NBKC Bank Mortgage Review 2024
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Our Take
4.5
NBKC Bank offers a range of loans with a convenient online application and first-rate customer service. About 1 in 5 NBKC mortgages are VA loans. Most home loans are available nationwide, but branches and some loan types are limited to the Kansas City metro area.
Pros
- Offers government-backed loans and some harder-to-find products, such as loans for self-employed borrowers and mortgages for pilots.
- Efficient customer service over the phone or through online chat.
- Displays customized rates, with fee estimates, without requiring contact information.
Cons
- HELOCs and construction-to-permanent loans are available only in the Kansas City metro area.
- Mobile app only available for online banking customers.
Lender | Min. credit score | Min. down payment | |
|---|---|---|---|
580 | 3% | Visit Lenderat New American Funding at New American Funding | |
620 | 3% | Visit Lenderat NBKC at NBKC | |
580 | 3.5% | Visit Lenderat Rocket Mortgage, LLC at Rocket Mortgage, LLC |
Full Review
NBKC’s mortgage loan options
4 of 5 stars
NBKC offers conventional, FHA and VA fixed-rate and adjustable purchase mortgages, as well as refinancing and jumbo loans.
The website design is simple to navigate. It’s easy to see which loan types are available from NBKC.
Web pages for each loan type are light on product details, such as the minimum down payment or credit score required to qualify. In lieu of specifics, you’re often prompted to request more information through a “Get Started” button. This takes you to the online application flow, which requires an email address.
Helping service members and veterans with mortgages is an area of expertise; VA loans accounted for 20% of the bank’s mortgages in 2022, according to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. NBKC also offers a specialty loan program for pilots, whose unpredictable paychecks can make it difficult to meet income requirements for traditional mortgage approvals.
NBKC offers construction loans, but for borrowers looking to finance a new build with a construction-to-permanent loan, end financing is available only for borrowers in the Kansas City metro area. Renovation and home improvement loans are not available.
» MORE: Best VA mortgage lenders
NBKC HELOC and home equity loan
The lender also offers a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and home equity loans. These second mortgages are a way for homeowners to access existing home equity without refinancing or selling their home. Funds obtained with a second mortgage can be used for expenses such as home improvements, education costs or debt consolidation.
NBKC’s home equity lines of credit are limited to borrowers in the Kansas City metro area. Home equity loans are available nationwide — though they are not an area of focus, the lender tells us.
» MORE: Best HELOC lenders
What it’s like to apply for an NBKC mortgage
5 of 5 stars
You can apply for a mortgage with NBKC by calling a toll-free number or going online. Branches are limited to the Kansas City metro area.
The NBKC website makes the process easy to understand. You can complete much of the application online, such as uploading documents and signing them electronically.
Once you initiate the online application, you will be prompted to enter your email address before you can go any further.
A loan officer will contact you after you submit the application.
No matter how you choose to apply, customer service is available by phone and through online chat during extended business hours. When we called the customer service phone number with mortgage questions, a customer service agent quickly transferred us to a loan officer in Kansas City without having to wait on hold. The loan officer answered our questions clearly.
NBKC’s online chat feature gives an immediate bot response, asks for your name and email address and then transfers you to a human. We chatted with a loan officer for 20 minutes, who was equally efficient in answering our questions.
NBKC does have a mobile app available for Apple and Android devices. However, the focus is on serving its online banking customers.
NBKC’s mortgage rates and fees
3 of 5 stars
NBKC earns 3 of 5 stars for average origination fee.
NBKC earns 3 of 5 stars for average mortgage interest rates.
NerdWallet analyzes federal data to compare mortgage lenders’ origination fees and offered mortgage rates. We measure annual averages across all loan types, as reported by the lenders. Compared to other lenders, NBKC’s rates and fees are typical.
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.
NBKC’s mortgage rate transparency
5 of 5 stars
The mortgage rate tool on NBKC’s website is easy to use, with five simple questions. No contact information is required to see your results. The tool takes location and credit score into account to generate customized rates.
Results display mortgage rate, annual percentage rate (APR), points, lender fees and potential monthly payments. This level of transparency and detail makes it easy to shop and compare rates among mortgage lenders. Each option includes a button to apply online with NBKC.
What borrowers say about NBKC mortgages
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 Zillow.
NBKC receives a customer rating of 4.94 out of 5 on Zillow, as of the date of publication. The score reflects more than 13,400 customer reviews.
Alternatives to a home loan from NBKC
Here are some comparable lenders we review that borrowers can consider.
Veterans United specializes in VA loans and offers an online application. Pennymac also excels in online capabilities and makes it easy to shop rates online.
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Bella Angelos contributed to this review.
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).
