The Best Place to Refinance a Mortgage: Our Top 5 Mortgage Refinancing Companies to Refinance Near Me

If you have a house, then it’s likely you’re receiving mortgage refinance offers in your mailbox at least weekly.

There are a lot of lenders competing for your business and many different benefits to compare between these lenders. That includes: refinance rates, lower interest rates, and cash-out refinance payments.

We profile the best mortgage refinance lenders below and include all of the information you need to make a confident decision. We read through legitimate customer experience reviews pulled from trusted sources to ensure your refinancing process will be hassle-free.

4 Best Mortgage Refinance Lenders: Our Top Picks

1. Best Overall Service – Quicken Loans 
2. Lowest APRs – Better.com 
3. Best Banking Benefits – CIT Bank 
4. Most Refinancing Options – BBVA Bank 

Whether you are trying to get a lower monthly mortgage payment or trying to get some cash back out of your home equity, these top four lenders will have great offers for you.

Read on to see what we discovered about each of these lenders.

1. Quicken Loans – Best Mortgage Refinance Company Overall

Pros

• Customizable fixed-rate mortgage terms
• Offers FHA and VA-guaranteed mortgages
• 90-day rate lock
• Can work with high DTI (debt-to-income ratio)

Cons

• Non-competitive APRs
• No physical branches

Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans is now one of the biggest mortgage lenders in America. They got there by offering excellent customer service combined with a streamlined, online refinancing process.

Quicken has always been popular for online financial planning services. They pretty much pioneered online mortgage applications as well. Only the actual signing at the end needs to be done in person, but Quicken Loans makes it easy to schedule this at your convenience.

Quicken can work with a high DTI and help applicants with a minimum credit score of 620.

One of the best attributes of a Rocket Mortgage loan is that Quicken holds on to 99% of the loans that they originate. Most other mortgage originators will help you through the application process, only to turn around and sell your loan to another servicer. With Quicken, there’s a good chance that you can continue working with the same people and systems that got you started.

Four of the top services offered by Rocket Mortgage include:

FHA and VA Financing

If you qualify for an FHA or VA loan, Quicken can help you get that mortgage with a min down payment, or even no down payment, and no mortgage insurance. If you are refinancing your home to get some cash out of your equity, it’s certainly beneficial to avoid a big down payment.

90-Day Rate Lock with “Float Down” Guarantee

Rocket Mortgage’s quick and efficient approval process locks in your mortgage rates for 90 days with a “float down” feature. This guarantees you the lowest available rate during your refinancing process by allowing your rate to go down potentially but never go up.

Customizable Loan Terms

If you’re only 12 years away from retirement and are trying to pay off your house in that time frame, don’t worry—Quicken has you covered. Rocket Mortgages can be customized for any term length to ensure your professional and financial goals are in sync with each other. 

What People Say

While Quicken doesn’t have an outstanding composite score from the Better Business Bureau reviews, most of the reviews acknowledge how quick and easy their refinancing process was. Even the negative reviews that seem to pull down their score seem to have been addressed by the Quicken Customer Service team, who respond quickly to complaints.

2. Better.com – Lowest APRs of Any Mortgage Refinance Lender

Pros

• No Lender, Application, Underwriting, or Origination Fees
• Lowest APRs Among Those Reviewed
• Fastest Approval

Cons

• No VA Lending
• No Physical Branches

Better.com is another great lender to visit online if you prefer to stay at home rather than visiting an office. Their 24-hour human assistance will help you get an immediate approval letter, usually before the next business day.

Once approved, Better.com will also assign you a dedicated loan officer to walk you through the rest of the steps. Approval is granted after a “soft credit check,” which will not impact your credit rating at all. You need a minimum credit score of 620.

Compared with other online lenders, Better.com is more transparent and easier for homeowners to understand. Their interest rates, and annual percentage rates, are provided up-front. And they don’t have hidden costs—no lender, application, underwriting, or origination fees! Three of the top services offered at Better.com include:

Offer Matching with $100 Guarantee

Not only are the interest rates low at Better.com, but they also will try to match any competing offer you can find. If they can’t beat it by $100, that $100 is yours to keep!

Reduced Closing/Refinancing Costs

As most first-time homebuyers are aware, closing costs can add up quickly and surprisingly to any purchaser who isn’t prepared for them. Better.com does not charge any lender, application, underwriting, or origination fees, which dramatically reduces those closing costs.

Digital Underwriting

Most sellers will require a pre-approval letter when you make an offer. Better.com goes a step further by digitally underwriting your home loan approval, giving you more immediate leverage and giving the seller more immediate confidence in your bid!

What People Say

Better.com has a decent overall score at the Better Business Bureau, but some comments indicate that they have trouble maintaining communication with the lender.

3. CIT Bank – Best Bank to Refinance a Home

Pros

• Benefits For Banking Customers
• FHA Lending Available
• Large Variety of Loan Types

Cons

• No Home Equity Loans
• No VA Loans

CIT Bank is a great choice if you also need a bank for your regular financial needs. They offer benefits to their banking customers, like additional rate discounts and cashback.

