Guild Mortgage Review 2022
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Our Take
4.0
The bottom line:
Guild Mortgage has a generous selection of loan programs but tends to have higher origination fees, according to federal data.
Full Review
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Offers multiple online conveniences, including a full mortgage application, e-signatures and digital loan process tracking.
- Offers a wide variety of loan products, including home improvement and manufactured home loans.
- Has retail branches in 42 states.
- Receives high marks for customer satisfaction, according to JD Power and Zillow.
Cons
- Does not offer home equity loan products.
- Origination fees tend to be higher, according to the latest data.
Compare to Other Lenders
Min. credit score620 | Min. credit score620 | Min. credit score620 |
Min. down payment3% | Min. down payment3% | Min. down payment3% |
Loan types and productsPurchase, Refinance, Jumbo, Fixed, Adjustable, FHA, VA | Loan types and productsPurchase, Refinance, Home Equity, Reverse, Jumbo, Fixed, Adjustable, FHA, VA, USDA | Loan types and productsPurchase, Refinance, Fixed, Adjustable, FHA, VA, USDA |
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Full Review
What mortgage borrowers say:
NerdWallet’s lender star ratings assess objective qualities, including rates, fees and loan offerings. To assess borrowers’ subjective experiences with lenders, NerdWallet has gathered customer satisfaction ratings from JD Power and Zillow.
Guild receives a 884 in JD Power’s 2021 Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study and a 825 in JD Power’s 2021 Primary Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study. Both scores are out of 1000, with 851 being the industry average for origination and 787 being the industry average for servicing. (Learn more about the difference between mortgage origination and servicing.)
Guild receives a 4.96, as of the date of publication, according to customer reviews on Zillow. Scores are out of 5, and reflect more than 7,500 customer reviews.
Variety of loan types: 5 of 5 stars
Guild Mortgage is especially proficient in the government-backed mortgages that are ideal for first-time home buyers, including government-backed FHA, VA and USDA loans. It also has a growing number of purchase and refinance mortgage options, including loans for manufactured homes and renovation loans. Home equity loan products are not available, however.
» MORE: A guide to government home loans
Ease of application: 5 of 5 stars
Guild’s digital mortgage platform offers a paperless loan application, along with document upload and the retrieval of income and asset information from many employers and financial institutions. Consumers can also use the portal to keep track of their loan’s status. The company also offers a 17-day closing guarantee to qualifying preapproved borrowers.
Mortgage rates and fees: 3 of 5 stars
Guild Mortgage earns 2 of 5 stars for average origination fee.
Guild Mortgage earns 3 of 5 stars for offered mortgage rates compared with the best available rates on comparable loans.
Borrowers should consider the balance between lender fees and mortgage rates. While it's not always the case, paying upfront fees can lower your mortgage interest rate. Some lenders will charge higher upfront fees to lower their advertised interest rate and make it more attractive. Some lenders just charge higher upfront fees.
Mortgage rate transparency: 1 of 5 stars
You won’t find mortgage rates on the Guild Mortgage website; you’ll need to speak with a loan officer for those.
More from NerdWallet
Methodology
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).
