Our experts answer readers' home-buying questions and write unbiased product reviews (here's how we assess mortgages). In some cases, we receive a commission from our partners; however, our opinions are our own.
Not all mortgage lenders are alike. Shopping around and comparing mortgage rates from multiple lenders can help borrowers save money on their monthly mortgage payments and ensure they have a good experience buying or refinancing a home.
As you shop for a mortgage lender, consider both the rates you're offered as well as other costs you'll pay, including lender fees or discount points. Think about what additional features are important to you, too, such as an easy online application or other digital tools.
To make your search for the best lender easier, Personal Finance Insider has picked mortgage lenders that are affordable, thrive in customer satisfaction, and offer a variety of types of mortgages to meet different borrowers' needs.
The Best Mortgage Lenders
- Northpointe Bank: Best overall
- Rocket Mortgage: Best for customer service
- Navy Federal Credit Union: Best credit union
- Veterans United: Best for veterans
- Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation: Best for renovation loans
- Guild Mortgage: Best for variety of options
- New American Funding: Best for non-traditional credit
- NBKC Bank: Best for a simple, online process
- Bank of America: Best for down payment assistance
- Carrington Mortgage Services: Best for low credit scores
- Chase: Best for low-income borrowers
- Truist: Best for affordable mortgage options
- Third Federal Savings and Loan: Best for low closing costs
Compare the Best Mortgage Lenders
Best Mortgage Lenders Frequently Asked Questions
There's truly no single best mortgage lender; the best mortgage lender for you is the one that you qualify with that offers the type of mortgage you're looking for and can give you the best deal in terms of its interest rates and fees.
To find the lowest rates, you'll need to get preapproved with multiple lenders to get rate quotes based on your credit, finances, and location. This will enable you to accurately compare lenders' rates.
In terms of the volume of loans originated, Rocket Mortgage was the top lender in the US in 2021, according to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. However, just because a lender makes up a large share of the market doesn't mean it's the right lender for you.
The answer could change by the day. Take a look at Insider's daily mortgage rate updates to see the average mortgage rates for various term lengths. If you have a good financial profile but a lender is charging you a higher rate than today's national average, you may want to look elsewhere.
Yes. You should apply for preapproval with more than one mortgage lender to compare the rates and features you're being offered to make sure you're getting the best deal.
Some lenders charge a fee to apply for a mortgage. This fee can cost as much as $500 up front and is typically non-refundable. Not all lenders charge the same fees, which is why it's important to not only consider the rate a lender is offering you, but the overall cost as well.
The most reliable way to find the best mortgage lender is to pick out a few different lenders that offer loans and features you're looking for and get preapproved with each of them. That way, you can compare rates and fees and get a sense of which lender you'd prefer to work with.
Many mortgage lenders like to advertise that they have the fastest closing times, but how quickly you get through the process with any given lender really depends on the details of your loan, including the type of mortgage you're getting. If being quick is important to you, look for lenders that are known for having good, responsive customer service, and prepare all your documentation ahead of time so you don't hold up the process.
To get a better rate, aim to have a credit score of at least 700 and a debt-to-income ratio of 36% or less. Having a larger down payment can also help you snag a lower rate.
Mortgage lenders specialize in lending. Banks focus on several areas, including personal banking, lending, and investments. There isn't a clear better choice. Consider whether you want to work with a bank you already do business with, or if you prefer to work with a mortgage lender that has an easy online process.
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Northpointe Bank Home Lending
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Rocket Mortgage
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Navy Federal Credit Union Mortgage
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Veterans United Home Loans
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Fairway Independent Mortgage
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Guild Mortgage
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New American Funding
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NBKC Bank Mortgage
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Bank of America Mortgage
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Carrington Mortgage Services
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Chase Mortgage
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Truist Home Mortgage
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Third Federal Savings and Loan Mortgage
Mortgage Lender Reviews
Best Overall
Northpointe Bank
Northpointe Bank is our top pick thanks to its huge variety of mortgages to choose from, including specialty loan options that allow 0% down payments, recent credit events, and more. It has good online customer reviews and lots of features to suit the needs of many different types of borrowers.
What to look out for: You'll need to fill out a form with your contact info to get a personalized rate quote. Not all of its products are available in every state.
Best for Customer Service
Rocket Mortgage
Rocket Mortgage offers a quick, easy online experience and has mortgages with terms as short as eight years. It also has a track record of providing excellent customer service, ranking as the top lender for customer satisfaction in J.D. Power's 2022 US Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study.
