The Yahoo view: Huntington is an excellent full-service mortgage lender that caters to borrowers primarily in the Midwest.

Huntington Bank, or simply Huntington, is a legacy Midwestern bank with a history dating back to 1866. Today, it is expanding beyond its geographic roots to regionally adjacent states such as Colorado, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

Key benefits

• Huntington offers loan-length flexibility. You can lock in your mortgage rate for any term between 10 and 30 years.

• Pledged $24 billion over five years to offer affordable mortgage lending, half of which is dedicated to diverse and underserved households.

• For VA loans, the lender will cover up to $5,500 in closing costs. The borrower must pay a minimum of $500 and any amount exceeding the lender credit of $5,500.

Need to know

• Down payment assistance programs are available in seven states: Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

• There are branches in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. However, Huntington originates home loans in all 50 states — though not all loan products are available in all states.

Huntington mortgage home loan product offerings

Huntington Bank offers the following types of home loans:

• Conventional loans

• FHA mortgages

• VA mortgages

• USDA loans

• Purchase loans

• Refinance loans

• Cash-out refinance loans

• Fixed-rate loans

• Adjustable-rate mortgages

• Jumbo loans

• Lot loans

• Construction loans

• Non-qualified mortgages

• Second home loans

• Investment property financing

• Renovation loans

• Medical professional mortgages

• HELOCs

• Home equity loans

Huntington does not offer the following types of home loans:

• Interest-only loans

• Energy-efficient loans

• Guest house loans

• 1% down payment mortgages

• Mortgage rate buydowns

• Bridge loans

• Manufactured home loans

• Piggy-back loans

• ITIN mortgages

Dig deeper: How do medical professional mortgages work?

Huntington mortgage for first-time home buyers

We're calling out Huntington Bank as a strong lender for first-time home buyers for a few reasons. However, remember that there are some qualifications — particularly regarding where you live.

• Huntington has extensive learning resources for those attempting to buy a home for the very first time. More on that below in the “Huntington mortgage calculators and home-buying tools” section.

• It also has a full selection of government-backed loan programs (FHA, VA, and USDA loans) that offer lenient credit qualifying terms.

• Down payment assistance programs, such as grants and low-interest loans, are available in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

• Huntington also allows alternative credit reporting in some instances, so borrowers can qualify without a traditional credit score by using such things as bank statements, rent payment history, and utility bills to prove their reliability as potential borrowers. Unfortunately, that's available in less than a dozen areas (Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Warren (Michigan); Minneapolis and St. Paul (Minnesota); Cincinnati, Columbus, and Toledo (Ohio), as well as a handful of counties in Illinois and Wisconsin).

Read more: The best mortgage lenders for first-time buyers

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• Compare today's 30-year mortgage rates

Huntington mortgage for home equity lending

All options are on the table when it comes to lending solutions to access home equity. Huntington has home equity loans, lines of credit, and cash-out refinances.

Huntington mortgage home equity line of credit

The draw-cash-as-you-need-it home equity line of credit allows you to pay interest only on the balance you've withdrawn rather than the total amount you’re approved to borrow. This is handy when an unexpected cash need arises, and it could cost less than home equity loans or cash-out refis, which require you to pay interest on the total amount, even if you don’t end up using it. Huntington also allows you to convert your variable-rate HELOC to a fixed interest rate, though there may be a fee charged in some states. The fixed rate will also be higher than the variable one.

Huntington mortgage home equity loan

The cash-all-at-once home equity loan has a fixed interest rate, online access, and face-to-face service at 1,000 branch locations.

Huntington mortgage HELOC and home equity loan fees

The HEL and HELOC have no application fees, but the line of credit has a $60 annual fee (or $50 in Minnesota). You’ll also pay a $75 fee for switching from a variable-rate HELOC to a fixed-rate one in certain states. At the time of this review, further fee information was unavailable on the website.

