When a homeowner applies for financing through Hearth, their application does not go to one lender. It goes to 18 or more lending partners simultaneously. This is the core mechanic that makes Hearth different from most contractor financing platforms, and it is the reason Hearth’s approval rates run 70 to 85 percent while single-lender platforms often land in the 50 to 65 percent range. Here is how it actually works.
Single Application, Multiple Lenders Explained
When a homeowner submits the pre-qual form through Hearth, the platform broadcasts that application to its full network of 18-plus lending partners in a single request. Each lender in the network evaluates the application against their own underwriting criteria and returns an offer (or a declination) simultaneously. The homeowner sees whatever offers come back, sorted by terms.
This is fundamentally different from what happens when a homeowner walks into a Home Depot and applies for GreenSky financing. GreenSky routes through a single primary lender (or a very limited set). If that lender’s criteria says no, the application fails. There is no second attempt built into the system.
Why a 550 FICO Applicant Gets Approved Through Hearth’s Network
Every lender in Hearth’s network has slightly different underwriting criteria. Some lenders specialize in near-prime borrowers and are comfortable with FICO scores in the 550-600 range, particularly when income and debt-to-income ratios are reasonable. Others specialize in prime borrowers and would decline anyone under 680.
When a homeowner with a 572 FICO applies through Hearth, the application hits both of those lenders at the same time. The prime lender declines. The near-prime lender says yes at a higher interest rate. The homeowner sees that offer and can choose to accept it or not. Without Hearth’s multi-lender model, that homeowner would have been declined with a single-lender platform and the job would have died.
The Waterfall vs Simultaneous Model
Some financing platforms use a waterfall model: they route to lender 1 first, wait for a response, then route to lender 2 if lender 1 declines, and so on. This is slow and the homeowner sees a sequential process that feels like rejection. Hearth’s model is simultaneous, so all lenders respond at once and the homeowner gets a full picture of their options in one session, usually in under 60 seconds.
The practical effect: the homeowner sitting in your kitchen waiting on results sees multiple offers pop up at once rather than watching a “checking more options” spinner that signals they were just declined somewhere.
What Determines Which Lender Offer Appears at the Top
Hearth’s interface presents loan offers in a way that emphasizes the monthly payment. Offers with lower monthly payments (typically longer terms) appear prominently. The homeowner is not reading lender names or digging through APR comparisons. They see loan amounts, term lengths, estimated monthly payments, and APR. Most homeowners pick based on monthly payment, not total interest cost over the life of the loan. This is consistent with how people buy cars and choose mortgages.
The Soft Pull Mechanism
The initial pre-qualification uses a soft credit pull. This means the credit bureaus record the inquiry, but it does not affect the homeowner’s credit score. The homeowner can see their loan options with zero downside risk from a credit perspective. Only when the homeowner selects a specific offer and accepts it does a hard pull occur to finalize the loan terms. This two-step approach eliminates the main objection most homeowners have to applying for financing in front of a contractor: fear of damaging their credit score.
Approval Rates: 70-85% vs Single-Lender Platforms
Hearth’s published approval rate is 70 to 85 percent. For context, single-lender contractor financing platforms typically run 50 to 65 percent. The difference is almost entirely explained by the multi-lender model. More lenders with different risk appetites means more applicants find at least one lender willing to approve them.
For contractors, this translates to fewer awkward “the financing didn’t go through” conversations in the home. When you have a 70 to 85 percent approval rate, financing becomes reliable enough to build into your sales process as a standard step, not a hopeful gamble.
What Happens When Nobody Approves
Roughly 15 to 30 percent of applicants will not receive any approved offers from Hearth’s network. This usually happens with FICO scores below 550, high existing debt loads, or income that does not support the requested loan amount. When this happens:
- Ask if there is a co-applicant (spouse, partner, family member) with stronger credit
- Discuss a smaller project scope that requires a smaller loan amount
- Suggest the homeowner look into a personal loan or HELOC through their own bank, which may have different approval criteria
- Offer a payment plan directly if the job size and your cash flow support it
A declined application does not mean the job is dead. It means the financing route did not work, and you need a backup plan.
Practical Implication: Fewer Declined Conversations in the Home
The single biggest operational benefit of Hearth’s lender network for contractors is that it reduces the frequency of the most uncomfortable moment in contractor sales: telling a homeowner their financing did not go through. That conversation kills deals, creates awkwardness, and wastes time. At 70 to 85 percent approval rates, you can introduce financing to every qualifying homeowner with confidence that most of them will see at least one workable offer. The conversations that do end in declination are the exception, not the rule.
Bottom Line
Hearth’s 18-lender network is not a marketing line. It is the structural reason the platform outperforms single-lender alternatives on approval rates. The simultaneous multi-lender model, combined with a soft-pull pre-qual, creates a friction-free way to offer financing that converts at a higher rate than anything built around a single underwriting source. For contractors who do high-ticket residential work, that approval rate difference translates directly into closed jobs that would have otherwise died at the financing question. For more on how Hearth compares to GreenSky specifically, see our full Hearth vs GreenSky breakdown.
Ready to See If Hearth Makes Sense for Your Business?
Hearth gives contractors access to 18 plus lenders at a flat annual rate with no per-job dealer fees. If you finance more than $36,000 in projects per year, the math almost always works in your favor.