Rocket also recently started offering a few different affordable mortgage options, including its ONE+ mortgage, which combines a 1% down payment with a 2% grant from the lender.
What to look out for: Its loan options are relatively limited, and it doesn't have any in-person branches. You'll also need to earn 80% or less of the area median income to qualify for a ONE+ mortgage.
Best Credit Union
Navy Federal Credit Union
Navy Federal Credit Union is a great choice for military-affiliated homebuyers, whether they're looking for a VA loan or another type of mortgage. Its Homebuyers Choice mortgage, for example, is a conventional mortgage with no down payment required and no mortgage insurance.
Navy Federal received a high score in customer satisfaction from J.D. Power, but didn't rank in the annual study because it doesn't meet certain criteria.
What to look out for: The BBB gives Navy Federal an NR (No Rating) because it's currently responding to complaints that were previously closed. You can only become a member of Navy Federal Credit Union if you or your family is affiliated with the military, you are a Department of Defense civilian personnel or contractor, or you live with a Navy Federal member.
Best for Veterans
Veterans United
Veterans United is one of the best VA mortgage lenders in the US, and it ranks very high in customer satisfaction according to J.D. Power. It's a good option for several types of mortgages, but VA loans are its strongest products. It could also be a good fit if you have a poor credit score, since it offers free credit counseling.
What to look out for: Veterans United shows some sample mortgage rates that can be customized by credit score, but to see a more personalized rate quote, you'll need to provide contact information.
Best for Renovation Loans
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation provides many types of home loans and has several term lengths to choose from. It also offers both conventional renovation loans and FHA 203(k) rehabilitation mortgages, giving homebuyers purchasing a fixer upper a range of mortgage options to choose from.
This lender offers a digital closing option, giving borrowers the ability to have a quick, remote closing experience. You may also be able to use non-traditional credit when applying with this lender.
What to look out for: Fairway Independent doesn't show any rates online, not even sample rates. To see what rate you might pay with this lender, you'll need to talk to a loan officer or apply for preapproval.
Best for Variety of Options
Guild Mortgage
Guild Mortgage frequently ranks on our "best of" mortgage guides, thanks to its huge variety of mortgage offerings. Borrowers can get a mortgage from this lender using non-traditional credit, such as rent payment history, if they don't have a traditional credit score. Guild also offers a hybrid digital closing option.
What to look out for: Guild doesn't display any rates online, making it difficult to get an idea of exactly how affordable this lender it.
Best for Non-Traditional Credit
New American Funding
New American Funding offers a couple of unique mortgage options, including its I CAN mortgage. The I CAN mortgage lets you choose any mortgage term length from eight to 30 years. This level of customization means you can choose a term that's long enough that your monthly payments remain affordable, but short enough that you save money on interest.
New American Funding accepts non-traditional credit from borrowers who have no score on some of its mortgages.
What to look out for: New American Funding doesn't originate mortgages in Hawaii or New York. It also doesn't offer a way to see personalized rates online, though it does display a few sample rates.
Best for a Simple, Online Process
NBKC Bank
NBKC Bank makes it easy to get a customized mortgage rate using its rate calculator. Its application process is simple, convenient, and can be completed online. It also has a unique mortgage program available for pilots.
What to look out for: Its mortgage offerings are fairly basic. This lender does offer HELOCs, but they're only available in the Kansas City metro area.
Best for Down Payment Assistance
Bank of America
Bank of America has robust offerings for lower-income borrowers, making it one of our favorite lenders, particularly for first-time homebuyers. With Bank of America, you could get up to $7,500 in closing cost assistance and up to $10,000 in down payment assistance. If you already have an account with Bank of America, you may be able to get a discount on your origination fee.
The lender's Community Affordable Loan Solution is an extremely affordable mortgage aimed at first-time homebuyers. It requires no down payment, closing costs, or mortgage insurance and it has no minimum credit score requirement.
What to look out for: To qualify for Bank of America's Community Affordable Loan Solution, you'll need to live in a "designated market," which includes some historically Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Charlotte, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Miami. You'll also need to meet income limits.
Best for Low Credit Scores
Carrington Mortgage Services
Carrington Mortgage Services is one of our favorite lenders for borrowers with low credit scores. It has flexible credit requirements on many of its mortgages, and government-backed mortgage borrowers can get a loan from Carrington with a score as low as 500.
You can also get a Carrington Flexible Advantage mortgage, which allows borrowers with credit scores as low as 550 and recent negative credit events to get a mortgage.
