Better Mortgage Review 2025
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Why trust NerdWallet
- 50+ mortgage lenders reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
- 40+ years of combined experience covering mortgages and financial topics.
- Objective, comprehensive star rating system assessing 120+ categories and 5,000+ data points.
- Governed by NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity.
Our Take
4.5
Better is an online-only lender that stands out for its attractive interest rates and wide range of mortgage types, including mortgages for condos and manufactured homes. Most likely to appeal to borrowers who want a one-stop shopping experience: Better offers connections with homeowners insurance providers and real estate attorneys, as well as title insurance. However, the lender could improve its customer service.
Pros
- Has a wide variety of mortgage types, including home equity products.
- Offers lower interest rates than many competitors.
- Sample online rates are customizable by location.
Cons
- We struggled to contact customer service.
- The lender scores poorly for customer satisfaction on Zillow.
- Does not offer construction loans.
Lender | Min. credit score | Min. down payment | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Visit Lenderat NBKC at NBKC | 620 | 3% | Visit Lenderat NBKC at NBKC |
 Visit Lenderat New American Funding at New American Funding | 580 | N/A | Visit Lenderat New American Funding at New American Funding |
 Visit Lenderat Rocket Mortgage, LLC at Rocket Mortgage, LLC | 580 | 3.5% | Visit Lenderat Rocket Mortgage, LLC at Rocket Mortgage, LLC |
 4.0 Visit Lenderat GO Mortgage at GO Mortgage | 620 | 3% | Visit Lenderat GO Mortgage at GO Mortgage |
 Visit Lenderat Veterans United at Veterans United | 620 | 0% | Visit Lenderat Veterans United at Veterans United |
Full Review
At a glance: Better mortgage options
Better is a nonbank lender based in New York City. It offers loans in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Better offers most standard types of loans, as well as home equity products and loans for condos and manufactured homes. However, you won’t find construction mortgages.
🏠 Common mortgages
Conventional (fixed-rate and adjustable)
Refinancing
Jumbo loans
FHA loans
VA loans
🔑 Specialty loans
Condo loans
Loans for manufactured homes
💵 Home equity
HELOCs
Home equity loans
Cash-out refinancing
» MORE: How to choose a mortgage lender
Better special offers and discounts
Better offers a number of unique perks for borrowers to streamline the buying process. These things stood out in our research.
Better Real Estate, which matches borrowers with partner real estate agents and provides a $2,000 closing cost credit.
Better Cover, which shops and compares insurance offers.
Better Attorney Match, which connects borrowers with real estate attorneys in New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Massachusetts.
Better Settlement Services, which provides title insurance and settlement resources.
What does Better specialize in?
A lender’s experience with your loan type can make a big difference. We looked at the latest federal data to find the types of mortgages Better handles most often.
Conventional purchase mortgages make up most of Better’s lending business — however, 15% of the lender’s originations last year were refinances.
How we score Better
Each year, NerdWallet writers and editors dig into the latest data and independent research on mortgage lending. Then, we rate lenders based on categories that matter most to mortgage borrowers.
Better has a NerdWallet home loans rating of 4.5 stars overall. Here’s a breakdown of this year’s score.
Category | Star rating |
|---|---|
Average mortgage rates and fees | |
Mortgage rate transparency | |
Variety of loan types | |
Customer experience | |
Overall star rating |
Ah, so you’re the “read the fine print” type? We got you. Here’s how our scoring rubric works.
Average mortgage rates and fees (30%)
We review federal data (as reported by the lenders) and analyze mortgage lenders’ average fees and interest rates across all loan types. Lenders with the lowest average costs get the highest star ratings. Keep in mind: Loans that are easier to qualify for, like FHA loans, usually have higher rates and fees because lenders see them as a higher risk. Pro tip: Paying some fees upfront can sometimes lower your interest rate.
Mortgage rate transparency (25%)
We look at how easy it is to compare mortgage rates online. Lenders get higher transparency ratings if they show sample rates on their website. (Not all lenders do!) The best ratings go to lenders that offer interactive tools that let you customize a rate quote on your own.
Variety of loan types (25%)
There’s no one-size-fits-all mortgage. Lenders earn top ratings in this category when they offer a large variety of mortgage types. The more variety, the higher their score. A lender earns points for purchase and refinance; fixed and adjustable rates; FHA, VA or USDA loans; renovation or construction loans; and home equity loans or HELOCs.
Customer experience (20%)
How easy is it to work with this lender? Top-rated lenders offer helpful features like online applications, multiple ways to get support, a user-friendly mobile app and clear updates about the loan closing timeline.
Better bonus points and penalties
Better earned bonus points for offering mortgages for manufactured homes.
Better reputation and customer experience
NerdWallet’s star ratings look at objective factors like rates, fees and loan options. To give you a sense of what the borrower experience is really like, we pulled the latest customer satisfaction scores from Zillow and we contacted the lender’s customer support.
Zillow Mortgage Lender Customer Rating
4.37
out of 5
Below-average rating as of the date of publication.
Rating reflects more than 3,000 customer reviews.
Better customer service options
Here’s how you can get in touch with Better.
Ways to reach LENDER
Physical branches . . . . . . 🚫 Phone support . . . . . . . . . ✅ Mobile app . . . . . . . . . . . . ✅ Online chat (bot) . . . . . . . 🚫 Online chat (human) . . . . 🚫
» MORE: How to apply for a mortgage
🤓 Our Nerds say... customer service needs improvement
Taylor Getler, lead writer, mortgages
Borrowers can contact Better via email, phone or mobile app. When we called their customer service line, we were first connected with a robotic voice (which sort of mimicked what you’d find with a chat bot). We had to ask to be transferred to a live agent, which never connected.
» MORE: How to apply for a mortgage
Alternatives to Better mortgage
Our biggest tip: Get offers from at least three different mortgage lenders. Comparison shopping can save you thousands of dollars. You can get rate quotes yourself, or work with a mortgage broker to shop around on your behalf.
If you’re interested in a lender that offers services for home buyers beyond the mortgage — such as connecting with a real estate agent — you may want to check out Chase.
Borrowers who are put off by Better’s customer service reputation may be interested in Citi, which scores highly on Zillow and JD Power for customer experience.
Finally, if you plan to refinance your mortgage, Wells Fargo could be a solid choice — the lender was NerdWallet’s pick for Best Lender for Refinancing in 2025.
» MORE: Best mortgage lenders
More from NerdWallet
NerdWallet’s overall ratings for mortgage lenders are evaluated based on four major categories: variety of loan types (purchase, refinance, fixed and adjustable, for example), ease of application, rates and fees and rate transparency. Among the factors we consider when scoring these categories are options to apply for and track loans online, the level of detail about mortgage rates on lender websites and our analysis of the rates and fees lenders reported in the latest available Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. These scores generate ratings from 1 star (poor) to 5 stars (excellent).
