Best Mortgage Lenders For First-Time Homebuyers 2021
Forbes Advisor compiled a list of lenders that excel in various areas, such as offering low down-payment mortgages or specialty loans for first-time borrowers.
Consider that first-time buyers tend to be younger, so they might not have a long credit history, which can translate into a lower credit score. In fact, most of the lenders in the top offer mortgages to those with scores in the low 600s. This means finding loans and lenders that meet their financial needs is important.
This borrower profile factored heavily into Forbes Advisor’s list.
The top five lenders they choose are as follows and why:
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Better.com — 5 stars for quick pre-approval and faster than average turn times
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Guaranteed Rate — 5 stars for quick closings and lower-than-average rates
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PNC — 5 stars for low rates and quick closings in some cases
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Ally — 4.5 stars for lightning-fast preapproval and rate locks
loanDepot — 4.5 starts for, you know, the mello tech advantage
Quicken, BofA, Guild Mortgage and Mr. Cooper also made the list!
The scoring methodology included capturing more than 10 data points, which covered interest rates, lender fees, loan types, discounts, accessibility and borrower requirements.
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AIME gets a new CEO
The Association of Independent Mortgage Experts announced that insider Katie Sweeney will follow in Anthony Casa’s
footsteps as Chairman. Sweeney previously served as AIME’s Executive Vice President of Strategy.
The last few years with the AIME and Brokers Are Better Community has been a whirlwind, but one that I wouldn't change in the least,” Sweeney said on her LinkedIn page. “I am more focused than ever on our mission of protecting, serving, and growing the independent mortgage broker channel and using our voices to lift up and transform this industry.”
Casa stepped down in October of last year after making lewd comments about the wife of a Quicken Loans executive. The press release announcing the move does not mention Casa, but gets a shout out from another big player in the mortgage broker community.
“UWM is a proud sponsor and avid supporter of AIME and the broker community. Katie does a fantastic job leading the AIME team and community and I look forward to her continued support to bring brokers together and grow the channel,” said Mat Ishbia, President and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, in a statement.
AIME claims to have 40,000+ members and its vision is to contribute to the overall growth of broker market share to above 25% in 2021 and beyond.
🔥 Caliber Club 🔥
With Josh Pitts, David Schroeder, & Tony Kottenbrock
A bunch of very interesting news with only a tiny connection to mortgage lending
—> Let’s start by saying the DFW Realtor who was part of a pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol now faces additional charges.
Jenna Ryan was charged Tuesday with Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building and Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building. Ryan is not said to be considering going into mortgage lending if she escapes prosecution. No one is reporting that, yet.
—> Here’s another crime story that’s only loosely linked to the residential mortgage space. Former Dallas Financial Adviser Faces Felony Chargers. Sarah Helen Hancock, who had her license revoked five years ago, was indicted by a Dallas County grand jury last week for theft, misappropriation of fiduciary property, and securities fraud. The 61-year-old is charged with taking money from clients’ accounts and putting it into her own business account where it “would all but evaporate.” One account, with a listed portfolio value of $1.6 million, only contained $24,000.
Hancock ran a remodeling business. However, while she remodeled homes, she in no way helped homeowners get home loans. So.
—> Commercial mortgage brokerage Meridian Capital Group has partnered with investment manager Barings to create a new agency lending platform, with former Freddie Mac CEO David Brickman as CEO.
The move is part of Meridian’s plan to grow its core mortgage brokerage and its other lines of business on a national level – extending its investment sales and retail leasing products to major markets nationwide. But none of these markets will be within the residential real estate space, leaving Brickman as the only tangential connection to our lives.
—> And finally, scientists have already figured out how to grow meat in a lab, nurturing animal cells to multiply into chicken cutlets and burger patties. Now, MIT researchers are hoping to do the same with wood, to quickly produce in a lab what would take decades to grow in nature.
From there, they could even coax wood tissue to grow into fully-formed shapes — like, say, a house — in order to mitigate the environmental harm of the logging and construction industries.
Sources tell Rise&Shred that wood is used to build houses. And that people will then require mortgages to buy those houses. So, that’s it. That’s how it is linked to us.
This vital story is developing. So, check back daily for updates. And please forward to a friend to subscribe and help Rise&Shred grow!
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