LowRates.com Mortgage Review 2024

LowRates.com overview

LowRates.com provides a variety of mortgage options, including both purchases and refinances, conventional and government-insured loans, home equity loans and construction loans.

Pros and cons of LowRates.com

How Bankrate scored LowRates.com

• Affordability: LowRates.com is transparent about its rates, which were slightly lower than Bankrate’s averages at the time of this review.
• Availability: This company lends in all but two states, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and offers a range of loan products for various needs.
• Borrower experience: You can easily compare LowRates.com offers with others via the lender’s website, as well as initiate a request for a quote or apply for a loan.

Affordability: 5.2/10

LowRates.com’s rates are competitive compared to Bankrate’s averages, and it advertises current offers online and updates rates several times a day. You can get a customized rate quote instantly after answering a few basic questions about your loan. In addition, LowRates.com doesn’t charge any lender fees. There are, however, third-party fees that’ll be included in your closing costs.

Availability: 10/10

>LowRates.com is available in all U.S. states (except Georgia and Massachusetts), Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The lender offers conventional and jumbo mortgages, along with FHA, VA and USDA loans. It also provides home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), home equity loans, construction and renovation loans, investment property loans and reverse mortgages.

Borrower experience: 7.1/10

LowRates.com parent Sun West Mortgage Company has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, with high marks from customers. The lender has been in business for more than 40 years. You can apply for a mortgage through LowRates.com, and also receive support via the website. Additionally, the site offers calculators, including rent versus buy, affordability and refinancing, to help you estimate costs and inform your choices. The lender doesn’t have an app, but you can sign many documents electronically. However, you’ll still need to sign some closing documents in-person.

How to apply for a mortgage with LowRates.com

You can apply for a mortgage with LowRates.com online or by phone at 844-LOW-RATE.

Here are some tips to prepare for the process:

1. Check your credit report. It’s important to check your credit report before your lender does, in case there are errors that could impact not only whether you get preapproved but also your ability to get the best mortgage rate. Knowing your credit score also helps you decide what type of loan to apply for. If your score is in the very low 600s, for instance, an FHA mortgage might be best for you, as its standards are more lenient than those for conventional loans.
2. Gather personal and financial documents. With any lender, you must supply documentation about your income, assets and debts. This includes pay stubs and W-2s and account and loan statements.
3. Provide details about the property. You’ll need to provide the address of the home and submit to an appraisal. (If you’re refinancing, you might or might not need an appraisal.)

Refinancing with LowRates.com

LowRates.com offers both rate-and-term and cash-out refinancing options.

• Methodology

  To determine a mortgage lender's Bankrate Score, Bankrate rates lenders on a scale of one (1) to five (5) stars — with five (5) the highest rating — based on a variety of factors relating to the lender's products and services. To assign our ratings, we assessed each mortgage lender across three core areas:

  • Affordability: Annual percentage rate (APR) - 80%; assistance for first-time homebuyers - 10%; down payment - 10%
  • Availability: Loan products - 50%; licensing - 40%; credit score - 10%
  • Borrower experience: Rate transparency - 45%; customer service - 25%; convenience - 10%; days to close - 10%; rate locks - 10%; reputation (bonus)

  Learn more about our methodology.

  How we suggest lenders to compare

  To help you make the most informed decisions, our editorial team suggests two (2) alternative mortgage lenders for each lender reviewed in our comparison table. In most cases, these alternatives 1.) share the same strength (affordability, availability or borrower experience) as the lender reviewed; and 2.) rate highly for Bankrate Score. In the event more than two lenders meet these standards, we suggest the ones with the lowest APRs.