Dig deeper: Home equity loan vs. HELOC

Huntington Bank home mortgage loan rates 2024

We had to use Huntington's automated chat feature to find the mortgage rates page. Hoping to see a full page of interest rates, instead, we found a page with two links, both of which offered to start an application. Asking for a username and password, we backed out and returned to the "mortgage rates" page.

The page promises a five-minute "rate inquiry" process for those looking to see loan options with "side-by-side rate and payment comparisons" but "aren't ready to apply for a loan." However, when we clicked the button, we were taken back to the "Start your Application Now!" page and had to provide an email address to continue.

As for user experience, that's a disconnect.

We were about to give up our rate hunt when we clicked on the "Mortgage Comparison" page. Drilling down to "fixed rate loans," we found two sample rates for 15- and 30-year fixed mortgages.

The disclosures were clearly stated. The rates were based on $225,000 mortgages in Columbus, Ohio, with zero discount points, a 1% origination fee, 20% down, and a credit score of 740 or better.

Helpful? Meh. If you're not in Columbus or buying a $225,000 home and all the rest — not very. By definition, they were sample rates. At a minimum.

Learn more: How to get the lowest mortgage rate possible

How Huntington scores on mortgage rates and loan costs

Yahoo Finance uses 2023 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data of 10 million home loan applications to score mortgage lenders on issued mortgage interest rates and total loan costs. We score each lender on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest).

For example, with mortgage rates, a lender with a lower score charged a higher-than-median mortgage interest rate for loans issued in 2023. A higher score would indicate a lender granted lower-than-median home loan interest rates to borrowers in 2023.

With total home loan costs, a lower score would indicate that a lender charged higher-than-median total home loan costs in 2023. A high rating would mean a mortgage lender offered lower-than-median all-in home loan costs in 2023.

Huntington mortgage home loan rates score: 1 out of 5 stars

Huntington mortgage total loan costs score: 5 out of 5 stars

What this means: Huntington offered a much higher-than-median mortgage rate of 6.875% but a much lower-than-median total loan cost of $4,261.45 to borrowers in 2023.

Huntington mortgage application

Huntington uses a third-party provider to power its online application. It's a generic, white-label product many lenders use, so the experience will not be surprising.

There are no claims of a quick approval, fast funding, or any other gimmicks that some lenders use to get a potential borrower to jump into an application. It does say that the application process involves a "comprehensive analysis of the customer's current financial situation" and requires plenty of documentation.

It's an honest reality check for those thinking that applying for a mortgage is no small task.

Huntington mortgage preapproval

Mortgage preapproval is based on typical lender requirements: debt-to-income ratio (DTI), credit history, and asset confirmation. Again, Huntington rightfully makes no promises for anything that's fast or easy.

Read more: What documents do I need for mortgage loan preapproval?

Huntington mortgage calculators and home-buying tools

This is where Huntington stands out. The site has a broad selection of financial education under the Learn tab.

Clicking through the menus takes you to a Home & Auto section that provides articles that address all the basics: the hidden costs of buying a home, how to find the right real estate agent, what to consider when renovating a house — things like that.

The home calculator page has 19 calcs. What?! Who knew there could be so many? But the topics are compelling:

• How much can I borrow?

• What will my closing costs be?

• What will my refinancing costs be?

• What home can I afford?

• Should I pay points to lower the rate?

They are all simple-to-use, graphic-first calculators.

The Huntington site has tons of articles and a lot to learn. It's well done but lacks a little graphic punch. A site search revealed videos that were mostly to be used internally or as business-to-business tools.

If Huntington wanted to enrich their educational offerings, we would suggest consumer-targeted videos, glossaries, and more visual learning tools.

Dig deeper: Use Yahoo Finance’s monthly mortgage payment calculator

Huntington mortgage pros and cons

Pros

• Huntington gets Yahoo Finance's 5-star score in the Loan Costs category for offering well-below-median loan costs.

