Mortgage lender · San Antonio, TX · LEI 549300M8WGW2D17CZD19

Gardner Financial Services review: approval odds, rates and grade (2025)

Gardner Financial Services earns a B, better than most mid-size mortgage lenders. It turned down 2.7% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 90th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.34 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 36th percentile on pricing. Compared against 581 mid-size mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

3.5kApplications2025
76.9%Originatedof applications
2.7%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
6.50%Median ratenational 6.63%
$929MLoan volume33 states

Gardner Financial Services at a glance, 2025

Every figure is from the lender's own HMDA filing. "vs national" compares with all lenders combined.

2.2%Denial rate (all applications)-15.79 pts vs national
2.7%Denial rate (decided applications)-19.92 pts vs national
76.9%Origination rate+18.87 pts vs national
16.0%Withdrawn by applicant
2.1%Closed for incompleteness
6.50%Median interest rate-0.13 pts vs national
0.34Median rate spread (pts over APOR)+0.08 pts vs national
$295,000Median loan amount
$9,887Median total loan costs
$1kMedian applicant income
91%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the B grade breaks down

Each component is a percentile rank among 581 mid-size mortgage lenders. Higher is better. Components the lender does not report are left out and the weights redistributed.

Approval oddsdecision denial rate, weight 45%

90th2.7% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

36th0.34 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

44th18.0%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

16th3.35% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20232,9602,1501.2%1.6%6.75%$762M
20243,7962,8440.8%1.0%6.63%$956M
20253,4672,6662.2%2.7%6.50%$929M

What Gardner Financial Services lends

Applications by purpose and loan type in 2025, with the denial rate for each. A lender's mix explains a lot of its headline rate: HELOCs and FHA loans are denied far more often than conventional purchase loans.

By loan purpose

Home purchase 3,085 89% · 2.1% denied
Refinance 234 7% · 3.0% denied
Cash-out refinance 146 4% · 3.4% denied
Home improvement 2 0% · 0.0% denied

By loan type

Conventional 2,025 58% · 1.4% denied
FHA 1,011 29% · 4.0% denied
VA 420 12% · 1.7% denied
USDA / RHS 11 0% · 0.0% denied

Also: 2 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 138 manufactured homes, 181 investment properties.

Why Gardner Financial Services denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 76 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Other 22 29%
Debt-to-income ratio 17 22%
Collateral 13 17%
Credit history 9 12%
Unverifiable information 5 7%
Employment history 4 5%
Insufficient cash 4 5%
Incomplete application 2 3%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Gardner Financial Services

Decision denial rate by applicant profile. Groups with fewer than 20 applications are omitted.

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k71561.7%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 251911533.1%
25–341,0048001.9%
35–449427253.4%
45–545544153.4%
55–644393282.0%
65–742481783.6%
Over 7489670.0%

Where Gardner Financial Services lends

33 states and 272 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Texas2,0701,5801.6%6.38%#93
Arizona3712842.2%6.63%#138
Florida2541904.7%6.63%#335
Utah2402030.8%6.63%#91
Oklahoma2151720.5%6.63%#121
Georgia966912.5%6.88%#344
South Carolina56395.4%6.25%#329
Kansas504210.0%6.63%#227
Tennessee24170.0%6.25%#508
Colorado13100.0%6.50%#467
Alabama1070.0%7.38%#477
North Carolina980.0%6.63%#650
New Mexico960.0%6.63%#263
California760.0%6.88%#781
Missouri640.0%6.81%#563
Idaho540.0%7.44%#339

Frequently asked questions

Gardner Financial Services denied 2.7% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 90th percentile of mid-size mortgage lenders.

The most common reason Gardner Financial Services gave in 2025 was "other", cited on 28.9% of its denials. Lenders report up to four reasons per denial to the CFPB; the full breakdown is on this page.

The median interest rate on loans Gardner Financial Services originated in 2025 was 6.50%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 0.34 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 89% of its applications were for home purchases, 11% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 0% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 58% conventional, 29% FHA, 12% VA.

Every figure on this page comes from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Loan/Application Register published by the CFPB, which lenders are required by federal law to file. We add the grade and the comparisons; we do not add facts.

About this data. HMDA data is published once a year by the CFPB. The current release covers applications acted on in calendar year 2025. Figures describe applications the lender acted on, including loans it later sold. Interest rates and costs are medians on originated loans only; some depository institutions are exempt from reporting pricing fields, which is why a few cells read "—". MortgageGrades is not affiliated with Gardner Financial Services. Data sources · Methodology