Top perks
Low rates and fees
LenderFi offers low-cost mortgages. Besides very low mortgage rates, there is no application fee or origination fee. You can choose to pay for mortgage discount points if you want to lower your rate even further, but you can also choose to take a higher interest rate and let LenderFi pay you. That's called a lender credit and it's a great way to cover your closing costs with potentially no money out of your own pocket.
Free rate insurance
LenderFi offers a unique guarantee regarding interest rates. If mortgage rates fall at least a quarter of a percent below your rate, LenderFi will refinance your mortgage to lower your interest rate at no cost to you. This benefit is available once every six months for as long as you have a LenderFi mortgage.
Easy to check rates online
LenderFi publishes mortgage interest rates on its website, and they are easy to find. Even better, every rate search brings up multiple rate options based on whether you pay for discount points or take a higher rate in exchange for a mortgage lender credit. You can also play around with the down payment amount and credit score to see how those might affect your mortgage rate. This information is very useful to anyone who is researching mortgages, costs, and qualification criteria.
Easy and quick mortgage pre-approval
LenderFi offers convenient technology right from the beginning of the process. You can easily apply on the website, and some borrowers will have their pre-approval in hand within 15 minutes.
Low-down-payment mortgages
LenderFi offers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac home loans, which have more flexible down payment requirements than most conventional loans. Some examples of the mortgage options that require only 3% down are:
- The Fannie Mae HomeReady mortgage: For low- and moderate-income borrowers with a 620 credit score
- The Fannie Mae Conventional 97 loan and the Freddie Mac HomeOne mortgage: For first-time home buyers (you can't have owned property within the past three years)
- The Freddie Mac Home Possible mortgage: For low- and very-low-income borrowers with a 660 credit score
Services loans
LenderFi is a loan servicer as well as a loan originator. This might be important to you, especially if you've ever had to suddenly start making your mortgage payments to a new company that you were previously unfamiliar with. Many people experience problems during the transition to a new servicer and don't appreciate having their choice taken away. LenderFi doesn't promise to service 100% of its loans, but there's a good chance your loan won't move to a different company.
What could be improved
Limited selection of nontraditional mortgages
LenderFi offers conventional loans and government-backed loans, but it doesn't offer mortgages to meet the needs of borrowers who need a nontraditional mortgage. For example, there is no bank statement loan for borrowers who are self-employed and need to qualify for a mortgage based on cash flow and not on tax returns.
No home equity loan or home equity line of credit
LenderFi doesn't offer home equity products. If you want to access your equity, your only option at LenderFi would be a cash-out refinance mortgage.