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The best mortgage refinance companies for 2020

Check your refinance rates today (Jan 13th, 2020)
Company
J.D. Power 2019 Customer Satisfaction Score²
Complaints Per 1,000 Customers³
Miminum Credit Score 
Quicken Loans
 880/1,000 0.47 580
Fairway Independent Mortgage Co.
 865/1,000 0.08 580
Guild Mortgage Company
864/1,000 0.28 620
U.S. Bank
852/1,000 0.92 620
loanDepot
849/1,000 0.59 580
Guaranteed Rate
 846/1,000 0.33 580
USAA*
 900/1,000 0.75 620
882/1,000 0.74 580

e .

Check your refinance rates today (Jan 13th, 2020)

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The best refinance companies: Our reviews

To find the eight best refinance companies, we started with a list of the 25 most popular mortgage lenders in the U.S. Then we narrowed the selection down based on a few key criteria:

Here’s why our picks for the best mortgage refinance company stood out above the rest.

Get personalized lender recommendations (Jan 13th, 2020)

The 8 best mortgage refinance companies

1. Quicken Loans

>> Read the full Quicken Loans review

Quicken Loans has grown rapidly to be America’s biggest mortgage and refinance lender. And you can see why.

In 2019, Quicken topped the J.D. Power U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study for the 10th consecutive year. And it has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Besides great customer service, there are a number of benefits to refinancing with Quicken:

  • Loan options — Quicken offers a broad range of refinance options, including FHA, VA and USDA loans. Plus, it offers 30- and 15-year loans, jumbo loans, and a product called “YOURgage” that lets you pick your own loan term
  • Borrower requirements — Quicken says customers can refinance with credit starting at just 580 and a debt-to-income ratio as high as 50%, although actual requirements will vary by borrower

Customers may also be able to refinance with a high loan-to-value ratio if they’re eligible for an FHA streamline refinance.

Get refinance rates from Quicken Loans today (January 13, 2020)

Rocket Mortgage

Rocket Mortgage is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Quicken Loans. So we’re lumping both in together.

The main difference between the two is that Rocket is even more geared to online applications and loan processing.

If you’re a technophile, you’ll love that. Because it’s possible to get your refinance quickly and easily with little or no human contact. But if that’s your idea of a nightmare, stick to Quicken.

Get refinance rates from Rocket Mortgage today (January 13, 2020)

2. Fairway Independent Mortgage

Fairway came second in the J.D. Power 2019 rankings, close behind Quicken Loans. So here’s another lender that knows how to satisfy its customers. It offers:

  • A wide portfolio of refinance products, including FHA, VA, USDA, conventional, jumbo and fixed- and adjustable-rate loans
  • Slick online processing, backed up by comprehensive information on its website
  • Easy phone access to professional advisers
  • A great mobile app
  • Loans to those with credit scores as low as 620

The only gripe? You have to hand over a whole lot of personal information before you can get a refinance rate quote from Fairway. But with such stellar customer service scores, it may be worth the extra effort.

3. Guild Mortgage Company

Guild came in just one point behind Fairway in the 2019 J.D. Power survey. So you can assume its customer service is similarly exceptional.

Guild is smaller than both Quicken and Fairway, but is still among America’s top-10 mortgage lenders. It delivers:

  • A fairly comprehensive portfolio of refinance products, similar to the others. But it’s not big on jumbo loans
  • Licensed to originate mortgages in 48 states
  • Opportunities for face-to-face meetings with branches in 31 states, in the west and south of the country
  • Approvals with a minimum 620 credit score — or 580 for VA loans and 600 for USDA ones
  • Will consider alternative credit sources that others often ignore

One drawback to note: Guild’s lender fees are often higher than some other lenders’.

4. US Bank

>> Read the full US Bank review

US Bank comes a highly respectable fourth in the J.D. Power customer satisfaction survey.

But more of its customers complain to the federal regulator that other lenders on this list. And that’s relative to the number of mortgages it originates.

Still, it’s a credible choice for your short list because it offers:

The downside? We found that US Bank’s advertised rates and costs weren’t always the cheapest in our price comparison.

5. loanDepot

>> Read the full loanDepot review

Digital-first loanDepot is among the fastest-growing mortgage lenders in the country.

Its growth was largely built on technological innovations backed by “high-touch customer care,” meaning plenty of personal support from professionals.

