loanDepot Mortgage Review

loanDepot is one of the largest non-bank lenders in the country. It offers several types of NMLS-licenced mortgage loans, as well as personal loan products.

loanDepot has more than 150 local loan offices where you can get in-person help, but it still provides timely pre-approval and other great features that are traditionally made available by online lenders.

In this review:

• LoanDepot: By the Numbers
• Pros & Cons of loanDepot.com
• Eligibility & Application Requirements
• loanDepot vs Quicken Loans (Rocket Mortgage)

LoanDepot: By the Numbers

Loan Type	Min. credit score	Min. down payment	Loan Terms
Conventional	Not disclosed (620 estimated)	5%	Fixed: 10, 15, 20, or 30 years ARM: 3/1, 5/1, 7/1, or 10/1
Jumbo	Not disclosed	Not disclosed	Fixed: Not disclosed ARM: 3/1, 5/1, or 7/1
FHA	500	3.5%	Not disclosed: see conventional options for estimate
VA	Not disclosed (500 estimated)	$0	Fixed: 15 or 30 years ARM: Not disclosed
302k	580	3.5%	Not disclosed: see conventional options for estimate
Mortgage Refinance	Not disclosed	Not disclosed	Fixed: 10, 15, 20, 30, or 40 years ARM: Not disclosed

loanDepot offers a variety of mortgage loan options, including conventional and jumbo loans, loans for first-time home buyers (including FHA loans, 302k loans, and VA loans), and mortgage loan refinancing.

You can get a quote online by entering basic information about yourself, your home, and the type of loan you’re looking for.

Pros & Cons of loanDepot.com

Consider the benefits and disadvantages of working with loanDepot.

Pros

• Get preapproved for a mortgage refinance or home purchase in minutes after submitting your information online.

• loanDepot allows you to submit digital financial information and proof of income to move quickly through the mortgage loan application process.

• In-person support makes it easy to choose the right mortgage type from the wide array of home loan products loanDepot offers.

• Lifetime guarantee: You won’t have to pay any fees to refinance once you get an initial loan with loanDepot.

Cons

• Lender fees are higher than some competitors, and lenders may charge additional fees.

• Quoted interest rates include up to 3 points of prepaid interest.

• You can’t complete the entire process online—you must talk with a loan officer to move through the application process.

Eligibility & Application Requirements

loanDepot is one of the largest FHA and VA lenders in the country. Both FHA and VA loans are backed by the government, which means that lenders can offer much more relaxed qualifying requirements.

Lower-income borrowers, those with minimal down payments, and borrowers with imperfect credit could still obtain loans through loanDepot since the lender makes these government-insured loans available.

Eligibility requirements do vary depending on loan type, but here are some of the general eligibility requirements to qualify for a loan with loanDepot:

• loanDepot hasn’t disclosed the minimum credit score for conventional loans, but most lenders want to see a FICO score of at least 620. The minimum score for FHA loans is 500 (with a larger down payment), but if you only provide the minimum 3.5% down payment, you may need a score of 580.
• You’ll also need to satisfy the minimum down payment requirements for the loan program you’re applying under. This is 3.5% for FHA loans or 5% for conventional loans.
• Finally, you need enough income relevant to your debts. This ensures the lender that you’ll be able to keep up with monthly payments. loanDepot hasn’t disclosed the maximum debt-to-income ratio on their conventional loans, but for FHA loans, the maximum DTI is 43%.

How to Apply

loanDepot offers the “mello smartloan,” which doesn’t require an appraisal, and which eliminates as much as 80% of the work involved in getting a mortgage loan. This streamlined loan process cuts as much as 17 days off the time it takes to close on your loan.

The process of getting a loan with loanDepot includes a few simple steps:

• You’ll start by filling out some basic information online. loanDepot will then connect you with one of the 1,700 licensed loan officers across the United States. Your officer will help you set goals for buying or refinancing your house.
• You’ll then select the right loan to meet your needs. loanDepot offers many options, including conventional loans, jumbo loans, VA loans, and FHA Loans.
• Next, you must submit some basic financial information to get approved for the loan you want. This can all be done online, and the documents may include pay stubs and tax returns.
• You’ll close on the loan at a pre-set time that’s convenient for you.

What You Need to Apply

To apply for a loan through loanDepot, you will need:

• Tax returns
• Pay stubs
• Bank statements
• Two years of employment history

loanDepot vs Quicken Loans (Rocket Mortgage)

It’s important to compare loanDepot with competitors, such as Quicken Loans Mortgage (and its subsidiary, Rocket Mortgage). Both have very similar features, but there are also important differences that you should be aware of when deciding which lender is right for you.

• We estimate that loanDepot and Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans have the same minimum credit score.
• The minimum down payment for Rocket Mortgage is 3% while loanDepot requires a 5% down payment.
• Rocket Mortgage offers more loan types, including USDA loans. Both Rocket Mortgage and loanDepot offer purchase and refinance loans, as well as FHA and VA loans
• loanDepot has an A- rating from the Better Business Bureau and an 8.6 out of 10 from TrustPilot, while Rocket Mortgage has an A+ BBB Rating and a 9.6 out of 10 TrustPilot score.
• LendEDU gave loanDeopt a rating of 4.60 / 5.00. Rocket Mortgage received a LendEDU rating of 4.25 / 5.00.

Not Satisfied?

If you aren’t sure that loanDepot is the ideal choice for your mortgage loan, there are other lenders to check out. You should always compare multiple rate quotes from several of the best mortgage lenders to make sure you find the best rates.

You should also experiment with different loan terms and down payment amounts to determine what’s necessary to obtain an affordable loan. Our mortgage calculator can help you do this.

How We Rate Mortgage Lenders

loanDepot was ranked sixth out of 18 mortgage lenders based on LendEDU’s rating methodology. This was based on the weighted average of 12 data points, including:

• The lender’s Better Business Bureau rating, which made up 10% of our score metrics
• The TrustPilot rating, which was worth 5%
• The number of states where loans were available, which was worth 5%
• The number of licenses and registrations, which was worth 5% of our score
• The number of regulatory actions, which was worth for 5%
• The number of mortgage loan originators, which was worth 5% as well
• The lender’s customer support, which was worth for 20%
• The lender’s Zillow rating, which was worth 10% of the score
• Other rewards and extra benefits, which was worth 10% of the lender’s score

4.60 loanDepot