Chase mortgage review 2024

By Stock News On Feb 22, 2024 12 0

You may already have a banking relationship with Chase and wonder if it’s a good place to get a mortgage.

The Yahoo view: Whether you’re an existing customer or not, Chase is definitely worth putting into your mix of potential home loan lenders to consider.

With an ample assortment of loan options, including home buyer grants and mortgages for the first-time buyer or big-house hunter, Chase is a leading lender with a lot to offer. However, Chase does not currently offer home equity loans or lines of credit.

Stars: 4.28

Key benefits

Chase Homebuyer Grants allow $2,500, $5,000, or up to $7,500 on low-down-payment loan programs that can be applied to the down payment or fees, with certain restrictions.
Clearly presents four low-down-payment mortgage options and the general qualifications on its “Finding the right loan starts here” page.
Offers a $5,000 closing guarantee as quickly as in three weeks, under particular guidelines.
VA loans may be eligible for a $2,000 credit that can be applied to closing costs.

Need to know

Published conventional loan interest rates are sweetened with 20% down payments, one discount point and borrowers with “excellent” credit.
The Chase website features an “educational” construction loan article but notes that it doesn’t offer construction loans.
Doesn’t currently offer home equity loans or HELOCs, only cash-out refinances.
An average rating for customer satisfaction, according to the latest J.D. Power Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study.
JPMorgan Chase hasn’t had any mortgage-related regulatory actions since 2017.

Dig deeper: What all the best mortgage lenders have in common

Loan types offered

Chase mortgages for first-time home buyers

Chase has plenty of loan options for the first-time buyer. It offers grants that allow $2,500, $5,000, or up to $7,500 on low-down-payment loan programs. And FHA and VA loans are in play for qualified buyers, as well as conventional loans with 3% down payments.

An Education Center and “ultimate guide” for first-timers are helpful in breaking down the jargon and explaining the step-by-step process of buying a home.

Chase home equity lending

For now, Chase is not providing home equity loans or lines of credit. The bank offers cash-out refinancing as an equity-tapping alternative.

That’s not a great solution if you already have a mortgage with a lower interest rate than what is currently available. You would have to get a new loan to take cash from your home’s value.

Chase mortgage rates

On a mobile phone, it took a moment to find the current Chase mortgage rates, but once there, the process was easy enough.

Without providing detailed information, published rates are always an “in the ballpark” estimate. Some lenders make you jump through a lot of hoops to give you what may be a slightly more accurate — but still a “don’t hold us to it” interest rate. Chase only wants to know your ZIP code. With that, you’re shown 30- and 15-year fixed rates, FHA fixed, and three adjustable rates of various terms.

On the day of our inquiry, the conventional fixed rates were based on a 20% down payment, with one discount point and excellent credit.

Dig deeper: How to get the lowest mortgage rates

Applying for a mortgage with Chase

Chase has mortgage lending advisers in all but a dozen states, so an in-person visit is a possible option.

If you want to jump online into a loan application or a preapproval, you’ll tap on a “start online” or similar action button, which will take you to a “ready to begin” page that provides some information you’ll want to know before proceeding.

Click on the link “Chase’s loan evaluation criteria” to see a boilerplate one-pager that details what lies ahead: submission of your credit and employment history, income, available cash, and all the rest. It’s the same process all lenders use to consider loans, but it serves as a reminder that once you click that button, there will be several steps to complete.

You’ll want to have all of your personal information at hand — and have a glass of patience nearby. You’re not buying something on Amazon with a one-click checkout. This is a mortgage. It’s a big deal.

Chase home buying tools and calculators

The Chase website is dense with information. The educational resources are there, but it takes a little digging to find — and it’s all pretty dry.

A mortgage calculator viewed on mobile was unavailable on the day of our visit, throwing a “403 Forbidden” error. Not very encouraging. However, it did show up on a desktop view.

Once accessible, the calculator asked for a credit score range, the ZIP code where the property was located, the purchase price, and the down payment. It handily returned four loan options: 30-year fixed conventional, FHA and VA loans, and a 15-year fixed. Not a bad place to start.

Clicking on the details for a loan showed the estimated monthly payment with a breakdown of principal and interest, property taxes, insurance and private mortgage insurance. So far, so good. But the interest rate and APR were detailed along with the origination costs — which included discount points that cannot be adjusted and a fairly stiff “processing fee.”

At least you’ll know what you want to consider and/or negotiate: points and fees.

Methodology:

Yahoo Finance reviews mortgage lenders by analyzing and grading leading national lenders on a five-star scale from scores compiled and averaged from public reviews. Criteria included interest rate, fees and loan costs, ease of application, rate transparency, loan product availability and options, customer experience, minimum down payment, minimum FICO scores, online features, time to approval, trustworthiness. Additional analysis of the latest J.D. Power U.S. Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study provided a 5% bonus for lenders ranking above the survey average for customer experience. Analysis of the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System’s data on regulatory actions enables a 5% penalty to the score of any lender with a mortgage-related administrative or enforcement action within the past three years. Advertisers or sponsorships do not influence ratings.

Editorial disclosure for Mortgages:

The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The details on financial products, including interest rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the lender’s website for the most current information. This site doesn’t include all currently available offers.

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