What to look out for: Carrington doesn't lend in Massachusetts or North Dakota. It also doesn't show its rates online.
Carrington has an NR, or "no rating" from the BBB because the lender is in the process of responding to previously closed complaints. Additionally, in November 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered Carrington to pay $5.25 million in fines for supposedly violating borrowers' CARES Act rights. The CFPB claims that the lender misled borrowers seeking CARES Act forbearance and denied them key protections provided by the pandemic-era law.
Best for Low-Income Borrowers
Chase
Chase is another of our favorite lenders for cash-strapped first-time homebuyers. The Chase DreaMaker mortgage is an affordable option for lower-income borrowers, with a minimum down payment requirement of just 3% and flexible credit guidelines. Its Homebuyer Grant program also gives out up to $5,000.
Chase ranks No. 2 on J.D. Power's Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study.
What to look out for: Chase's mortgage offerings are relatively basic. To qualify for a DreaMaker mortgage, you'll need to meet income limits.
Best for Affordable Mortgage Options
Truist
Truist is one of our most highly-rated mortgage lenders, and if offers a number of affordable mortgages low or no down payment options for both first-time and subsequent homebuyers.
Truist's Community Homeownership Incentive Program is an extremely affordable mortgage for those who qualify, offering up to 100% financing in certain areas and 97% financing everywhere else with no PMI. It's one of our favorite loans for first-time homebuyers.
What to look out for: Truist lacks transparency when it comes to its rates and fees.
Best for Low Closing Costs
Third Federal Savings and Loan
Third Federal Savings and Loan offers a wide range of unique benefits to its mortgage borrowers, including low down payment mortgages with no PMI and generous down payment assistance offerings. This lender also offers a Low Cost Mortgage option where you pay only $295 in closing costs — however, you will pay a slightly higher rate with this option.
What to look out for: Third Federal is only available in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, and Washington, DC. Its only physical branches are in Ohio and Florida.
It also doesn't offer any government-backed mortgages.
Other Mortgage Lenders That Didn't Make the Cut and Why
We examined over two dozen mortgage lenders. In picking the best of the best, we looked for lenders that satisfied our methodology criteria and had offerings to meet the needs of a wide variety of borrowers. Some of the ones that didn't make our list had weaknesses like having limited loan options or ranking low in customer satisfaction.
Here are the lenders we chose not to include:
- USAA Mortgage: This is a good option for VA loans, but it doesn't offer other types of mortgages.
- Regions: You might like using Regions, but the bank only has branches in certain parts of the US.
- Citibank Mortgage: This bank received good customer satisfaction ratings from J.D. Power, but an F from the BBB.
- Better Mortgage: A good option if you want an easy-to-use online lender, but its loan options are relatively limited.
- SoFi Mortgage: SoFi is another worthwhile choice for conventional mortgages, but you can't get an FHA, USDA, or VA loan.
- Paramount Bank: You might like Paramount as an online lender, but it doesn't offer as many mortgage types as our top picks.
- Pennymac Mortgage: Pennymac offers a variety of mortgage types, but it ranks low on J.D. Power's customer satisfaction survey.
- Flagstar Bank Mortgage: This bank has received an A+ from the BBB, but J.D. Power has ranked it pretty low on customer satisfaction.
- Mr. Cooper Mortgage: This lender offers several types of loans, but J.D. Power ranks it low for customer satisfaction.
- Alliant Credit Union Mortgage: This is a good online lender with conventional mortgages and HELOCs, but it doesn't have FHA, USDA, or VA mortgages.
- Caliber Home Loans Mortgage: You can find lenders with better customer satisfaction ratings from J.D. Power.
- Loan Depot Mortgage: Loan Depot isn't accredited by the BBB, and it doesn't offer USDA loans.
- Guaranteed Rate Mortgage: You might like Guaranteed Rate, but it only has an A- from the BBB.
- Freedom Mortgage: This lender has a variety of mortgage types, but J.D. Power ranks it low for customer satisfaction.
- Wells Fargo Mortgage: Due to some recent scandals, Wells Fargo has received an F in trustworthiness from the BBB.
- US Bank Mortgage: This is a strong lender for home equity loans and HELOCs, but it ranked low on J.D. Power's 2021 survey.
- PNC Bank Mortgage: PNC has a good range of mortgage types to choose from, but its special features aren't as strong as many of the lenders that made our list.
