LowRates.com Mortgage Review 2022

LowRates.com overview

LowRates.com (also known as LowRates), is operated by Sun West Mortgage Company, an online and brick-and-mortar lender established in 1980. LowRates.com provides a variety of mortgage options, including both purchases and refinances, conventional and government-insured loans, home equity loans and construction loans.

Good for

Borrowers looking for a user-friendly application process and rate transparency

Loan types

• Conventional
• Jumbo
• FHA
• VA
• USDA
• Fixed-rate
• Adjustable-rate
• Rate-and-term, cash-out and streamline refinancing
• Home equity line of credit (HELOC)
• Home equity loan
• Construction and renovation loans
• Investment property
• Reverse mortgage

Lender fees

LowRates.com doesn’t charge any lender fees. There are, however, third-party fees that’ll be included in your closing costs.

Rates 

LowRates.com advertises rates on its website and updates them several times a day. You can get a customized rate quote instantly after answering a few basic questions about your loan.

Reputation

LowRates.com parent Sun West Mortgage Company has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. Sun West Mortgage Company also has a 3.2 out of five-star rating (but only three reviews) from Trustpilot.

Online services

Although there’s no option for an online prequalification or preapproval at this time, borrowers can formally apply for a mortgage through LowRates.com, and also receive support via the website. Additionally, the website offers calculators, including rent versus buy, affordability and refinancing, to help you estimate costs and inform your choices. The lender doesn’t have an app, but you can sign many documents electronically. However, you’ll still need to sign closing documents in-person. 

Minimum borrower requirements

LowRates.com adheres to the conforming loan requirements for mortgages approved by government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as those backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA). For conventional loans, these key requirements include good credit (typically a FICO score of 620 or higher) and a minimum down payment of 3 percent. However, anything less than 20 percent down will trigger a requirement for the borrower to pay for private mortgage insurance (PMI).

For FHA, VA and USDA loans, minimum requirements are set by the respective agencies. You can find them here:

• FHA loan requirements
• VA loan requirements
• USDA loan requirements

Refinancing with LowRates.com

LowRates.com offers rate-and-term, cash-out and streamline refinancing, and its refinance rates are typically competitive to the market. These rates are updated several times a day. In general, the higher your credit score, the better your rate. 

Not sure if LowRates.com is right for you? Consider these alternatives 

• Philadelphia Mortgage Advisors review: This regional lender offers the ability to upload documents and track loan status online.
• Direct Home Lending review: Similar to LowRates.com, this lender tends to complete underwriting within one day.
• Texas Trust Home Loans review: Like LowRates.com, this lender doesn’t charge hidden fees, but is only available in a handful of states.
• Optimum First Mortgage review: This lender consistently earns high marks from borrowers.
• Anchor Home Mortgage review: This broker, who can help you find the right loan for your needs, also has helpful educational resources online, including a glossary.

Breakdown of LowRates.com overall review score 

• Affordability: 5/5
• Availability: 5/5
• Borrower experience: 4.7/5

Review methodology

To determine a mortgage lender’s Bankrate Score, Bankrate’s editorial team rates lenders on a scale of one to five stars based on a variety of factors relating to the lender’s products and services. Bankrate’s partners compensate us, but our opinions are our own, and partner relationships do not influence our reviews. Here is our full methodology.