Home financing in Shelby County.
County-by-county financing guides. No paperwork. No social. No ID.
20 institutions are headquartered inside the Shelby County line, Memphis included, and 5 more keep a branch here. Below, we say which is which.
Not this lane? Business FinancingPersonal Financing
The doors in Shelby 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.
- 25
- DOORS HERE
- 20
- BASED HERE
- 59
- TN COUNTIES WITH DOORS
- Lane
- Home Financing
- People
- 930Kresidents of Shelby County
- Covers
- Memphis
- Elsewhere in TN
- Davidson County →17 doors — the biggest list of any other county in Tennessee
- State
- Tennessee →59 of 95 counties hold a door in this lane
Certified by the U.S. Treasury to lend where a bank will not. Nonprofit, patient, and used to a file that is not clean.
Hope Credit Union · Orion Credit UnionOwned by their members, not by shareholders. They look at your whole story rather than a score, and that is the difference when a bank says no.
American Spirit Credit Union · F a a Credit Union- F a a Credit UnionPersonal · Home
- Fedex Employees Credit AssociationPersonal · Home
- Fedtrust Credit UnionPersonal · Home
- First South Financial Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Healthnet Credit UnionPersonal · Home
- IN THIS LIST
6 of the 25 doors inside the county line are CDFI-certified.
The U.S. Treasury certifies them to lend to the people banks pass over. It is a loan, not a favour.
- Kimberly Clark Credit UnionPersonal · Home
- L G & W Credit UnionPersonal · Home
- Memphis City Employees Credit UnionPersonal · Home
Show the other 12Show fewer
- Methodist Healthcare Credit UnionPersonal · Home
- Orion Credit UnionCDFI-certifiedPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Securcommunity Credit UnionPersonal · Home
- Southern Security Credit UnionCDFI-certifiedPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Banc3 Holdings, Inc.Community lending
- River City Capital Investment, LLC.Community lending · Business capital
- Bank3Personal · Business capital
- Bulab Employees Credit UnionPersonal
- Kennedy Va Employees Credit UnionPersonal
- Memphis Municipal Employees Credit UnionMinority depositoryPersonal
- Olivet Baptist Credit UnionMinority depositoryPersonal
- Tva Mid-South Credit UnionPersonal
Based elsewhere, with a member-facing office inside the Shelby County line. You can walk in.
- American Spirit Credit UnionMinority depositoryPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Hope Credit UnionCDFI-certifiedMinority depositoryPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Leaders Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Southeast Financial Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- U. T. 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 - 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.
Memphis is one of the few big American cities where a working family can still realistically buy a house — and one of the places where out-of-state investors, contract-for-deed sellers and rental scammers work hardest to get there first. This guide explains how home financing works in Shelby County, who qualifies, what to bring, which lenders and credit unions are actually based here, the Tennessee rules that matter at closing and after, and the deals to walk away from.
It's a process, not a rejection.
Home financing is a handful of different products, and the right one depends on what you are buying and how you earn.
- A conventional mortgage — the standard loan, for buyers with steady documented income and decent credit.
- An FHA-insured mortgage — federally insured, more forgiving of thin credit and small down payments. Requires a Social Security number and lawful residency.
- A VA loan — for veterans and service members, often with no down payment.
- A portfolio or ITIN mortgage — a loan a bank, credit union or community lender keeps on its own books. This is where most ITIN borrowers find a yes, usually with a larger down payment and a higher rate.
- Down payment assistance — from the state housing agency or a local program, often a second loan that is deferred or forgiven over time.
- Repair and rehab loans — for a roof, an HVAC system, a sewer line or foundation work on a house you own or are buying.
Shelby County's housing tells you which tools you will need. Much of Memphis is older single-family housing — brick ranches and cottages in Frayser, Raleigh, Whitehaven, Hickory Hill and Berclair, older bungalows closer to Midtown — with newer subdivisions out in Cordova, Bartlett, Collierville and Arlington.
Prices inside Memphis remain within reach for many working families, which is exactly why large investors buy here at scale.
An older house that is cheap to buy can be expensive to keep: budget for a real inspection, a camera down the sewer line, a hard look at the roof and HVAC, and a flood-zone check if you are near the Wolf River or Nonconnah Creek.
Many buyers here are also small landlords — a crew leader buying a duplex, a family helping a cousin with the house next door. A two-to-four unit building can usually be financed as an owner-occupied home if you live in one unit, which is almost always a better loan than an investor product.
Forget what the banks say.
Mortgage underwriters want stable income, a record of paying on time, money for the down payment and closing costs, and a debt load that leaves room for the house.
- 01**The warehouse
Hub or hospital worker.** Shift work at the air cargo hub, in distribution centers or in the medical district — two years of steady pay stubs and W-2s is the easiest file to approve, overtime included if it has been consistent.
- 02**The 1099 roofer
Remodeler or driver.** Lenders average two years of net income from your tax returns, after write-offs. Every deduction that saved you taxes also shrinks the income a lender can count. Plan with your tax preparer a year ahead of buying.
- 03**The restaurant or hospitality worker
** Reported tips count. Cash tips that never reached a return do not exist to an underwriter.
- 04**The ITIN filer
** FHA and most conventional programs are closed to you, but portfolio and community lenders can say yes. Expect a larger down payment, two years of tax returns filed with your ITIN, and a long, clean record of rent and bills.
- 05**The mixed-status household
** Who goes on the loan and who goes on the title changes which programs you can use. Ask a housing counselor before deciding.
- 06**The would-be landlord
** A second property needs reserves and a larger down payment. Start with an owner-occupied duplex if you can.
- MISSING ONE?Ask Iris which one you're missing.ASK A QUESTION ↓
Get your papers in order.
