United Wholesale Mortgage Review 2024

United Wholesale Mortgage overview

Pros and cons of United Wholesale Mortgage

How Bankrate scored United Wholesale Mortgage 

Affordability: 6.8/10

Because it’s a wholesale lender, United Wholesale Mortgage doesn’t advertise mortgage rates on its website. (The broker you work with might, however.) The lender offers the option of a flat closing fee of $350, and charges a $68 credit check fee. It doesn’t charge an escrow waiver fee on most conventional loans. That means borrowers who choose to waive escrow (in other words, pay property taxes and insurance on their own) won’t have to pay extra to do so. In terms of affordability, UWM can help you save with its Conventional 1% Down program, which helps cover 2 percent of your down payment (up to a $4,000 limit), provided you qualify.

Because UWM doesn’t make its APRs publicly available, it only scores a 6.8/10 for affordability.

Availability: 9.8/10

Brokers who work with United Wholesale Mortgage have access to many loan types, such as:

• Conventional loans
• FHA loans
• VA loans
• USDA loans
• Jumbo loans

This means you might have several options to suit your credit and financial circumstances. The lender has added home equity solutions to the fold, as well: a standard line of credit and a so-called piggyback line of credit, the latter of which allows borrowers with lower down payments to obtain a purchase loan and line of credit at the same time.

Because of UWM’s nationwide availability and the wide variety of loan types it offers, it scores a 9.8/10.

Borrower experience: 5.6/10

United Wholesale Mortgage is a leading player in the space, with an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. Getting a mortgage through UWM starts by contacting an affiliated mortgage broker. Similarly to vetting a real estate agent, you will need to find the right broker for you, which can mean getting a referral, researching reviews and interviewing multiple brokers. While that might be less convenient, depending on the broker you work with, you might be able to get preapproved or prequalified online. Some brokers might also offer other online conveniences and resources like educational tools and paperless underwriting. The lender also offers a fee-free digital payment option.

Because UWM requires a relationship with a broker, has no way to see rates without a broker and has limited customer service contact options, it scores a 5.6/10 for borrower experience.

What your experience with United Wholesale Mortgage might look like

In order to work with UWM, you’ll need an affiliated mortgage broker. United Wholesale Mortgage offers a directory of UWM mortgage brokers at MortgageMatchup.com. This is the first step in getting a loan with UWM. Take a look at the dropdown options below to see what this process looks like:

United Wholesale Mortgage special mortgage offerings

Conventional 1% Down

Typically, you’ll need at least 3 percent down for a conventional loan. United Wholesale Mortgage’s Conventional 1% Down program — launched in April 2023 — eliminates that requirement. If you’re eligible, you’ll only need to provide 1 percent down, while the lender provides the remaining 2 percent, up to $4,000. (That means the down payment benefit maxes out at a home price of $200,000; a borrower who buys a $400,000 home under the program would get 1 percent of the down payment from United Wholesale Mortgage, and would need to come up with 2 percent.)

Notably, the offer is limited to buyers with an income of 50 percent or less of the area median income.

Game On and Control Your Price

Game On and Control Your Price are promotions UWM launched in 2022 and 2023 to give brokers more flexibility on APRs when competing against other lenders. The specifics of these programs and whether or not you can qualify for them are not publicly known. However, they allow brokers to lower mortgage rates by several basis points.

Refinancing with United Wholesale Mortgage 

United Wholesale Mortgage offers both rate-and-term and cash-out refinancing options. As with a home purchase loan, you’ll apply for a refinance through a broker, rather than the lender outright. This can require more legwork, as you’ll have to go through the process with an intermediary, but it can result in a more favorable refinance rate.

Learn more: Choosing the right refinance for you

How to apply for a mortgage with United Wholesale Mortgage

Since United Wholesale Mortgage isn’t a direct-to-consumer lender, you’ll need to work with a mortgage broker. You can search brokers using UWM’s broker directory, MortgageMatchup.com (shown above).

Here are some tips to prepare for applying:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.)

• 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.