Online Mortgage Lenders and Tips in Finding them

Quicken Loans is a well-known mortgage lender with large online and TV advertising campaigns touting the benefits of its premier Rocket Mortgage product. Based on 2016 data, Quicken Loans is the largest loan originator by volume with 436,000 loans originating and is the second largest based on dollar volume.

Quicken Loans is the biggest mortgage lender for a reason. It has a nationwide footprint and makes applying for a mortgage online very easy on the borrower. It offers competitive rates as well, which helps solidify its position as the best overall mortgage lender.

SoFi, short for Social Finance, started as a student loan refinancing company and quickly grew into other areas of personal finance, including mortgage loans. SoFi also looks into more than just your credit score when lending. The company includes considerations like valuable college degrees and earning potential.

The borrowing process at SoFi starts with a pre-qualification that does not impact your credit score and takes about two minutes to complete.

From there, you can pick up your loan and complete all of your paperwork. Like traditional loans, it takes about 30 days to finish a mortgage application and get funded from SoFi.

LoanDepot makes the refinance process smooth and simple. The company is so popular for refinancing that it has funded more than $70 billion for mortgage loan refinancing.

LoanDepot also waives refinance fees and reimburses appraisal fees for all future refinances after your first refinance with loanDepot.

Loan offers at loanDepot are not incentivized to promote one product over another, unlike other scandal-ridden banks. This means you won’t be pressured into taking a loan that doesn’t make sense for your unique needs and borrowing situation.

New American Funding is a top lender for those with a low credit score or the self-employed. Why? New American Funding looks at every application manually before approving or denying a loan.

Some online lenders approve or deny instantly based on computer algorithms, making it hard to get a loan with bad credit. This is not so at New American Funding.

Because each loan is manually reviewed, they may look at other factors such as good savings and a high income. Regardless of your finances, however, they do enforce a minimum 580 credit score for approval.

Some lenders will offer a loan with a score down to 550 or 500 in some cases, but you probably won’t get the same quality experience as with New American Funding.

Lenda is another member of the online-only mortgage lending industry. Lenda offers quick and easy pre-qualifications and refinancing estimates through its website, but it doesn’t offer customer service exclusively through the Web.

Lenda offers a concierge service to help you through the lending process from start to finish. The paperless process is transparent and will feel comfortable and familiar to digital natives or anyone with experience browsing the Web.

If you have a low income, you also probably have a low down payment. This makes FHA loans and VA loans, two major government-backed lending programs, top choices for you. If you want either an FHA or VA loan, Citi Mortgage is a good choice.

Citi Mortgage is related to Citibank, one of the largest banks in the United States. Because Citi is so big, they offer mortgage options for nearly anyone who qualifies.

That doesn’t mean everyone will qualify, but if you do qualify for the FHA or VA loan programs, you have a good chance of approval from Citi Mortgage.

With an interest-only loan, you can often make lower payments every month than with a traditional, conventional loan. But for that lower payment, you don’t make any progress on paying down the principle and building equity in your home. Interest-only loans are generally not the best option.

But if you do want to go down the interest-only mortgage path, your best option is likely a Guaranteed Rate. This mortgage company claims 95 percent customer satisfaction and a top 10 retail lending position in the industry.

Chase Bank isn’t just one of the biggest banks in the country, it is one of the biggest banks in the world. And this behemoth bank is also a top mortgage lender.

If you want a traditional bank experience where you get your loan through a face-to-face interaction with a human mortgage banker, any Chase branch has it covered.

It claims over 5,300 branches and nearly half of all American households as customers in some form (including banking, credit cards, and other businesses, too).

They offer industry-leading online and mobile apps to manage your mortgage and the rest of your Chase banking relationship.

A high scoring bank for customer service, Busey Bank is a large mortgage lender located in Saint Louis, Missouri. This bank delivers traditional Midwest business pride with award-winning customer service rankings. Busey runs additional offices in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri.

They are not the biggest lender on the block, but they offer a range of fixed and adjustable loans and loans through the FHA and VA mortgage loan programs. This bank has a history back to 1868, making it 150 years old and one of the longest existing lenders on this list.

While PennyMac is not related to massive lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it is a name you may want to know if you are in the market for an FHA loan with a low down payment. PennyMac is a direct lender with a primarily online focused lending business.

It offers a full range of loans including conventional, jumbo, FHA, VA, and USDA loans. But for those with a low down payment, notably first-time buyers, you may find good rates and a better experience with this California-based lender.

5 Tips for Finding the Best Online Mortgage Lender

These 5 tips will help you narrow down your options and find the best lender for you.

1. Be Realistic About Your Finances

2. Ask Around 

3. Compare Your Top Lenders

4. Reach Out to Lenders

5. Consult Your Real Estate Agent

Frequently Asked Questions