Mortgage lender · Lake Forest, CA · LEI 549300RA3E0BUFO7YZ21

Hometown Equity Mortgage review: approval odds, rates and grade (2025)

Hometown Equity Mortgage earns a C, in line with the typical performance of investment-property lenders. It turned down 46.8% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 2nd percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 1.00 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 55th percentile on pricing. Compared against 220 investment-property lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

15kApplications2025
50.6%Originatedof applications
46.8%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
7.25%Median ratenational 6.63%
$3.4BLoan volume50 states

Hometown Equity Mortgage at a glance, 2025

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

45.3%Denial rate (all applications)+27.35 pts vs national
46.8%Denial rate (decided applications)+24.20 pts vs national
50.6%Origination rate-7.43 pts vs national
3.1%Withdrawn by applicant
0.0%Closed for incompleteness
7.25%Median interest rate+0.63 pts vs national
1.00Median rate spread (pts over APOR)+0.75 pts vs national
$335,000Median loan amount
$13,916Median total loan costs
$184kMedian applicant income
75%Median loan-to-value
1High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the C grade breaks down

Each component is a percentile rank among 220 investment-property lenders. Higher is better. Components the lender does not report are left out and the weights redistributed.

Approval oddsdecision denial rate, weight 45%

2nd46.8% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

55th1.00 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

63rd3.1%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

24th4.15% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20237,6533,03443.4%46.6%8.63%$1.3B
20249,1394,43948.2%49.4%7.63%$1.9B
202514,9017,54045.3%46.8%7.25%$3.4B

What Hometown Equity Mortgage 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 6,510 44% · 40.2% denied
Refinance 1,930 13% · 58.4% denied
Cash-out refinance 6,460 43% · 46.6% denied
Other / HELOC 1 0% · 0.0% denied

By loan type

Conventional 13,890 93% · 45.0% denied
FHA 924 6% · 51.1% denied
VA 42 0% · 38.1% denied
USDA / RHS 45 0% · 44.4% denied

Also: 0 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 28 manufactured homes, 10,200 investment properties.

Why Hometown Equity Mortgage denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 6,755 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Incomplete application 4,755 70%
Collateral 967 14%
Credit history 497 7%
Debt-to-income ratio 239 4%
Unverifiable information 128 2%
Insufficient cash 111 2%
Other 35 1%
Employment history 20 0%
Mortgage insurance denied 3 0%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Hometown Equity Mortgage

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k2627665.5%
$50k – $100k98935860.1%
$100k – $150k94240154.0%
$150k – $250k1,05250948.7%
Over $250k2,04198349.1%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 2537218747.5%
25–342,1641,13145.1%
35–444,2322,17745.6%
45–544,0122,07046.0%
55–642,7511,32649.5%
65–741,06151048.9%
Over 7430913952.8%

Where Hometown Equity Mortgage lends

50 states and 1,067 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
California3,0031,42447.9%7.25%#68
Florida2,9121,45746.0%7.25%#72
Texas1,66779548.2%7.38%#120
New York1,23171440.2%7.38%#73
Georgia55825948.6%7.13%#140
New Jersey53030240.6%7.25%#114
Pennsylvania37717745.6%7.25%#201
North Carolina32017939.1%7.38%#188
Arizona31717242.3%7.25%#144
Tennessee28415138.4%7.25%#167
South Carolina26014939.6%7.25%#156
Maryland2449656.6%7.38%#141
Virginia24013840.8%7.00%#190
Connecticut23612744.9%7.25%#91
Illinois22711344.5%7.50%#231
Massachusetts22012840.5%7.38%#150
Ohio2019848.3%7.38%#237
Colorado1939844.0%7.25%#184
Washington1717748.0%7.38%#200
Utah1557350.3%7.25%#114
Nevada1426647.9%7.31%#125
Indiana1266644.4%7.38%#247
Michigan1234757.7%7.50%#248
Oregon1136244.3%7.25%#160
Missouri1096436.7%7.25%#257
Alabama1065444.3%7.38%#224
Oklahoma1037323.3%7.50%#181
Louisiana994745.5%7.25%#180
Wisconsin804838.8%7.56%#279
Kentucky592945.8%7.38%#249
Hawaii583144.8%7.50%#82
New Hampshire523826.9%7.38%#127
Maine452151.1%7.50%#130
Rhode Island391753.9%6.88%#107
Delaware321740.6%7.25%#146
District of Columbia311738.7%7.50%#97
Mississippi311745.2%7.25%#203
Idaho291731.0%7.38%#196
New Mexico27859.3%7.44%#185
Minnesota251440.0%7.63%#364
Kansas221045.5%6.81%#289
Arkansas21952.4%7.38%#281
Montana191236.8%7.25%#144
Alaska15660.0%7.06%#94
Vermont14550.0%7.25%#94
West Virginia11645.5%7.44%#242
Nebraska9544.4%7.75%#263
Wyoming6350.0%7.63%#177
Iowa5260.0%7.31%#433

Frequently asked questions

Hometown Equity Mortgage denied 46.8% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 2nd percentile of investment-property lenders.

The most common reason Hometown Equity Mortgage gave in 2025 was "incomplete application", cited on 70.4% 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 Hometown Equity Mortgage originated in 2025 was 7.25%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 1.00 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 44% of its applications were for home purchases, 56% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 0% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 93% conventional, 6% FHA, 0% 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 Hometown Equity Mortgage. Data sources · Methodology