They also have more conventional loans, such as fixed-rate loans and variable rate mortgages. Depending upon how long you’ll be living in the home, variable-rate mortgages might be a good option.

Since they are a full-service bank, you would expect them also to offer home equity loans, but apparently, those are not available. Three of the top services offered at CIT Bank include:

Interest-Only Loans

If you don’t need to build equity in your home or aren’t in a financial position to start building equity, then an interest-only home loan can make your monthly payments much more affordable.

Relationship Discounts

If you have a banking account with CIT Bank, you can earn $525 cash back after closing. Additionally, maintaining a large balance in that account can qualify you for rate discounts.

Jumbo Loans

If you need more than conventional loans, CIT Bank can offer loans up to $2 million for qualifying properties.

What People Say

CIT Bank was reviewed rather poorly by customers at the Better Business Bureau, but it only has 16 reviews so we can’t rely on BBB too much here. 

4. BBVA Bank – Most Home Refinancing Options 

Pros

• Competitive Rates
• Can Finance Government-Backed Mortgages
• Award-Winning Mobile Banking App

Cons

• Only in fifteen States
• Numerous Fees

BBVA Bank is a smaller mortgage lender but among the largest 25 banking systems in America. They offer a wide range of mortgage, refinancing, and home equity loan types. You can apply with a minimum credit score of 620.

They can finance FHA, USDA, and VA-guaranteed mortgages to offer you a mortgage with a min down payment. If you are looking to monetize your equity with BBVA, you can apply for a home equity loan rather than refinancing. Three of the top services offered at BBVA Bank include:

Widest Variety of Finance Options

Their menu of loan types is truly staggering. Variable-rate conventional loans and fixed rate mortgages, all three government-backed loans, jumbo loans, and professional workspace loans, are just the tip of the iceberg.

Home Ownership Made Easy (HOME) Program

If your home is in a qualifying low-income district, you may be able to acquire a no-down-payment or min down payment mortgage.

Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOC)

BBVA can also finance smaller, more flexible loans using your equity as collateral.

What People Say

BBVA is not too popular on BBB, but we give them credit for responding to all the customer complaints we found on the site.

Mortgage Refinance Lenders FAQ

Even though you’ve already been through the mortgage application process at least once, you may still have questions about refinancing.

We try to answer any questions you might have in advance, so here are some of the most common ones:

How Does Refinancing Work?

Refinancing means taking out a new mortgage loan and paying off your original loan. There are a few reasons why you might want to do this.

• If your original mortgage was obtained with a higher interest rate, you might be able to get better mortgage rates now.
• You may be able to leverage your home equity into a substantial cash-out refinance.
• You might want to extend the terms of your mortgage to lower your monthly payments.

How Much Does Refinancing a Mortgage Cost?

The first thing you should check is whether your current mortgage has an early pay-off fee. This can make it prohibitive to refinance. If you can avoid this fee, prepare yourself to pay closing costs, including:

• Application Fee
• Origination Fee
• Credit Report Costs
• Home Appraisal
• Flood Certification Fee
• Title Search

There may be other fees as well; it could cost as much as $3000. Use your lender’s cost calculators to make sure you will end up saving money through lower refinance rates.

How Should You Choose a Mortgage Refinance Company?

In many cases, the mortgage refinance company will choose you—depending on your credit rating and your debt-to-income ratio. You can apply with multiple lenders and choose the one that offers the lowest monthly payments for your refinancing plan. 

When Is Refinancing a Good Decision? When Is It Not?

Of course, a mortgage lender will tell you that refinancing is always a good decision. Make sure you compare future mortgage payments to your current monthly payments before signing a new mortgage.

Are There Any Risks to Refinancing?

The major risk is that after various fees are added to your mortgage, you may not end up with lower monthly payments as you expected. Additionally, an adjustable-rate mortgage that initially looks attractive might raise its rates in a few years.

Why Should I Refinance My Mortgage?

Refinancing can be a good option if interest rates on mortgages have dropped significantly since your original mortgage was purchased. Additionally, increasing the length of your mortgage can lower your rates if you have new expenses in your budget, such as a newborn child.

Why Is My Bank Pushing Me to Refinance (How Does It Benefit Them)?

Your bank is interested in getting paid the various fees that are associated with refinancing. Additionally, they want you to extend the terms of your mortgage to squeeze more years of monthly payments from you. Lower payments may seem attractive, but if you consider that you may be paying your mortgage for several extra years, you might want to reconsider.

Could Refinancing With Some Banks Be a Scam/Too Good to Be True?

Generally, if interest rates have not dropped significantly, refinancing is just a way of postponing your expenses (and usually increasing them, in the long run). You might get an appealing cash-out refinance offer, but keep in mind, you will be paying for it down the road.

Best Mortgage Refinance Companies: The Takeaway

The best mortgage refinance companies should offer the lowest rates combined with the easiest-to-understand procedures and quickest, hassle-free approval.

Quicken Loans has the best reviews, offers a good variety of loan types, and allows borrowers to lock low rates with the “Float Down” guarantee.

Always be sure to compare monthly payments to your current mortgage before refinancing, and examine all of the fine print before signing a new mortgage.

The reviews and statements published here are those of the sponsor and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position or views of Observer.