Rocket Mortgage Review
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Rocket Mortgage is an online portal owned by Quicken Loans. You can use Rocket Mortgage to find out how much money you could potentially borrow to buy or refinance your home. Rocket Mortgage can approve you for a conventional, FHA, VA, or USDA loan, and Quicken Loans processes the mortgage.
You can apply wholly online but may need to speak with a Quicken Loans representative over the phone or via chat to help with the process. Unlike some other online mortgage companies, Rocket Mortgage can approve applicants with credit scores as low as 580. Rocket Mortgage finances and refinances primary residences, second homes, investment properties, and condos. Closing costs automatically roll into your mortgage, reducing out-of-pocket expenses.
| Mortgage types | Refinance mortgage, finance
mortgage, adjustable-rate and fixed-rate mortgage Conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA loans |
| Mortgage amount | No minimum; up to $3 million for
Jumbo loans |
| Repayment terms | Fixed rate: 360 or 180-months; some
mortgages could be 96 months Adjustable rate: 5/1 |
| APR | APR depends on credit rating, down
payment, and loan amount |
| Minimum credit score | 580+ |
| Lender type | Direct lender |
Rocket Mortgage Loans: Pros
- Closing costs rolled into loan automatically
- Has a smartphone app
- Fully digital mortgage experience
- 98% of financial institutions support digital asset verification
Rocket Mortgage Loans: Cons
- No home equity loans, HELOCs, or USDA loans available
- No physical locations
- Limited eligibility for low down payments
Application Process
You can start the application process online via the Rocket Mortgage smartphone app or the website. Choose between “refinance” or “buy a home” and proceed through the intuitive prompts. Rocket Mortgage accesses data to populate essential property information after you provide your address for a refinance loan. About 60% of applicants can connect their employment and income information digitally, as well.
On their website, Rocket Mortgage offers details about the information you’ll need to help the application process move smoothly:
- Your social security number
- Email address for each individual loan applicant
- Online banking username and password
- Current balances of any account you want Rocket Mortgage to consider in your application
- Employer and income information
At any point, you can click “talk to us” to get in touch with a mortgage banker.
You can customize the loan term, interest rate, or cash at closing and choose from an adjustable-rate or fixed-rate loan. Then, tap “see if I’m approved” to go through automated underwriting. Rocket Mortgage pulls your credit, which may lower your FICO credit score by a few points.
If approved, you’ll have the option of locking in your interest rate. The application process takes about 30 minutes on average.
You can get a preapproval letter if you are still in the house-shopping phase, of course.
While the loan is in underwriting, you’ll have access to a wall of messages shared between you and the mortgage team. Here, you can manage paperwork, e-sign documents, and watch your loan progress through the various stages to closing.
Terms & Requirements
Mortgage Purchase Requirements
Here are Rocket Mortgage’s requirements for getting a mortgage loan:
- US citizen or permanent resident age 18 or older with a valid Social Security number.
- 620 FICO credit score (this can vary based on loan type)
- 5% down payment (more depending on mortgage type)
- DTI up to 50% (maybe lower for certain loans)
- 2-6% of the home’s price for closing costs
Mortgage Terms
Here are the terms you can expect on your Rocket Mortgage loan:
- APR: 2.58%-3.619% (depends on loan type and term length)
- Loan amount: Up to $510,000 with some exceptions (such as jumbo loans)
- Types: Conforming, non-conforming, jumbo, ARM, VA, FHA
- Other loans: Mortgage refinancing
Note that APRs vary based on mortgage type and term length, and even then, they can and do change. That said, you do benefit from a “rate lock.” Rocket Mortgage locks your rate in for 90 days if you prequalify for a loan in case the rates increase. However, if rates decrease, they’ll give you the lower rate.
Keep in mind that raising your credit score and income gives you access to the best offers. Decreasing your debt-to-income ratio by paying off debt also helps approval chances and terms offered, even if Rocket Mortage allows for higher DTI.
Repayment Terms
Quicken Loans underwrites fixed-rate mortgages with terms of 8 to 30 years. Adjustable-rate mortgages are five years of repayment at a fixed rate, followed by 25 years of repayment at an adjustable rate.
Privacy & Security
In the privacy policy on their website, Rocket Mortgage notes that they never share your personal information with outside companies for promotion. They also claim to have adopted industry-leading practices regarding customer privacy.
You can ask Rocket Mortgage to delete your information from their database by emailing them at any time. They also offer information about how to opt-out of pre-screened credit offers that you may receive as a result of submitting an application and agreeing to a soft or hard credit inquiry.
With an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and 145 customer reviews with an average five-out-of-five-star rating, Rocket Mortgage has a solid reputation. They’ve had one complaint to the BBB in the past year, and it was closed.
Customer Support
While Rocket Mortgage doesn’t offer the option for face-to-face interaction, they have a “talk to us” button on each page of their application and in many locations throughout their website. Clicking the button connects you with a mortgage broker.
You can reach a Rocket Mortgage representative via phone during regular business hours for help with a loan, advice about borrowing to buy or refinance a home or help to sign into your Rocket Mortgage account.
Final Thoughts
Rocket Mortgage is a user-friendly portal to Quicken Loan’s mortgage-related financial products. It’s also a valuable source of education with easy access to a mortgage broker to help you through the mortgage and closing process when necessary. With a wide variety of mortgage options and the opportunity to go through the entire mortgage process online while having access to a mortgage broker, Rocket Mortgage has built a reputation as one of the easiest to use mortgage services in the marketplace.
Address
1050 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48226-1906
Rocket Mortgage Disclaimer: ©2000 – 2020 Quicken Loans, LLC. All rights reserved. Lending services provided by Quicken Loans, LLC., a subsidiary of Rock Holdings Inc. “Quicken Loans” is a registered service mark of Intuit Inc., used under license. Quicken Loans® (also doing business as Rocket HQ), Rocket Homes Real Estate LLC, and Rocket Loans® are separate operating subsidiaries of Rock Holdings Inc. Each company is a separate legal entity operated and managed through its own management and governance structure as required by its state of incorporation, and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.