Business Insider's personal finance team reviewed Better Mortgage and found it to be one of the best mortgage lenders available thanks to its convenient online process and low rates. Better earns a 4.21 out of 5-star rating from Business Insider based on its loan options, affordability, customer satisfaction, and trustworthiness.
Better Mortgage offers a convenient digital experience, has good customer reviews, and lets you easily see personalized rates on its website. But if you need a more niche type of mortgage, you'll need to look elsewhere, since Better's offerings are relatively basic.
Better Mortgage Pros and Cons
Pros
- Relatively low rates
- See personalized rates online before applying
- Quick preapproval application
- Get a conditional commitment letter in 24 hours
- May be able to get a loan with recent negative credit event
Better Mortgage's quick basic preapproval is a nice benefit if you're trying to get an idea of how much you can afford, since it takes just a few minutes and only requires a soft credit check — though if you're getting ready to start making offers on homes, we'd recommend going with the lender's verified preapproval so you know your finances have been fully vetted.
Cons
- Not able to apply for a mortgage in person
- No niche loan options
- Can't apply with non-traditional credit (like utility bills) if you don't have a credit score
Better is an online-only lender, so if you prefer an in-person experience, you'll need to go elsewhere. It also doesn't offer less common types of mortgages like physician mortgages or non-QM loans.
Get Mortgage Rates
620
3%
Conforming, jumbo, FHA, VA, HELOC, HELOAN
- See personalized interest rates online before applying
- Quick preapproval
- Low average rates
- Get a conditional commitment letter in 24 hours
- May be able to get a loan with recent negative credit event
- Only available online
- No USDA mortgages, reverse mortgages, or construction loans
- Doesn't accept non-traditional credit
Better Mortgage is one of our best mortgage lenders. It offers a convenient online experience and lets you easily see personalized rates online. But Better's mortgage offerings are fairly basic.
- Online-only mortgage lender
- Offers mortgages in every U.S. state and Washington, D.C.
- Minimum credit score and down payment displayed are for conforming mortgages
Better Mortgage Overview
Better Mortgage is an online mortgage lender available in all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C.
Mortgage Options
Better offers mortgages to purchase a home as well as both rate-and-term and cash-out refinances. Its loans come with both fixed and adjustable rate options.
Conventional Loans
Better Mortgage offers conforming loans, which are the most popular type of mortgage. You'll need a credit score of 620 or higher and at least a 3% down payment.
Jumbo Loans
Better's jumbo loans come in amounts up to $3 million. They require a minimum 700 credit score and a down payment above 10%.
FHA Loans
To get an FHA loan from Better, you'll need a minimum 580 credit score and a down payment of 3.5%. If you're refinancing, you can get an FHA streamline refinance here as well.
VA Loans
This lender offers VA loans to eligible borrowers who have a credit score of at least 620. It also has VA IRRRL refinance mortgages.
Home Equity Loans and HELOCs
Better also offers both home equity loans and home equity lines of credit, or HELOCs.
How to Apply
Better offers two different types of preapproval letters. The first is a basic mortgage preapproval letter, which utilizes a soft credit pull and information you provide to determine whether you qualify and how much you can borrow (some might call this a prequalification, though lenders often use the terms interchangeably). Its verified preapproval letter, on the other hand, provides more certainty because it requires you to upload documents verifying your financial situation.
If you're getting ready to start making offers on houses, it's better to have a verified preapproval, since you want to be certain that you're likely to be approved for the amount stated in your preapproval letter.
Better One Day Mortgage
Once you've made an offer on a home and it's been accepted, you may also be able to use Better's One Day Mortgage. This feature gives eligible borrowers a conditional commitment letter within 24 hours of locking in their rate. With this letter, the lender agrees to give you a mortgage, as long as you continue to meet its requirements and the home you're buying doesn't have any significant issues (such as a low appraisal).
One Day Mortgage isn't available for FHA or VA loans. To find out if you qualify for One Day Mortgage, you'll first need to go through basic preapproval. If you qualify for this feature, you'll receive an email from the lender letting you know.
Better Mortgage Interest Rates and Fees
Competitive Rates, Standard Fees
Based on Business Insider's review of the latest Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, Better Mortgage's rates were significantly lower than average in 2023.
On Better Mortgage's website, navigate to the "Rates" page and select purchase or refinance rates to see sample mortgage rates based on your ZIP code.
This probably won't be exactly the rate you'll end up paying, but it should give you an idea. To get a more accurate rate quote, you'll have to provide some contact information to get a basic preapproval letter. This doesn't require a hard credit check.
