Wintrust Mortgage Review 2024

How Bankrate scored Wintrust Mortgage

• Affordability: Wintrust Mortgage doesn’t display rates on its website; you’ll need to contact the lender directly for cost details.
• Availability: Wintrust is a national mortgage lender with several different types of loans, including construction and home improvement financing, as well as home equity options.
• Borrower experience: This lender’s website is very limited in terms of loan information, so if you’re just beginning to search for a mortgage, you might have a harder time comparing it to others.

Affordability: 6.8/10

Wintrust Mortgage doesn’t display mortgage rates or disclose its fee structure online. You’ll need to consult with a loan officer for a complete breakdown of rates, origination charges and administrative fees, if any, and if there are lender credits to offset costs.

Availability: 10/10

Wintrust Mortgage’s offerings include conventional and government-insured loans (FHA, VA and USDA), as well as home equity options (HELOCs and second mortgages) and refinancing. It also provides solutions for new-home builds, renovations and investment properties, along with loans that don’t fit “standard guidelines,” according to its website.

Borrower experience: 7.4/10

Wintrust Mortgage is a longtime player in the industry, accredited by the Better Business Bureau with an A+ grade. Although its website has some limitations, it does feature a learning center with videos and a glossary to help borrowers understand the basics of buying a home. There are also calculators to estimate your monthly payments and your credit score. Notably, the lender’s Zoom Mortgage platform makes the application process easy from a smartphone or computer with document upload capabilities, a monitoring system to track progress and alerts if you need to submit additional information.

How to apply for a mortgage with Wintrust Mortgage

You can apply for a mortgage with Wintrust Mortgage online or by phone at 800-999-2649. 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 Wintrust Mortgage

Wintrust Mortgage offers both rate-and-term and cash-out refinancing options. While the lender doesn’t disclose rates online, a loan officer indicated that the costs associated with refinancing include a $1,315 administrative fee, plus title costs and an appraisal fee. Depending on the rate you choose, you might be able to secure lender credits to help lower upfront costs.

• Methodology

  To determine a mortgage lender's Bankrate Score, Bankrate rates lenders on a scale of one (1) to five (5) stars — with five (5) the highest rating — based on a variety of factors relating to the lender's products and services. To assign our ratings, we assessed each mortgage lender across three core areas:

  • Affordability. Annual percentage rate (APR) - 80%; assistance for first-time homebuyers - 10%; down payment - 10%

  • Availability. Loan products - 50%; licensing - 40%; credit score - 10%

  • Borrower experience. Rate transparency - 45%; customer service - 25%; convenience - 10%; days to close - 10%; rate locks - 10%; reputation (bonus)

  Learn more about our methodology.

  How we suggest lenders to compare

  To help you make the most informed decisions, our editorial team suggests two (2) alternative mortgage lenders for each lender reviewed in our comparison table. In most cases, these alternatives 1.) share the same strength (affordability, availability or borrower experience) as the lender reviewed; and 2.) rate highly for Bankrate Score. In the event more than two lenders meet these standards, we suggest the ones with the lowest APRs.