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Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Review 2024

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At a glance

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
NMLS: 399801
Editor's take

Wells Fargo has scaled back its mortgage business to specifically serve banking and other account holders. In 2022, it was the nation’s fourth-largest mortgage originator. It was down to the 20th-largest in 2023.

Bankrate Score
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4.8
Rating: 4.8 stars out of 5
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Customer Rating
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3.0
Rating: 3 stars out of 5

2 ratings

Mortgage Percent

Loans offered

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

Credit Good

Min. credit score required

620 for conventional loans

Location

Nationwide availability

Available in all U.S. states

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Min. down payment

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

At a glance

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

NMLS: 399801

4.8

Rating: 4.8 stars out of 5
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Bankrate Score

Mortgage Percent

Loans offered

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

Location

Nationwide Availability

Available in all U.S. states

Credit Good

Min. credit score required

620 for conventional loans

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage overview

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, part of the namesake bank, offers home loans for a variety of needs, including home purchases and new builds, investment properties and refinancing. The bank’s time from mortgage application to closing ranges between 30 days and 90 days depending on a range of factors, according to a bank spokesperson, and the time to obtain a preapproval also varies. If you’re a highly-qualified borrower, however, you could receive a PriorityBuyer preapproval letter as soon as you apply online.

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Bankrate insight

Wells Fargo has limited its mortgage offerings to those with banking relationships.

Pros and cons of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

Pros
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    Displays mortgage rates online

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    Massive branch network

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    Will consider non-traditional credit references in application process

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    Offers low-down payment options to assist lower-income borrowers

Cons
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    Dialed back its mortgage offerings

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    No longer offers home equity lines of credit (HELOCs)

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    Below-average customer satisfaction scores and negative past customer reviews

Our Editor’s Take on Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

Wells Fargo has scaled back its mortgage business to specifically serve banking and other account holders. In 2022, it was the nation’s fourth-largest mortgage originator. It was down to the 20th-largest in 2023.

How Bankrate scored Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

  • Affordability: The mortgage rates Wells Fargo advertises on its website are overall competitive compared to Bankrate’s averages (as of this review), but you might find lower-rate offers elsewhere. As with many lenders, the bank offers the option to buy down your rate at closing.
  • Availability: Along with banking services, Wells Fargo offers mortgages to borrowers, including real estate investors, in every state. However, it has pivoted its mortgage operation to working mostly with borrowers who are banking customers.
  • Borrower experience: J.D. Power ranked Wells Fargo below average for mortgage customer satisfaction in 2023. Still, as one of the largest banks in the country, it offers multiple convenient channels to obtain a loan.

Affordability: 10/10

Wells Fargo displays its latest mortgage rates on its website, and as of this review, they were slightly lower than Bankrate’s averages. The bank’s lender fees vary. You can get a complete estimate of closing costs, including origination charges, by inputting a few details about your credit score, the property you want to buy and the down payment you plan to make in the bank’s online customized rate calculator.

Availability: 10/10

Wells Fargo operates nationwide, although it has indicated it’s focusing more on borrowers who have bank accounts at this time. Its loan options include conventional, FHA, VA and USDA mortgages. The bank also offers several flexible jumbo loan options for those buying or refinancing higher-priced homes. You’ll need a 620 credit score, at minimum, to qualify for a conventional mortgage.

Borrower experience: 8.5/10

Wells Fargo has been around since 1852, but in recent years, the bank has run afoul of regulators and become associated with some disreputable practices. In J.D. Power’s latest study of mortgage origination customer satisfaction, the bank scored below the industry average. It isn’t accredited by the Better Business Bureau and has a “Bad” rating on Trustpilot based on more than 1,000 customer reviews. Still, if you’re looking to obtain a loan with the bank, its website offers helpful resources for borrowers, including the My FirstHome digital education experience to help you determine if you’re ready to stop renting. There are also calculators and comparison tools to help you understand the costs of purchasing or refinancing.

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Bankrate staff insights

"Working with Wells Fargo made it much easier as a first-time homebuyer. While I'm sure I sacrificed marginally on rate, the online portal made it incredibly easy to upload documents and keep track of outstanding items. They also were able to auto-appraise my property which expedited the closing process and made my offer more competitive."

- Red Ventures staffer (Bankrate parent company)

How to apply for a mortgage with Wells Fargo

You can apply for a mortgage with Wells Fargo in person at a branch location, online or by phone at 877-937-9357. Its customer service hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET. 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 Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo offers both rate-and-term and cash-out refinancing options. You can compare refinance rates and get an estimate of your closing costs with the bank’s calculator online.

Special homebuying programs from Wells Fargo

Homebuyer Access Grant


Wells Fargo’s Homebuyer Access Grant provides some homebuyers $10,000 to help with a down payment. The grant doesn’t have to be repaid. To be eligible, you must be buying a home in a designated area within Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Dallas, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia or Washington, D.C., and your income can’t exceed area-specific limits.

Dream. Plan. Home. closing cost credit

For borrowers with incomes at or below 80 percent of their area’s median income, Wells Fargo offers up to $5,000 in closing cost credits. These credits can be used to cover expenses like the appraisal or recording fees. The closing cost credit can also be used in conjunction with the Homebuyer Access down payment grant.

Interest rate discount on jumbo loans

If you’re an existing Wells Fargo customer and are applying for a jumbo loan, you could receive an interest rate discount depending on how much money you have with the bank. As of March 29, 2024, the discounts break down as follows:

  • At least $250,000 in assets: 0.125% off your rate
  • At least $500,000: 0.250%
  • At least $750,000: 0.375%
  • At least $1 million: 0.500%
  • At least $2.5 million: 0.625%
  • At least $5 million: 0.875%
  • At least $10 million or more: 1.00%

Compare Wells Fargo Home Mortgage to other lenders

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Rating: 4.8 stars out of 5
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4.8

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Old National Bank
Rating: 4.6 stars out of 5
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4.6

Bankrate Score
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Read full review
Veterans United Home Loans
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
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4.9

Bankrate Score
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Read full review

Loans offered

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

Loans offered

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

Loans offered

Conventional, jumbo, FHA, VA, USDA, refinancing

Min. credit score required

620 for conventional loans

Min. credit score required

620 for conventional loans, 640 for FHA loans, 680 for VA loans

Min. credit score required

620 for conventional loans, 620 for VA loans

Down payment

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

Down payment

Undisclosed

Down payment

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

Nationwide availability

Available in all U.S. states

Nationwide availability

All U.S. states

Nationwide availability

All U.S. states

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage customer ratings and reviews

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NMLS: 399801

3.0

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

2 ratings

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This lender has 1 recent reviews.

Knowledge
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Level of service
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Professionalism
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Responsiveness
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
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50% of customers would recommend this lender.

of 1 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.

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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