First Midwest Bank Mortgage Review 2021

First Midwest Bank overview

First Midwest Bank is the principal subsidiary of First Midwest Bancorp. The holding company has $21 billion in assets as well as an additional $13 billion of assets under management. The bank maintains a branch system with approximately 125 offices in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin. Organized in the 1930s during the Great Depression, First Midwest Bank grew with the goal to "treat the person in the overalls and the person in the business suit the same way.” Today, First Midwest is licensed in 46 states (it is not licensed in Alaska, Hawaii, Maryland or Mississippi), and the little bank that started in Joliet, Illinois, during economic hard times has evolved into a national lender.

Loan types

• Conventional fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs)
• FHA
• VA
• Doctor Loan Programs
• Jumbo
• Construction
• Refinancing including cash-out refinancing
• Home equity loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs)
• Portfolio loans in some states

Lender fees

First Midwest Bank generally charges a $750 fee for home home loans. The fee is reduced to zero for VA loans.

First Midwest Bank also has an “Honoring Our Heroes” discount program for first responders. The program is for purchase financing only and provides a $550 credit for qualified borrowers. In addition, First Midwest Bank offers special loans for physicians with zero down and no requirement for mortgage insurance.

Minimum borrower requirements

First Midwest Bank follows the conforming underwriting standards for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans as well as financing backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Programs allow financing with as little as zero percent down for VA financing, 3 percent for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac financing and 3.5 percent for FHA-backed mortgages.