chenoa Fund mortgage down payment assistance programs. Chenoa offers forgivable second mortgages for FHA loan down payments and repayable second mortgages for FHA or conventional loan down payments (some programs have income limits).
Reputation
Alterra Home Loans' customers leave very good online reviews, in English and Spanish. Reviewers tend to comment on their positive interactions with Alterra Home Loans staff and say costs are lower than expected.
Pronto Plus loan tracking app
Alterra Home Loans offers a digital mortgage application and tracking experience on Pronto Plus, its proprietary app. You can track your application, upload documents, share your financial information, and e-sign documents from any device.
What could be improved
Transparency
Alterra Home Loans does not publish information about mortgage rates and fees on its website, or even a full menu of the types of loans it offers.
Not yet nationwide
Alterra's parent company, Panorama Mortgage Group, LLC, is licensed almost everywhere in the U.S. But at this time, you can't get a loan if you're in Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, or West Virginia.