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At a glance

NMLS: 1124061

Editor's take

Lower, a unit of Homeside Financial, aims to deliver on its namesake: lower mortgage rates. Along with a variety of loan options, the lender offers other ways to save, including no refinance fees for return customers.

Bankrate Score

Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.

4.5

Bankrate Score

Customer Rating

Star ranking and total number reflects the lifetime customer reviews received while this lender has been an advertiser on Bankrate.

To help serve you with relevant information, the customer reviews shown are limited to only those that this advertiser has received during the past 12 months.

5.0

3,164 ratings

Loans offered

Conventional, jumbo, FHA, VA, USDA, refinancing and more

Min. credit score required

620 for conventional loans, 580 for FHA loans, 580 for VA loans

Nationwide availability

All U.S. states except Alaska, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont

Min. down payment

3% for conventional loans, 3.5% for FHA loans, none for VA loans and USDA loans

Recent customer reviews

The customer reviews posted on Bankrate.com ("Bankrate") are individual, subjective opinions of reviewers, and not of Bankrate. Bankrate does not endorse any of the opinions expressed by reviewers or any responses to reviews. Bankrate cannot guarantee or verify the accuracy of the opinions shared by individual reviewers, and reserves the right to reject or remove any review, at any time, for any reason at Bankrate’s sole discretion, including but not limited to those that Bankrate deems inappropriate, fraudulent, invalid, irrelevant, or otherwise outside the parameters of the Bankrate Review Guidelines, the Privacy Policy, or the Terms of Use.

Easy and Knowledgeable!

Mike was great! He was always available to answer any questions I had, and he helped guide me through the whole process from preapproval to closing.

Joe B.
Ohio (Sep 4, 2024)

It was a good experience!

Michael was great to work with! Me and my husband are first time home buyers so we were not familiar with the process, but Michael helped us through it! He was very friendly and very diligent to get us the best deal and quick! When there were outside factors causing issues with the process, he was a...

Haley
Marysville, OH (Jul 20, 2024)

Read 20 customer reviews for Lower

Lower overview

Lower is an online-only mortgage lender with hubs in Ohio and Maryland. In addition to offering mortgages, the lender helps homebuyers save with regular promotions like lender credits and free appraisals.

Pros and cons of Lower

Pros

Fully online process
App designed to help borrowers save for a down payment
No lender fees on refis for existing borrowers

Cons

High fees for new borrower transactions
Not available in all states

How Bankrate scored Lower

Affordability: 5/5

Lower’s mortgage rates were lower than Bankrate’s averages at the time of this review. That helped bring its affordability score to 5 out of 5 stars.

Interest rates: Lower tends to offer attractive mortgage rates.
Down payment: Lower provides conventional loans with a down payment as low as 3 percent.
Closing costs: Lower charges a flat $1,299 fee on home purchases and a flat $1,995 fee on refinances — and that refi fee is waived if you’re an existing borrower.

Availability: 5/5

Because of its broad product offering and wide geographic reach, Lower scores 5 out of 5 stars for availability.

Home loans offered: Lower’s mortgage options include conventional and government-backed loans (FHA, VA and USDA), along with home equity products and refinancing. The lender also offers jumbo mortgages and non-QM options like bank statement and debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) loans.
Footprint: Lower does business in most but not all states. It doesn’t have any branch locations.
Where to find: You can apply for a mortgage with Lower online or by phone.

Borrower experience: 3.5/5

Lower’s fast approvals were offset by limited rate transparency, resulting in a borrower experience score of 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Preapproval and application process: Lower preapproves qualified borrowers typically within one business day of applying, issues a conditional approval in seven days and closes purchases in an average of 22 days. It also offers prequalifications.
Transparency: Lower doesn’t showcase current mortgage rates on its website.
Customer service: You can reach Lower’s customer service team by calling 833-920-2273 or texting 855-293-1776.

Lower reputation

Lower has an A+ grade from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), although it isn’t accredited by the organization. Thousands of borrowers have had positive experiences with this lender, according to BBB and Trustpilot testimonials.

What consumers say about Lower

Borrowers on Bankrate overwhelmingly report having a good experience working with Lower. One borrower even called out the lender’s “personal experience” that made them feel like they were being “treated like family.”

Refinancing with Lower

Lower offers both rate-and-term and cash-out refinancing options.The lender charges a flat refi fee of $1,995, although that cost is waived for returning borrowers thanks the lender’s Free Refi for Life program.

How to apply for a mortgage with Lower

You can apply for a mortgage with Lower online or by phone at 888-509-8301.

Learn more: How to get a mortgage

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:
1. Affordability: Annual percentage rate (APR) - 80%; assistance for first-time homebuyers - 10%; down payment - 10%
2. Availability: Loan products - 50%; licensing - 40%; credit score - 10%
3. Borrower experience: Rate transparency - 35%; customer service - 35%; convenience - 20%; rate locks - 10%; reputation (if applicable)
Learn more about our methodology.

Lower customer ratings and reviews

NMLS: 1124061

5.0

3,164 ratings

Star ranking and total number reflects the lifetime customer reviews received while this lender has been an advertiser on Bankrate. To help serve you with relevant information, the customer reviews shown below are limited to only those that this advertiser has received during the past 12 months.

This lender has 20 recent reviews.

Knowledge

Level of service

Professionalism

Responsiveness

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

97%

99% of customers would recommend this lender.

of 20 reviews

The consumer reviews posted on Bankrate.com ("Bankrate") are individual, subjective opinions of reviewers, and not of Bankrate. Bankrate does not endorse any of the opinions expressed by reviewers or any responses to reviews.

Bankrate cannot guarantee or verify the accuracy of the opinions shared by individual reviewers, and reserves the right to reject or remove any review, at any time, for any reason at Bankrate’s sole discretion, including but not limited to those that Bankrate deems inappropriate, fraudulent, invalid, irrelevant, or otherwise outside the parameters of the Bankrate Review Guidelines, the Privacy Policy, or the Terms of Use.

In addition to collecting reviews on-site, Bankrate collaborated with third-party Slice MR to survey 750 homeowners nationwide in July 2024. Bankrate and Slice MR collected, averaged and presented responses to nine questions. Users received an incentive for their feedback. Responses are based on individual experiences, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. Submissions with user ratings that are materially inconsistent with written sentiment have been removed. User ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by lenders, nor do these ratings reflect Bankrate’s own reviews of these lenders.

To help serve you with relevant information, the consumer reviews shown below are limited to only those that this advertiser has received during the past 12 months.

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