Gather these once, keep them current, and the process moves.
- 01Government photo ID
- 02Social Security number or ITIN, with the IRS letter that assigned it
- 03Two years of federal tax returns, with all W-2s and 1099s
- 04Recent pay stubs
Or a year-to-date profit-and-loss if you are self-employed
- 05Two to three months of statements for every bank account, with any large deposit explained in writing
- 06Twelve months of rent history
Bank transfers, canceled checks, or a landlord letter
- 07Proof of where the down payment comes from
Including a signed gift letter if family is helping
- 08For self-employed buyers
Tennessee business registration and business tax license
- 09For a duplex or small multifamily: current leases and a rent roll
- 10For a repair loan: written bids from a licensed contractor
- 11Your homebuyer education certificate, if you are using an assistance program
- MISSING ONE?Ask Iris which one you're missing.ASK A QUESTION ↓
The doors worth knowing.
Start with free advice, then go to the institutions whose mission is lending where mainstream lenders do not. HUD-approved housing counseling first. A HUD-approved housing counseling agency will review your credit, budget and options at no cost, and most assistance programs require their homebuyer class.
ALL 25 DOORS, BY NAME AND BY TOWN- 25
- DOORS HERE
- 78
- ACROSS TN
Based in Jackson, Mississippi. A credit union — owned by its members rather than by shareholders, which is exactly what changes the conversation after a bank has said no. It is CDFI-certified, and it is a minority depository.
BEST FORA personal loan, or building a credit file from nothing, and buying, repairing or refinancing a home.Based in Memphis, Tennessee. A member-owned credit union, which means the people deciding on your file answer to depositors in the same towns you work in. It is CDFI-certified.
BEST FORBuying, repairing or refinancing a home, and working capital, equipment and payroll for a small business.Based in Collierville, Tennessee. A credit union: no shareholders to satisfy, and a habit of reading a whole story rather than a single score. It is CDFI-certified.
BEST FORWorking capital, equipment and payroll for a small business, and a personal loan, or building a credit file from nothing.Based in Memphis, Tennessee. 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 FORBuying, repairing or refinancing a home, and a personal loan, or building a credit file from nothing.
Don't fall into these traps.
These deals turn up often on older Memphis houses. You pay the seller directly, the deed stays in their name, and you usually carry the repairs on an old house you do not own. Miss a payment and many contracts let the seller keep everything. Have a real estate attorney or housing counselor read it first.
Scammers copy real listings and collect deposits on houses they do not own. Never send money for a house you have not walked through with a verified owner, and check the Register of Deeds yourself.
If you own or inherited a house with equity, expect calls, postcards and door-knocks. Many offers pay a fraction of value. Get an appraisal and a second opinion first.
Real assistance comes through housing agencies and their partner lenders. No one legitimate charges you to apply.
Anyone charging up front to “save your house” is the trap. Your servicer and a HUD-approved counselor are free.
Pay for work in stages as it is completed, to a licensed contractor, under a written contract.
A notary public in the United States is not a lawyer and cannot advise you on a purchase.
Everything below is set by Tennessee, and it reads the same in every county in it. The 25 marks above are this county's own doors — who opens one is decided by them, not by the state.
The rules where you are.
Deeds are recorded with the Shelby County Register of Deeds, and you can look up who legally owns a house there yourself. Do it before you pay anyone anything. Buy an owner's title insurance policy — on older Memphis houses, unreleased liens, tax-sale histories and heirs who never signed off are common.
Inside Memphis you pay property tax to both the city and the county; in the suburbs, to the county and your own municipality. Ask the lender to estimate taxes on the price you are paying rather than the seller's old bill.
Tennessee requires sellers of most homes to give a property disclosure statement or a disclaimer saying the house is sold as-is. An as-is disclaimer is your signal to inspect harder, not less.
Foreclosure in Tennessee usually happens outside of court and can move quickly once it starts. If you fall behind, call your servicer and a HUD-approved counselor at the first missed payment, not the third.
Check the flood map before you fall in love with a house; flood insurance is a separate policy, and in a mapped flood zone your lender will require it.
The Shelby County Land Bank sells tax-forfeited properties, sometimes cheaply, usually with rehab conditions. For a tradesperson who can do the work, it can be a real door — but a gut rehab is financed differently from a move-in-ready house, so line up the money first.
And if you live in DeSoto County or across the river, remember that Tennessee assistance programs apply to Tennessee homes only.
The short version.
- 01
Shelby County is still a place where a working family can own a home — and a place where you have to move carefully, because the predatory side of the market is well organized here. Start with a HUD-approved housing counselor and ask about Tennessee Housing Development Agency programs. Put your savings in the bank and leave it there. Check the Register of Deeds before you pay anyone. Then call Bank3 and one of the CDFI-designated credit unions, and ask about portfolio and ITIN mortgages if you need them.
- 02
Budget for an older house honestly: city and county taxes, a sewer-line camera, a roof and HVAC that may be near the end. If you file with an ITIN, expect a larger down payment and a shorter list, not a closed door. Skip the contract for deed unless an attorney has read it.
- 03
Origen Capital is a directory, not a lender. We do not collect your information, we do not sell it, and we do not take applications. Use this page as a map, then work directly with a licensed lender, a credit union or a housing counselor when you are ready.
Same county, another question.
Business FinancingLoans, lines of credit, and capital for small businesses and contractorsSEE IT IN SHELBY COUNTY →
Personal FinancingPersonal loans, credit building, and ITIN-friendly financing optionsSEE IT IN SHELBY COUNTY →59TN COUNTIES WITH DOORSThe whole stateEvery county in Tennessee, in this same lane.78 institutions fund homes and repairs inside Tennessee 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.