HMDA data also showed that the average borrower getting a conventional mortgage from this lender paid $3,730 in origination charges last year. This is average compared to other lenders.
Is Better Mortgage Trustworthy?
We think Better Mortgage is an overall trustworthy company, and based on customer reviews, it's clear that many borrowers have a good experience with this lender.
The Better Business Bureau gives Better Mortgage an A- rating rather than an A+ due to customer complaints against the lender.
What Borrowers Are Saying About Better Mortgage
Business Insider looked at positive and negative customer reviews, online forums, BBB complaints, and other sources to understand what borrowers think about Better Mortgage. Here are our takeaways.
Easy Online Experience
Many previous Better Mortgage borrowers spoke highly of the technology Better uses to get you through the loan process. They say it was easy to upload documents to their online portals and see what other tasks they needed to complete to move the process along.
Weak Preapproval Letters
We saw some Better customers complaining about the lender's preapproval letters, saying that they aren't completely accurate.
When you get a preapproval letter from Better, the lender does a soft pull of your credit and relies on self-reported information about your income and assets. While this can give you an idea of how much you'll ultimately qualify for and what rate you'll get, it's not as reliable as having the lender look at your financial documents (like paystubs and tax returns) to verify how much you can afford.
This is why we recommend getting a verified preapproval from Better if you're serious about starting the homebuying process.
Spotty Communication
Some previous borrowers said that their loan officers were sometimes difficult to reach or seemed to lack a sense of urgency. This could be a problem if you're planning to buy a home, since home purchase contracts typically have tighter and stricter deadlines than borrowers who are refinancing do.
How Better Mortgage Compares to Other Lenders
Better Mortgage vs. Guild Mortgage
Guild Mortgage has more mortgage options than Better Mortgage, so Guild might be a better choice if you want a large number of options to choose from, or if you need a more unique type of mortgage. But Better offers lower rates and a super convenient online process.
Guild Mortgage's Complete Rate program lets you use non-traditional credit (such as rent or utility payment history) to apply if you're a first-time homebuyer with no traditional credit score.
Both are strong online lenders, so it could be worth applying with both to see which one can offer you the best deal overall.
Better Mortgage vs. Sage Mortgage
Sage Mortgage is similar to Better Mortgage. It offers conforming, FHA, VA, and jumbo loans. Sage Mortgage's average rates are relatively low. Sage's fees are slightly higher than average. Better has low rates and average fees.
Better also has options for tapping into your home's equity with a home equity loan or HELOC, while Sage does not.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Better Mortgage
For our review of Better Mortgage, we used our methodology for reviewing mortgage lenders.
We look at four factors — loan types, affordability, customer satisfaction, and trustworthiness — and give each a rating between 1 and 5, then we average these individual ratings for the overall lender rating. Lenders get higher ratings if they offer a high number of loan types with affordable features, have positive customer reviews, and don't have any recent public controversies.
Our Overall Lender Rating
Loan Types: 3.5 out of 5
Better Mortgage doesn't offer a huge range of loan options, but the loans it does offer will likely suit most borrowers, since it offers all of the most common types of mortgages. But if you're looking to explore your options or get a more niche type of mortgage, you'll want to look elsewhere.
Affordability: 4.5 out of 5
Better has multiple low down payment mortgage options. And in some cases, you may be able to get a loan with Better even if you've recently experienced a negative credit event, such as a foreclosure.
Its low rates also make it an affordable lender. But its fees are just average.
Customer Satisfaction: 4.35 out of 5
On its Zillow lender page, Better has a rating of 4.39 out of 5 stars based on over 800 customer reviews. On TrustPilot, it earned 4.3 out of 5 stars based on over 1,000 customer reviews.
Trustworthiness: 4.5 out of 5
Better Mortgage has an A- rating from the BBB and no recent major scandals.
A strong BBB grade indicates a company is honest in its advertising, transparent about business practices, and effective in responding to customer complaints.
FAQs
Is Better Mortgage legit?
Yes, Better Mortgage is a real mortgage lending company that's been around since 2014.
Is Better Mortgage a reputable company?
Better Mortgage is a reputable company overall with an A- rating from the BBB.
Is Better Mortgage available in all states?
Yes, Better Mortgage is available in all 50 U.S. states and Washington, DC.
Can I refinance my mortgage with Better Mortgage?
Better Mortgage may be a good lender for refinancing your mortgage. It offers both traditional rate-and-term and cash-out refinancing.
What type of lender is Better Mortgage?
Better Mortgage is a direct lender, meaning you'll apply through Better and it will be the entity that provides you with your mortgage. This differs from a mortgage broker, who helps connect you with a lender but doesn't actually lend the funds themselves.
