Among the many products offered by Discover, one of the most competitive is its mortgage loan options. Discover provides home equity loans as well as mortgage refinancing. While this is a limited mortgage offering, both are offered at very competitive rates, with a range of repayment terms from 10 to 30 years. It also provides loans with no origination or closing fees, which is unusual in the market. The main drawback is that Discover does not offer mortgage purchase loans. Full details of mortgages offered by Discover are shown in the table below.
As well as offering mortgage loans and refinancing options, Discover allows you to tap into your home’s equity. You’ll typically be able to get up to 90% combined loan-to-value and as much as $300,000 through a home equity loan.
The fixed repayment terms can vary from 10 to 30 years, and Discover does not charge closing fees. This review will take you through everything from the application process, qualifying requirements, and more.
Discover Mortgages Terms & Requirements
Discover offers its mortgage customers no fees, low fixed rates, and outstanding customer service. The company aims to make the application process as easy to navigate as possible, with 24/7 help available if you need it. If you want to apply for a home equity loan or mortgage refinance with Discover, here are the key terms to bear in mind:
Mortgage Requirements
- A minimum credit score of 620
- Debt to income ratio lower than 43%
- Must have sufficient equity in your home
Mortgage Terms
- Only mortgage refinance and home equity loans are available
- No origination, application, or appraisal fees charged
- Low, fixed rates
- Loans of between $35,000 and $300,000 are available up to the value of 90% of your home
Repayment Terms
- Repayment terms of 10, 15, 20, and 30 years are available
- Repayments are to be made monthly
Not having fees to pay is a big bonus, as most other mortgage providers charge these. In general, the mortgage terms offered are fair and competitive in the current marketplace.
Home Equity Loans Terms & Requirements
Discover will allow people to tap into their home equity in return for making fixed monthly repayments. The number of years that you have to repay the money starts at 10 years and can go as high as 30 years. Discover has useful calculators on its website to help you figure out what will be your best option.
You’ll have the ability to get a home equity loan of between $35,000 and $300,000, while Discover does not charge any fees at all from start to finish. The fixed rate that you have to pay on the borrowed sum is between 7.99% and 14.09%, which is very competitive in the space today.
How to Apply
We wanted to apply for a home equity loan, and we did so online. Getting started was easy, and the Discover home loans webpage is very informative.
After clicking “Get Started”, we had to put in some basic information, including details of how much we wanted to borrow and the property information. We next had to include personal details, including name, email address, and income.
The next stage was to verify our identity as required by federal law. Therefore we had to insert our name, date of birth, and SSN. After this stage, we were presented with a series of loan options available to us. We selected the loan option we wished to claim and uploaded all relevant documentation to prove our identity, home ownership, and income.
The application process took 30 minutes, and approval of the application took just under two weeks. A contact from the bank stayed in touch with us to keep us updated on the application’s progress.
Discover has an excellent website that is easy to use and apply from. While not the quickest application process we’ve seen, it was undoubtedly straightforward and we’d recommend it to those looking for mortgage refinancing.
Qualification Requirements
To be eligible for a Discover mortgage loan, you must meet the following requirements:
- US citizen or permanent resident
- A minimum credit score of 620
- A minimum debt-to-income ratio of 43%
- Must have steady verifiable income
Home Equity Loan Qualification Requirements
Discover is pretty flexible regarding who they give home equity loans to. It is often seen as a good fit for people with fair credit, as it accepts applications from anyone with a credit score of at least 660. Here’s a look at some of the other main requirements:
- Must be at least 18 years old
- Minimum required credit score is 660
- Your debt-to-income ratio has to be below 43%
- The applicant has to be a US citizen or a permanent resident
- Your minimum annual income has to be at least $25,000
Required Information
We had to provide all of the following information when applying for a mortgage loan with Discover:
- Name
- Address
- Date of birth
- Social Security Number
- Phone number
- Email address
- Monthly income details and proof of income
- Employment history
- Details of our current housing situation
Required Information for Home Equity Loan
Once you have accepted the initial quote for a home equity loan from Discover, you must upload certain documents to verify the information you provided in the form. This can be done online if you wish; usually, the required documents are self-explanatory.
Other options will be faxing or mailing copies of the respective documents. You might be asked for additional documents in certain rare circumstances, as outlined in the table below.
Application Steps & Time Frames
One of the few areas where Discover does not excel is the speed of the mortgage application process. The initial application process can take 1 to 2 weeks, followed by 2 weeks for a final decision. There is then another 1 to 2 weeks to wait for closing. In total, it will take 4 to 6 weeks to complete a mortgage loan with Discover, which is longer than average.
The total time to close after submitting your initial application for a home equity loan at Discover is typically between 30 and 55 days. Here’s a quick breakdown of the main steps and how long they will take:
- Submitting your application and uploading documents (1-2 weeks)
- Discover processing your application and making a decision (4 weeks)
- Closing the loan and receiving the funds (1-2 weeks)
State Availability
Available -
Alabama,
Alaska,
Arizona,
Arkansas,
California,
Colorado,
Connecticut,
Delaware,
Florida,
Georgia,
Hawaii,
Idaho,
Illinois,
Indiana,
Kansas,
Kentucky,
Louisiana,
Maine,
Massachusetts,
Michigan,
Minnesota,
Mississippi,
Missouri,
Montana,
Nebraska,
Nevada,
New Hampshire,
New Jersey,
New Mexico,
New York,
North Carolina,
North Dakota,
Ohio,
Oklahoma,
Oregon,
Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island,
South Carolina,
South Dakota,
Tennessee,
Texas,
Utah,
Vermont,
Virginia,
Washington,
West Virginia,
Wisconsin,
Wyoming,
Not Available -
Iowa,
Maryland,