• Informative articles and 19 calculators earn Huntington 4 stars in our Online Features category.

• Everything but a low-down-payment conventional loan earns Huntington 4 stars for Affordability.

Cons

• Rate transparency garners an average 3-star score for Huntington. They offer only two location-specific sample rates, which have limited use for a national audience.

• Huntington has a record of well-above-median interest rates in Yahoo Finance's 2023 HMDA analysis.

Learn more: Believe it or not, you can get a mortgage with only 1% down

How Huntington mortgage compares to other mortgage lenders

Huntington mortgage vs. Fifth Third Bank mortgage

Fifth Third Bank, another regional bank based in Ohio, also has a compelling list of home loan options. And, like Huntington, Fifth Third offers down payment and closing costs programs to qualified borrowers in the states it serves.

The two banks are similar in another important area: According to a Yahoo Finance analysis, both Fifth Third and Huntington offered higher-than-median home loan interest rates and lower-than-median loan costs in 2023. If you live in an overlapping service area for the banks, it would be interesting to get a mortgage estimate from both to see which has the best overall combination of interest rates and lender fees.

Fifth Third Bank mortgage review

Huntington Bank mortgage vs. Flagstar Bank mortgage

Another bank that has spread far from its Midwestern roots is Michigan-based Flagstar. A strong contender in government-backed loans, Flagstar has a versatile and helpful mortgage rate tool.

While Huntington doesn't offer much for mortgage rate shopping, it is a competitive government-backed loan provider and limits VA loan closing costs. Consider shopping both lenders for your best offer.

Flagstar Bank mortgage review

Huntington mortgage FAQs

Does Huntington Bank have a good reputation?

We've checked for significant consumer-oriented actions in the past five years, and there are none. The Better Business Bureau rates Huntington as A+ but notes an inquiry regarding customer welcome letters, though it determined the communication was legit. However, nearly 400 BBB customers give the lender an average rating of only one star.

What credit score do you need for a Huntington Bank mortgage?

Huntington offers an entire page of credit score FAQs but does not indicate a minimum score to be approved for a mortgage. It does say that a FICO score below 580 "demonstrates to lenders that this consumer is a very risky borrower." Remember, too, that credit score minimums vary by loan type.

Is it hard to get a Huntington loan?

Mortgage approval standards, particularly for conventional and government-backed loans, do not vary widely among lenders. There may be slight differences in credit score minimums or debt-to-income ratios, but generally you will likely find that Huntington loan approvals are no harder to get than with any other lender.

Where is Huntington mortgage based?

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated is based in Columbus, Ohio. As a depository institution, it offers banking, lending, and wealth management services to individuals and businesses.

Methodology:

Yahoo Finance reviews and scores mortgage lenders with quintile scoring in five primary categories: 1) Interest rates. Using 2023 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data comprised of 10 million home loan applications, we score mortgage lenders on issued mortgage rates below or above the annual median of reporting lenders. 2) Affordability. A measure of loan product availability and the willingness of a lender to offer government-backed loans, low down payments, down payment assistance, and consideration of nontraditional credit. 3) Loan costs. HMDA data is again analyzed, and lenders are rated based on total loan costs compared to the annual median. 4) Rate transparency. The ability of a website user to obtain a mortgage interest rate estimate. We score lenders based on whether rates are enhanced with discount points or high credit score requirements, disclaimers revealing rate assumptions, sample advertised rates, and whether adjustable or no discount point rate estimates are available. 5) Online features. An analysis of the educational material, calculators, and additional resources available to users.

Review of Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) data on regulatory actions can trigger a penalty to the score of any lender with a consumer mortgage-related administrative or enforcement action within the past five years.

Advertisers or sponsorships do not influence ratings.

Editorial disclosure for mortgages:

The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The details on financial products, including interest rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the lender's website for the most current information. This site doesn't include all currently available offers.

This article was edited by Laura Grace Tarpley.