LoanDepot’s offerings include:

  • “mello smartloan,” a proprietary technology that the company claims can slash the time it takes to process a loan and close
  • A comprehensive range of refinance products, though not USDA loans
  • A branch network of 200 sites, which provides a face-to-face alternative to those who live near one
  • A minimum credit score of 580, though you’ll likely need a higher one for most loan products

As for drawbacks, this is another lender that wants to know a lot about you before giving you even a hint about the deal for which you might qualify.

6. Guaranteed Rate

>> Read the full Guaranteed Rate review

Every lender on our list of the best mortgage refinance companies has a first-class reputation for customer service. And Guaranteed Rate is no exception.

But this lender offers something more: refinance deals that aren’t just competitive but are actually better than many others.

However, those tend to go to creditworthy applicants. So this may not be the best lender for those with poor credit scores.

Guaranteed Rate’s key features include:

  • Better rates than many of its competitors, but only for those with good or great credit
  • Licensed to lend in 50 states and operates physical branches in 46
  • Great online technologies for those who prefer to work in cyberspace, as well as good telephone support
  • Broad portfolio of refinance products

The biggest thing to note about this lender before getting a rate is that it’s often not as friendly toward lower-credit borrowers than other refinance companies.

The best VA refinance companies

Most mortgage companies have no problem servicing and refinancing VA loans. But there are a few lenders that specialize in VA lending — and they’re some of the best refinance companies out there.

  1. USAA Federal Savings Bank — Scores 900 on the J.D. Power survey, compared to Quicken Loans’s 880. >>Read the full USAA review
  2. Navy Federal Credit Union — Scores 882, and has some of the lowest VA rates we’ve seen

The reason we don’t include USAA and Navy Federal alongside other top refinance lenders is that membership is strictly limited to military personnel.

To qualify for a mortgage or refinance with one of these lenders, you’ll have to be an active military member or veteran, or eligible spouse.

Check your eligibility with top VA lenders today (January 13, 2020)

Refinance rates today

>> See today’s live refinance rates here

Refinance rates are predicted to hold steady throughout 2020.

That means with any luck, rates for a 30-year fixed-rate refinance will keep hovering where they are at the time of writing this article (early January, 2020):

Current mortgage refinance rates

  • Conventional refinance — 3.792%
  • FHA refinance — 3.25%
  • VA refinance — 3.292%

See our rate assumptions here.

And remember that refinance rates, like mortgage rates, are unique to each customer.

Your own rate depends on your loan size, credit, debts, and a host of other factors.

If you’re a “top-tier” borrower with stellar credit, a large down payment, and few debts, you might be offered a much lower refinance rate than those listed here.

Find your actual refinance rates using the link below.

Verify your refinance rate here (Jan 13th, 2020)

Refinance rate forecasts

You might not be starting your refinance this week or even this month. In that case, you’re likely wondering what refinance rates will look like later this year.

To give you an idea of what to expect, we pulled 2020 refinance rate forecasts from some of the top housing authorities in the U.S.

Refinance rates in 2020 — forecasts from leading authorities

  • Fannie Mae — Rates will at 3.7% for the first quarter and then inch down to 3.6% for the rest of the year
  • Freddie Mac — (Forecast published November 2019.) They’ll stand at 3.8% throughout every quarter in 2020
  • Mortgage Bankers Association — They’ll hold at 3.7% through all the year’s quarters

These rates forecasts aren’t quite unanimous. But, given how wildly those teams’ forecasts have diverged in the past, that’s as close as we’re ever likely to get.

With a consensus on rates below 4%, 2020 is an excellent time to refinance.

Find and lock a low refinance rate. Start here (Jan 13th, 2020)

The best mortgage refinance company for you

The whole idea of this article is to tell you about the best mortgage refinance companies.

But let’s be honest: The best lender for one person may not be the best for another.

That’s because refinance rates are unique to you. They’re based on factors like:

  • Your credit score and report
  • The size of your down payment relative to the home’s market value
  • How much of your monthly income goes toward other debts

And each company weighs those factors differently — which means your refinance costs will vary from one lender to the next.

Compare estimates from top refinance lenders (Jan 13th, 2020)

How are refinance rates determined?

Each refinance company tends to specialize in particular groups of borrowers.

So, for example, a lender that caters to borrowers with poor credit may not be as competitive for someone with a 740+ credit score as a lender that prefers high-credit loans.

This means that your current lender may not be your best bet for refinancing.

If your personal circumstances have changed since you bought your home, a different company may now be better geared to look after you.

