Mortgages

Best Mortgage Refinance Companies

A mortgage refinance loan could lower your rate or reduce your monthly payment—or both. Our picks for the best mortgage refinance companies include Better, New American, loanDepot, Reali, and Guaranteed Rate.

Christy Rakoczy

March 9, 2022

Many or all of the companies featured provide compensation to LendEDU. These commissions are how we maintain our free service for consumers. Compensation, along with hours of in-depth editorial research, determines where & how companies appear on our site.

If you have a mortgage and your rates are higher than you believe they should be, you may want to refinance your loan.

Refinancing could also allow you to change the type of loan you have, such as replacing an adjustable-rate mortgage with a fixed-rate mortgage. Or you can refinance to increase your loan term and reduce your monthly payments.

Whatever your motivation, you have a lot of refinance options when selecting a new loan. This guide will cover the best mortgage refinance companies, as well as provide some tips on how to select the lender that’s right for you.

On this page:

LendEDU’s 5 Best Mortgage Refinance Companies
3 Tips for Finding the Best Refinance Lenders

LendEDU’s 5 Best Mortgage Refinance Companies

Better
New American Funding
loanDepot
Reali
Guaranteed Rate

1) Better

Better helps borrowers refinance loans with minimal fees and an easy online application process. You can refinance conventional, jumbo, and FHA loans backed by the federal housing administration.

Here’s what you need to know about Better’s refinance loans:

Minimum credit score: 620
Closing cost fee: $1,500 – $3,500
Overall LendEDU Rating: 5.00 / 5.00

Full Review: Better Mortgage Review

2) New American Funding

New American Funding is a family-owned company that is willing to use non-traditional underwriting to provide mortgage loans and refinance loans to borrowers who don’t have traditional credit profiles.

You can refinance conventional and jumbo loans, FHA loans, VA loans, and USDA loans with New American.

Here’s what you need to know about New American’s refinance loans:

Minimum credit score: Not disclosed
Maximum loan-to-value: 97%
Maximum debt-to-income ratio: Not disclosed
Overall LendEDU Rating: 4.97 / 5.00

Full Review: New American Funding Review

3) loanDepot

loanDepot is actually the second largest non-bank consumer mortgage loan provider in the country. It offers the opportunity to refinance a wide variety of loan types including conventional and jumbo loans, FHA loans, and VA loans.

Here’s what you need to know about loanDepot’s refinance loans:

Time to funding: Up to 45 to 60 days
Maximum loan-to-value: Not disclosed
Term lengths: 10, 15, 20, 30, or 40 years
Overall LendEDU Rating: 4.94 / 5.00

Full Review: loanDepot Mortgage Review

4) Reali

Reali provides refinance loans in a limited number of states. Reali was formerly known as Lenda, but the mortgage lender merged with a real estate brokerage firm and now offers not just refinance loans, but also assistance in buying and selling homes.

You can refinance conventional and jumbo loans as well as FHA loans with Reali.

Here’s what you need to know about Reali’s refinance loans:

Minimum credit score: 580
Maximum loan-to-value: 97%
Maximum debt-to-income ratio: Not disclosed
Overall LendEDU Rating: 4.52 / 5.00

Full Review: Reali Loans Mortgage Review

5) Guaranteed Rate

Guaranteed Rate is an online mortgage lender that allows you to complete the loan application and approval process entirely online. You can refinance conventional and jumbo loans as well as FHA, VA, and USDA loan with Guaranteed Rate.

Here’s what you need to know about Guaranteed Rate’s refinance loans:

Minimum credit score: Not disclosed (estimated: 620 for conventional loans, 580 for FHA/VA/USDA loans)
Maximum loan-to-value: Not disclosed (estimated: 97%)
Maximum debt-to-income ratio: Not disclosed
Overall LendEDU Rating: 4.47 / 5.00

Full review: Guaranteed Rate Mortgage Review

How We Chose the Best Lenders

LendEDU ranked and rated 19 mortgage refinance companies based on the weighted average of 11 different data points:

BBB Rating (5%)
Trustpilot Rating (5%)
States Available (5%)
Lender Fees (12.5%)
Application Fees (12.5%)
Online Application (7.5%)

Fixed Terms (15%)
15 Year APR (5%)
30 Year APR (5%)
Customer Support (20%)
Zillow Rating (7.5%)

3 Tips for Finding the Best Refinance Lenders

When refinancing your mortgage, you should take a few key steps to make sure you find the best lender for your particular situation.

1. Know Your Number

You should check your credit report before you apply for a mortgage refinance loan. Reviewing your credit history will help you identify areas you could clean up before applying for a loan, such as paying down credit card debt.

And knowing how your credit score has changed over time will help you determine if you’re likely to get a better interest rate than the one you’re paying on your current mortgage.

If your score is good enough to qualify, but just barely, you’re unlikely to qualify for a better rate.

This is fine if you’re refinancing to increase your repayment timeline, but if you’re hoping for a lower interest rate, you should work on improving your score before applying with mortgage companies.

2. Compare Refinancing Rates

Mortgage rates can vary dramatically from one lender to another. That’s why homebuyers should always shop around and compare quotes from multiple lenders to find the best rate.

The good news is, online mortgage lenders have made it simple and easy to qualify for pre-approval, so you can compare interest rates and terms from different lenders in one sitting.

Our Mortgage Refinance Calculator can help you see how a mortgage refinance will affect your bottom line and connect you with potential lenders at the same time.

3. Negotiate

Once you have a few quotes to use as leverage, try to negotiate for terms you want with your loan officer.

You probably won’t be able to negotiate your interest rate, but you may be able to get a mortgage broker to waive or reduce upfront origination fees or other closing costs associated with setting up your home loan to help you save money.

Not Satisfied?

Here are a few more resources you may be interested in:

Author: Christy Rakoczy

Christy Rakoczy is an experienced personal finance and legal writer who has been writing full time since 2008. She earned her JD at UCLA and graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in media and communications. Her work has been featured on CNN Money, MSN Money, Yahoo Finance, USA Today, and more.