Guild Mortgage Review 2024
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- 50+ mortgage lenders reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
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Our Take
4.0
Guild offers a number of loans and programs that stand out from competitors, including FHA loans, renovation loans, home equity products and loans for manufactured homes. However, Guild does not have a mobile app, and interest rates aren’t published online. Most likely to appeal to borrowers who would benefit from down payment or credit score requirement flexibility.
Pros
- Offers several programs to make homeownership more accessible.
- Offers loans for manufactured homes.
- Renovation loan options are available.
Cons
- Does not publish interest rates online.
- No mortgage mobile app.
- Loans are not available in every state.
Lender | Min. credit score | Min. down payment | |
|---|---|---|---|
620 | 3% | Visit Lenderat NBKC at NBKC | |
580 | N/A | Visit Lenderat New American Funding at New American Funding | |
580 | 3.5% | Visit Lenderat Rocket Mortgage, LLC at Rocket Mortgage, LLC | |
620 | 3% | Visit Lenderat GO Mortgage at GO Mortgage | |
620 | 0% | Visit Lenderat Veterans United at Veterans United |
Full Review
Guild Mortgage is a nonbank lender based in San Diego, California. Loans are available in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia.
🏠 Popular loan types include: fixed or adjustable-rate conventional loans; rate and term or cash-out refinance; jumbo; FHA; VA; USDA
🔑 Specialty loan options include: renovation loans (FHA 203k and Fannie Mae HomeStyle); loans for manufactured homes
💵 Home equity borrowing options: home equity loans; HELOCs
Guild also offers a number of avenues to make homebuying more accessible, including:
1% Down Payment Advantage, a program that allows the borrower to put down 1% while Guild buys down the remaining 2% required for minimum conventional loan down payments.
3-2-1 Home Plus, which grants a $2,000 Home Depot gift card and between $1,000 and $2,500 in closing cost assistance to low-to-moderate income borrowers who make a down payment of at least 3%.
Alternative creditworthiness reporting, including rental payment history.
Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCPs) that provide lower interest rates, smaller minimum down payment requirements and closing cost assistance to borrowers living in an area designated as an underserved community, regardless of the location of their new home.
» MORE: How to apply for a mortgage
How we score Guild Mortgage
Every year, NerdWallet writers and editors use the latest data and independent research to score lenders on an overall rubric, reflecting factors that are most important to mortgage borrowers. Select Why This Category Matters below to learn more.
Guild Mortgage has a NerdWallet home loans rating of 4 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 |
Average mortgage rates and fees (30%)
Our team analyzes federal data to compare mortgage lenders’ origination fees and offered mortgage rates, measuring annual averages across all loan types, as reported by the lenders. The lowest combination of average rates and fees earns the highest star rating in this category. (It’s worth noting that loans considered higher risk, including those such as FHA loans that are easier to qualify for, often have higher interest rates and fees.) Pro tip: In some cases, paying upfront fees may lower a borrower’s mortgage interest rate.
Mortgage rate transparency (25%)
We check how straightforward it is to comparison-shop rates online. NerdWallet’s transparency ratings are higher for lenders that post sample rates on their sites, and highest for sites with self-serve tools that allow shoppers to see what rates might be like for their particular loan. Pro tip: Borrowers who compare customized rate quotes by applying to three or more lenders could save thousands of dollars over the life of their loan.
Variety of loan types (25%)
Finding the right mortgage is different for each borrower. The highest star ratings in this category are awarded to lenders that our research shows offer a wide range of loan types, improving the odds that a borrower will find the best match for their needs: options for purchase and refinance; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate loans; government-backed FHA, VA or USDA loans; renovation or construction loans; and home equity loans or HELOCs.
Customer experience (20%)
How easy is it to interact with this lender? The highest-rated lenders in this category offer features that are convenient and clarifying for borrowers, such as: an online application, multiple customer service options, a helpful mobile app and candid closing timeline communications.
Guild also earned bonus points for offering at least one loan product with a stated credit score minimum of 600 or below, as well as for offering loans for manufactured homes.
MORE NERDY PERSPECTIVE 🤓
 | Beyond the stars: A deeper dive into Guild's score Guild doesn't publish sample mortgage rates online, which makes it difficult to comparison shop between potential lenders as you're finding the best fit for your situation. That said, I'm impressed by Guild's range of loan offerings, which includes many niche products that cater to consumers who need flexibility. Also, while Guild received an average score for rates and fees, several of these niche loan types traditionally come with higher rates to offset their risk. If you're a conventional borrower, you might find that Guild has competitive rates – you'll just have to contact the lender to find out what those rates are. - Taylor Getler, Lead Writer, Mortgages |
What borrowers say about Guild Mortgage
NerdWallet’s lender star ratings assess objective qualities, including rates, fees and loan offerings. To help you understand borrowers’ subjective experiences, NerdWallet has gathered customer satisfaction ratings from J.D. Power and Zillow. We also contacted Guild customer support.
→ Below-average score in J.D. Power’s 2023 U.S. Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study. Mortgage origination covers the initial application through closing day.
Score: 702 out of 1,000. Industry average for origination is 730.
→ Above-average score in J.D. Power’s 2024 U.S. Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study. A mortgage servicer handles loan payments.
Score: 673 out of 1,000. Industry average for servicing is 606.
→ Excellent customer rating on Zillow.
Customer rating: 4.96 out of 5, as of the date of publication. Rating reflects more than 35,120 customer reviews.
🤓 Our Nerds say…
When we contacted the customer support phone line, we were connected with a live agent in under a minute after briefly navigating a phone tree.
Alternatives to a home loan from Guild Mortgage
We recommend comparing mortgage rate offers from three or more lenders.
Borrowers who want a lender with flexible credit requirements may be a fit for Network Capital.
Borrowers interested in renovation loans can explore options from Flagstar.
More from NerdWallet
NerdWallet’s overall ratings for mortgage lenders are evaluated based on four major categories: average mortgage rates and origination fees, rate transparency to consumers, variety of loan types (purchase, refinance, fixed and adjustable, for example) and customer experience. Among the factors we consider in these categories are: options to apply for home loans online, typical time to close, mobile app experience, level of detail about mortgage rates on lender websites, and NerdWallet’s own analysis of the rates and fees lenders reported in the latest available Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. These and other items inform detailed rubrics, which generate ratings from 1 star (poor) to 5 stars (excellent). Read more about how we rate mortgage lenders here.