And the same applies to recommendations you receive from family and friends. Unless their borrower profile happens to be very similar to yours, their perfect lender probably won’t be yours.

Shop around for the best refinance lender

In fact, the only way to find the best mortgage refinance companies for you is to shop around.

>> Related: How to negotiate a lower mortgage rate

After all, few of us check only one retailer when buying a new car, TV or washer. And the savings you stand to make by choosing the best mortgage refinance are way bigger than those.

In 2018, Freddie Mac conducted a survey that concluded:

“” –Freddie Mac

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau agrees, saying:

““

How to get approved by the best mortgage refinance companies

Getting approved for the best deals from the best refinance lenders is easy in theory. But it can be harder when it comes to the practicalities.

There are three basic strategies:

  • Boost your credit score — Pay every bill on time, don’t run up high credit card balances and don’t open new accounts or close existing ones in the months leading up to your application
  • Pay down debts — The lower the proportion of your income you have to pay out to keep current with your existing debts the better
  • Build up savings — If you can pay closing costs at the table, you won’t have to roll them into the loan or accept a higher rate

Pay down debts build up savings? That might take some sacrifices. Just remember, your lender’s likely to reward you for making those.

The other way to get the best possible refinance rate is to comparison shop — and to carefully compare the offers you receive.

>> Related: How to get the best refinance rate

Will checking refinance rates hurt my credit score?

You’ve probably read that every time you apply for a loan, your credit score takes a small hit. And that’s true in most cases. But not when you’re shopping for a mortgage loan. At least, not if you do so over a focused period.

FICO is the company behind America’s most widely used credit scoring technologies. And it explains how its latest version works:

“If you find a loan within 30 days, the inquiries won’t affect your scores while you’re rate shopping.” –FICO

“

Still, you may prefer to make all your requests for refinance quotes within 14 days. That’s because FICO’s old versions used that period, and some lenders still employ those.

And VantageScore, which is FICO’s main competitor, still gives you only two weeks.

Compare refinance rates here (Jan 13th, 2020)

When to refinance your mortgage

Most homeowners refinance for one of two reasons:

  1. To get a lower mortgage rate and also to reduce their monthly payment
  2. To extract some of the equity they’ve built up in their home using a “cash-out refinance“

Read on for other equally legitimate reasons to refinance. But first, let’s briefly look at these two.

>> Related: Three foolproof ways to know when to refinance

Rate-and-term refinance

You can cut your monthly mortgage payments by refinancing to a lower interest rate. Just make sure the amount you save justifies the amount you’ll pay in closing costs on your new mortgage.

Use our refinance calculator to determine your monthly savings with a lower rate.

Often, you can cut your monthly payment even if you don’t get a lower rate. That’s because you’ll be resetting the clock on your mortgage.

Suppose you’ve had your existing 30-year loan for 10 years. If you refinance to a new 30-year mortgage, you’ll be spreading the cost of buying your home over 40 years rather than 30.

More payments = lower payments. That’s just basic arithmetic.

But remember: Resetting the clock costs you in the long term because you’re paying interest for longer.

>> Related: Rules for Conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA refinances

Cash-out refinance

If you’ve built up some worthwhile equity in your home, you can take some of it out in the form of cash (or, more likely, a check or bank transfer).

And you can spend the money on anything you want: from a major remodel or purchasing a second home, to starting up a new business.

But don’t expect to be able to extract all your equity.

Many programs and lenders will want you to keep an equity “cushion.” That could be 20% of the home’s market value. But rules vary.

Check your cash-out refinance eligibility (Jan 13th, 2020)

Refinance to pay your loan off sooner

The longer you borrow a large sum of money for, the higher the amount you’ll pay. And that applies even with a low mortgage rate.

That’s why some homeowners refinance to a shorter term.

You may trade in their 30-year mortgage for a 10-, 15- or 20-year one. And some lenders will give you even more flexibility, pretty much letting you pick your own term.

This is a great way to save money over the long term. But it’s not open to everyone. Because it means your monthly payments will shoot up.

So you’ll need to have plenty of spare cash at the end of every month to think seriously about this option.

How much? Use refinance calculator to find out.

Refinance to get rid of mortgage insurance

When your home’s market value is at least 20% higher than your mortgage balance, you can usually ask your lender to stop charging you mortgage insurance.

But that doesn’t work with all programs, including FHA loans.

