Home financing in Lackawanna County.
County-by-county financing guides. No paperwork. No social. No ID.
4 institutions are headquartered inside the Lackawanna County line, Scranton included, and 2 more keep a branch here. Below, we say which is which.
Not this lane? Business FinancingPersonal Financing
The doors in Lackawanna County.
The CDFIs, credit unions, and microlenders that actually say yes — county by county, in two languages. We are not a lender. Nobody paid to be listed. And where a county has no good doors, we say so.
- 6
- DOORS HERE
- 4
- BASED HERE
- 58
- PA COUNTIES WITH DOORS
- Lane
- Home Financing
- People
- 216Kresidents of Lackawanna County
- Covers
- Scranton
- Elsewhere in PA
- Philadelphia County →36 doors — the biggest list of any other county in Pennsylvania
- State
- Pennsylvania →58 of 67 counties hold a door in this lane
- Net Credit UnionPersonal · Home
- Penn East Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Scranton Downtown Credit UnionPersonal · Home
- Cmc-Fcpi Employees Credit UnionPersonal
Based elsewhere, with a member-facing office inside the Lackawanna County line. You can walk in.
- Choice One Community Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Citymark Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Mission Asset FundAccepts ITIN
Zero-interest lending circles and credit building. SSN or ITIN accepted. Works through nonprofit partners across the country.
Personal - Accion Opportunity FundAccepts ITIN
Nonprofit small-business lender. Accepts ITIN in place of SSN. Serves most states, in English and Spanish.
Business capital - Grameen AmericaAccepts ITIN
Microloans for women entrepreneurs. Requires photo ID and proof of address — no SSN requirement. Branches in major metro areas.
Business capital
How to read this list.
We do not ask for your name, your email, or your number. Nothing on this page changes based on who you are.
A door is headquartered here when its head office sits inside the county line. The rest are based elsewhere and keep a branch you can walk into. We list both, and we label which is which.
Every institution on this page comes from public federal data — the CDFI Fund certified list (Aug 2026), NCUA credit union data (Jun 2026), and the SBA microloan intermediary list (Sep 2026) — plus a short national tier we verified by hand. We refresh each list as its agency publishes. No listing is paid.
Who actually approves home loans in Lackawanna County.
home-purchase applications that reached a decision were turned down: 165 of 1,603.
- Applications
- 1,925
- Loans made
- 1,392
- Median rate
- 6.6%
- Too much debt for the income35.8%
- Credit history22.4%
- The home's value or condition8.5%
- Rocket Mortgage32823621.4%6.4%
- Ixonia Bank2011622.9%6.6%
- The Fidelity Deposit and Discount Bank1791407.9%6.6%
- NBT Bank15211114.7%5%
- Guild Mortgage114932%6.8%
- Crosscountry Mortgage135914.2%6.6%
- Pennymac Loan Services137858.6%6.4%
- United Shore Financial Services1358217.1%6.1%
- Peoples Security Bank and Trust1228019.6%2%
- Net1587830.4%7.8%
The 10 lenders that made the most home loans in Lackawanna County in 2025, buying and refinancing together. The mark on each bar is the whole county's denial rate (19.6%). Home loans only: first-lien, owner-occupied, one-to-four-unit homes, as reported under the federal HMDA law. Small lenders below its reporting threshold — many of the credit unions above — don't report, so their loans aren't counted here. Rates are for loans made. Source: HMDA 2025 public loan records (FFIEC).
Lackawanna County, home to 215,896 people and centered on Scranton, is a market of older homes: two- and three-family houses, row homes, and single-family houses that often need real work. That makes it a place where first-time buyers and small landlords can still get started. This guide explains how home financing works here, who qualifies, what to gather, and which doors exist — four credit unions based in Scranton, two with branches in the county, and free state help for buyers.
It's a process, not a rejection.
Home financing is borrowing to buy, fix, or refinance a home or a rental property. The center of it is the mortgage, a long-term loan secured by the property. Around it are renovation loans that roll repair costs into the purchase, home equity loans and lines of credit, and down payment and closing cost help from the state.
Lackawanna County's housing tells the story of the coal era: dense blocks of older homes in Scranton and the boroughs up and down the valley, many of them two-family doubles where an owner can live on one side and rent the other. For a tradesman, that is a real path — buy a house that needs work, fix it with your own hands, live in half, and let the rent help carry the mortgage.
Older homes come with older systems. Roofs, wiring, heating, foundations, and lead paint all affect what a lender will finance and what an inspector will flag. Knowing which repairs a loan can cover, and which must be done before closing, is half of buying well here.
Forget what the banks say.