Why You Should Trust Us: Our Expert Panel on Choosing the Best Mortgage Lender
To help you learn more about homebuying, mortgages, and lenders, four experts weighed in:
- Anthony Park, author of "How to Buy Your Perfect First Home"
- Lauryn Williams, certified financial planner, founder of Worth Winning Financial Planning
- Julie Aragon, mortgage broker, founder of Aragon Lending Team
- Molly Grace, mortgage reporter at Personal Finance Insider
Here's their advice about how to evaluate mortgage lenders, and how to decide which type of mortgage is best for you. (Some text may be lightly edited for clarity.)
What factors should someone take into consideration when choosing a mortgage lender?
Anthony Park, author:
"The canned answer is to just go with the lowest rate. However, you also want to take into account who's going to serve your loan best. Are repayments going to be easy for you? Who is most likely to be able to help you if you need to take out a HELOC or refinance later, versus somebody who's more of a one-off type?
"They may have the lowest rates to get you involved, but they might have very, very little hand holding after the fact. I wouldn't recommend paying an exorbitant amount more for potential services in the future, but just don't always necessarily go with the rock-bottom lowest rate. There's sometimes a cost with that."
Molly Grace, Personal Finance Insider:
"Remember that you're not just choosing a mortgage lender — you're also building a homebuying team. To snag the home you want in this competitive market, you need a lender that can move quickly and has good communication with you and your real estate agent.
When I was looking for a house, I was able to text my loan officer (whom my real estate agent recommended) and get quick replies when I had questions or needed an updated preapproval letter for an offer. As you compare lenders, pay attention to how responsive they are, and ask your agent if they have any experience with the lenders you're considering."
How can someone decide between a conventional mortgage vs. a government-backed mortgage?
Molly Grace, Personal Finance Insider
"An FHA mortgage is a really helpful option for borrowers with low scores or kind of rocky credit histories. But if you have great credit, you may get a better rate and pay less for mortgage insurance on a conventional mortgage.
VA mortgages are really great deals. If you qualify for one, you should definitely go for it. You get zero down with no mortgage insurance — plus some of the best rates available."
Julie Aragon, Aragon Lending Team:
"The most common government loan that's widely available to almost everyone is the FHA loan. There's a couple of reasons why somebody would go with FHA instead of conventional one. Their credit is a little on the crummy side, let's say below 700. You can get conventional with down to a 620 score, but the mortgage insurance gets really expensive. FHA doesn't discriminate — no matter how perfect or crappy your credit is, the mortgage insurance is the same."
How can someone know whether they're financially ready to buy a home?
Lauryn Williams, CFP:
"You should have funds left over after everything is said and done as it pertains to purchasing the home. So if you don't have an emergency fund plus a down payment, you're probably not ready to purchase a home. Another thing I think about is credit card debt. While you can be approved for a mortgage with credit card debt and student loans and very little cash on hand, you put yourself in a very risky situation."
Molly Grace, Personal Finance Insider
"You have to be ready to dedicate a chunk of your budget to homeownership — and I don't mean your mortgage payment. When you own your house, there's always something that needs taking care of, especially in the first year. We got to our new house on moving day to find that the A/C was out. We paid $700 to have it fixed."
Methodology: How Did We Choose the Best Mortgage Lenders?
To choose the top mortgage lenders of September 2023, we looked at five main factors:
- Variety of loan types. Conventional loans, government-backed loans, and jumbo loans are some of the most common mortgages offered by lenders. We looked for lenders that offer these basics, and we also considered whether they offer more niche types of loans — such as renovation loans, home equity loans or HELOCs, or specialty loans (mortgages that are unique to a specific lender).
- Customer satisfaction. If the lender appeared in the J.D. Power 2022 Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study, we looked at its ranking. If it wasn't in the survey, then we read online customer reviews.
- Affordability. We looked at lenders' minimum credit scores and down payment amounts. We also checked whether they offer government-backed loans, which can be more affordable for borrowers with less-than-perfect financial profiles. Finally, we looked at whether they have any flexible credit guidelines. This could include allowing borrowers to have recent negative events, such as bankruptcy or foreclosure, on their credit reports, or accepting non-traditional credit, like utility bills and rent payments, in lieu of a traditional credit score.
- Ethics. Almost all of our top picks received an A+ from the Better Business Bureau, which measures companies' trustworthiness. We also researched and considered any scandals in the past three years.
- Attractive features. There are thousands of mortgage lenders in the US, and many of them will do a satisfactory job helping you purchase your next home. But the best lenders have extras that make them stand out; things like down payment assistance, rate matching, or the ability to pick the exact number of years you want your loan term to be.