Pennymac Mortgage Review 2024
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Our Take
5.0
Pennymac, known for its government loans, stands out for a refreshingly transparent digital experience. Competitive perks and cash back ease the cost of borrowing, too. While interest rates are among the lowest we’ve seen, origination fees are a bit high. Most likely to appeal to FHA or VA borrowers who prefer to shop and manage a mortgage online.
Pros
- Easy to personalize a quote and apply online.
- Can lock in a rate before you’re under contract, earlier than most lenders.
- Perks include a 1% interest rate buydown and “refinance later” cash bonus.
Cons
- Origination fees are on the higher end, according to the latest federal data.
- Online chat is available only in the logged-in experience.
- No home equity lines of credit or renovation loans.
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
Pennymac is a nonbank lender based in Westlake Village, California. Loans are available nationwide.
🏠 Popular loan types include: Fixed or adjustable rate; conventional; FHA; VA; USDA (refinance only); jumbo; rate and term or cash-out refinance
🔑 Specialty loan options include: Investment property loans
💵 Home equity borrowing options: Home equity loans
Pennymac offers some competitive perks and bonuses to reduce the cost of getting a mortgage. These include:
A lender-paid temporary buydown program, which reduces your mortgage rate by 1% for the first 12 months after your home purchase.
A $1,000 credit at closing for customers who get preapproved through Pennymac.
A $2,000 cash bonus for Pennymac purchase mortgage customers who refinance with Pennymac within three years.
Lock & Shop, which lets you lock in a mortgage rate before you go under contract with a seller — and if rates decrease later, you can switch to the lower rate.
Pennymac Home Connect, which pays a bonus of $350 to $9,500 for those who buy and/or sell through a preferred network of real estate agents.
» MORE: How to apply for a mortgage
How we score Pennymac
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.
Pennymac has a NerdWallet home loans rating of five 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 |
- Why This Category Matters
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.
Pennymac also earned bonus points for offering mortgage options for borrowers with a bad credit score (at or below 600).
What borrowers say about Pennymac
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 Pennymac 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: 706 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: 622 out of 1,000. Industry average for servicing is 606.
→ Below-average customer rating on Zillow.
Customer rating: 4.35 out of 5, as of the date of publication. Rating reflects more than 320 customer reviews.
🤓 Our Nerds say ...
When we called Pennymac customer service, we were greeted with a brief automated menu and selected the “purchase a home” option. We experienced no wait time before we were transferred to a knowledgeable agent, who answered our question about USDA loans.
Alternatives to a home loan from Pennymac
We recommend comparing mortgage rate offers from three or more lenders.
NBKC offers a wide selection of loans and ample online conveniences.
USAA, which uses a membership-based model and serves the military community, specializes in VA loans.
» MORE: Best online mortgage lenders
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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.