Mortgage lenders weigh your credit, your income history, your debts compared to your income, and your down payment. In Lackawanna County, the people who move through most smoothly include:
- Hospital, university, warehouse, and government workers with steady W-2 pay
- Self-employed tradespeople with two years of tax returns showing real income
- First-time buyers using state down payment help and a homebuyer course
- Owner-occupants buying a two- to four-unit property, who can often use owner-occupied loan terms
- Small investors buying a rental outright, who need larger down payments and reserves
If you are self-employed, remember that what you report on your taxes is what the lender will count.
Many Latino families here have Puerto Rican roots and are US citizens with SSNs; they qualify the same as anyone. ITIN holders face fewer mortgage options, so building a readable credit history comes first.
Get your papers in order.
- 01Photo ID and SSN or ITIN
- 02Two years of W-2s or 1099s
- 03Two years of personal tax returns, plus business returns if self-employed
- 04Recent pay stubs or a year-to-date profit-and-loss statement
- 05Two to three months of statements for every bank account
- 06A letter explaining any large deposit that is not a paycheck
- 07Gift letters if family is helping with the down payment
- 08For a two-family purchase
The current lease and rent amount for the other unit
- 09For renovation loans: contractor bids for the work
- MISSING ONE?Ask Iris which one you're missing.ASK A QUESTION ↓
The doors worth knowing.
Four credit unions in our directory are based in Scranton, two more keep branches in the county, and national nonprofits help households build the credit a mortgage requires.
ALL 6 DOORS, BY NAME AND BY TOWN- 6
- DOORS HERE
- 130
- ACROSS PA
Based in Plains Township, Pennsylvania. A credit union — owned by its members rather than by shareholders, which is exactly what changes the conversation after a bank has said no.
BEST FORA personal loan, or building a credit file from nothing, and buying, repairing or refinancing a home.Based in Plains, Pennsylvania. A member-owned credit union, which means the people deciding on your file answer to depositors in the same towns you work in.
BEST FORBuying, repairing or refinancing a home, and working capital, equipment and payroll for a small business.Based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. A credit union: no shareholders to satisfy, and a habit of reading a whole story rather than a single score.
BEST FORA personal loan, or building a credit file from nothing, and buying, repairing or refinancing a home.Based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. A credit union — owned by its members rather than by shareholders, which is exactly what changes the conversation after a bank has said no.
BEST FORA personal loan, or building a credit file from nothing, and buying, repairing or refinancing a home.
Don't fall into these traps.
You pay for years without holding title. One missed payment can wipe out everything.
In this housing stock, a cheap price can hide a failed roof, a bad foundation, or knob-and-tube wiring.
Legitimate loan officers are paid at closing.
Never sign your deed over to someone promising to save your home.
Confirm wiring instructions by phone with your closing agent at a number you already trust.
A notario público in Pennsylvania is not a lawyer and cannot advise you on contracts or loans.
Everything below is set by Pennsylvania, and it reads the same in every county in it. The 6 marks above are this county's own doors — who opens one is decided by them, not by the state.
The rules where you are.
Pennsylvania charges a realty transfer tax when property changes hands, and buyer and seller commonly split it. Ask your agent to show it on your estimate early so it does not surprise you at closing.
This is coal country. Pennsylvania runs a state mine subsidence insurance program for homes over old mine workings, and many homeowners in the anthracite region carry it. Ask about it before you buy.
Pennsylvania uses a court-based foreclosure process, and the state housing finance agency runs an emergency mortgage assistance program for homeowners who fall behind through no fault of their own. If you get behind, call a housing counselor right away.
Check the city or borough rules before buying a rental. Scranton and other municipalities may require rental registration and inspections.
The short version.
- 01
Lackawanna County is one of the places where a working family or a tradesman can still buy a house, especially a two-family that helps pay for itself. Four credit unions are based in Scranton, two more keep branches here, and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and HUD-approved counselors help first-time buyers.
- 02
Get your credit and tax returns in order, inspect carefully, ask about mine subsidence insurance, and get pre-approved before you shop.
- 03
Origen Capital is a directory, not a lender. We do not collect your information or sell you anything. Use this guide as a starting point and work directly with the institution when you are ready.
Same county, another question.
Business FinancingLoans, lines of credit, and capital for small businesses and contractorsSEE IT IN LACKAWANNA COUNTY →
Personal FinancingPersonal loans, credit building, and ITIN-friendly financing optionsSEE IT IN LACKAWANNA COUNTY →58PA COUNTIES WITH DOORSThe whole stateEvery county in Pennsylvania, in this same lane.130 institutions fund homes and repairs inside Pennsylvania county lines.OPEN THE STATE →Still don't see your situation?
Ask Iris. She'll explain it the way it should have been explained the first time.