When weighing your lender options for a home loan, tracking down information from providers can be tricky. Many lenders aren’t upfront about interest, fees and terms. It can take some digging to track down important information, without having to sit down and fill out an application.
Our loan rating system is designed to help you compare a lender’s overall performance and not just its costs. When rating our mortgage providers, our researchers consider three distinct factors: interest rates and fees, its products and mortgage types and overall borrower experience.
Our star rating system provides you with a starting point to help you determine what’s best for your situation. After you’ve narrowed down lenders you’re interested in, dive into the details with our provider reviews before applying for a loan.
Finder Scores: What they mean
If you want peace of mind, this rating will give it to you. These products offer the best value and outcomes considering various product features, terms, conditions and price.
Well-balanced products that provide what you need, offering a healthy mix of competitive features at a good price. However, they're not quite the best in class.
Bottom line: You can find better, but these products still offer reasonable value and have the basics sorted.
These products may not offer much value in the long run, and there are better options available.
How we rate interest rates and fees
When we analyze interest rates and fees, we look at a lender’s average interest rates and origination charges on completed loans from the previous year. These reports come from reputable sources such as the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA).
We weigh those rates and fees against other lenders in the market. So when lenders charge fees like commitment, application, rate-lock or other “junk” fees, its ratings can fall.
How we rate mortgage types and products
When we look at a mortgage provider’s selection of loan types and available products, we consider its lending options to meet a borrower’s needs.
We look for conventional and government-backed mortgages, as well as home equity options. Providers that offer additional products outside of the norm, reaching more kinds of borrowers can score higher in this area.
How we rate borrower experience
We look at perks that improve a borrower’s overall experience when applying for and repaying the loan. For example, we consider whether a provider’s services are available both in-person and online, and the states the provider’s licensed in.
We like perks that include mobile apps, online dashboards, online chat features and mobile-responsive websites. Multiple ways to contact customer service can boost a provider’s score.
Bank of America has more loan options, but Rocket Mortgage has left a better overall impression on customers. We compare the key features between these two established lenders.
Learn more about monthly payments and interest on a $500,000 mortgage over 15 or 30 years. Plus, find out how much you need to make to afford repayments.
Working out how interest is calculated on a home loan can help you figure out how much you can borrow and how to pay it off sooner.
Advertiser disclosure
Finder.com is an independent comparison platform and information service that aims to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions. While we are independent, the offers that appear on this site are from companies from which Finder receives compensation. We may receive compensation from our partners for placement of their products or services. We may also receive compensation if you click on certain links posted on our site. While compensation arrangements may affect the order, position or placement of product information, it doesn't influence our assessment of those products. Please don't interpret the order in which products appear on our Site as any endorsement or recommendation from us. Finder compares a wide range of products, providers and services but we don't provide information on all available products, providers or services. Please appreciate that there may be other options available to you than the products, providers or services covered by our service.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
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