If you have one of those, you need to refinance to a different program to be free of those dreaded mortgage insurance premiums.

>> Related: Get rid of mortgage insurance with a refinance

Refinance with little or no equity

All the options above are likely to require you to have at least some equity, and perhaps quite a lot. And you’ll probably need a decent credit score, too.

But some mortgage programs offer help for homeowners with little equity or low credit.

You may even be able to refinance if you’re “underwater” — meaning you owe more on the home than it’s currently worth.

Streamline refinance loans require no credit checks and no home appraisals.

That means you may be able to lower your monthly payments, even if your mortgage balance is higher than the market value of your home. And even if your credit score has fallen.

But be aware — you won’t be able to take cash out using these programs. And you’ll need to have made on-time mortgage payments for a period before you qualify.

Still, for many, these refinance programs are incredibly valuable.

Check your streamlinen refinance eligibility (Jan 13th, 2020)

Mortgage refinance FAQ

Should I refinance with my current mortgage company?

Your current mortgage company may offer you the best refinance deal. Indeed, some lenders reward homeowners’ loyalty with lower rates if they stick around to refinance. However, you are not required to refinance with your current mortgage company. Many homeowners save thousands by shopping around and finding a refinance company that can offer them a lower rate. You can do that here.

How long does it take to refinance?

It usually takes between 35 and 45 days to refinance a home. But how long it takes to refinance will depend on many factors — including the efficiency of your lender and how quickly you turn in paperwork. In fact, late documents are one of the biggest refinance delays. So gather together all the paperwork you may need in advance. And be sure to answer questions and requests as quickly as possible to speed the process up.

What are the average refinance closing costs?

For a mainstream refinance, expect to pay roughly 2% to 5% of the value of your home in closing costs. Though charges vary enormously within those limits. The good news is, you can usually roll closing costs into the total loan amount when you refinance. That lets you pay them over time instead of forking up the cash upfront. Two other things to note about refinance closing costs: – Streamline mortgages usually have lower closing costs– You can make worthwhile savings on your costs with a little shopping and bargainingLearn how to negotiate your refinance closing costs here.

How soon can you refinance your mortgage?

Often, you can begin a new refinance before the ink’s dry on your last one. Many of the best mortgage refinance companies (and other lenders) don’t set limits between refinances. However, you’ll likely have to wait six months before refinancing if you have a VA-, FHA-, or USDA-backed loan. Some lenders enforce this limit for non-government loans, too.

Does refinancing hurt your credit score?

Checking refinance rates will not hurt your credit score, as long as you get all rate quotes within two weeks to a month of each other. The only way your credit score could be hurt is if your mortgage is your only credit-based loan. That could impact your “average age of accounts” (AAoA). However, AAoA is only 15% of your credit score. And most people have other credit lines outside their mortgage. So it’s not worth losing sleep over.

Mortgage refinance glossary

These definitions might help you navigate our reviews:

Mortgage origination — the successful setting up of a new mortgage or refinance. So “originator” and “originate” are just variations on that

Government-backed refinances — include those partly guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA loans), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA loans) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA loans)

Jumbo mortgages —Jumbo mortgages are ones that let you borrow more than standard loan limits (currently $510,400 and up, depending on where you live). So you can borrow several million dollars, if you qualify

Conventional loans — A.K.A. “conforming loans” are ones that comply with lending guidelines set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Debt-to-income ratio — Your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is the proportion of your monthly income that goes out on keeping up with all your debts, including your new mortgage. The lower that is, the better

Loan-to-value ratio — Your loan-to-value ratio (LTV) is the proportion of the market value of your home that you’re borrowing. Think of it as the opposite of your down payment (for a purchase) or the amount of equity you’re leaving in (for a refinance). So, if your down payment is 3%, your LTV is 97%, and if you’re putting down 20%, your LTV is 80%

Minimum down payment — The minimum amount you can put down to finance the home. Varies by loan program:

  • VA and USDA loans — zero down payment
  • FHA loans — 3.5% of the home’s market value or more
  • Conventional loans — 3% of the home’s market value or more
  • If you put down 20%, and sometimes less, you can avoid mortgage insurance

Still unclear? Click the links in each description for more detailed explanations.

Start your refinance today

Most homeowners will find what they need with one of the eight best refinance companies listed above.

To get the best refinance rate and low closing costs, make sure you compare loan estimates from a few different companies before settling on one.

You can get started right here using the link below.

Verify your new rate (Jan 13th, 2020)