Quicken Mortgage Review: Fast, High-Quality Service
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Quicken's Rocket Mortgage program provides purchase and refinance options that prioritize speed and convenience for the borrower —even if it doesn't come with significant savings or lower rates. Despite conducting all of its mortgage lending through the web, Quicken Loans has climbed to the top of the US home loan industry in terms of both volume and customer satisfaction.
- Quicken Loans: Fast, High-Quality Service
- How Do Quicken Loans Mortgages Compare?
- Customer Service and Mortgage Servicing
- Mortgage Loan Products at Quicken Loans
- Where Can You Get a Mortgage With Quicken Loans?
Quicken Loans: Fast, High-Quality Service
True to its name, Quicken's Rocket Mortgage stands out for the speed with which an application gets processed. While the company has attracted some criticism from people who fear that it's enabling risky borrowers, the company has achieved both a rapid rate of growth and a strong reputation for maintaining customer satisfaction. Quicken's heavy focus on using web-based tools to simplify mortgage originations appears to work for a large majority of people who give it a try.
However, Quicken isn't the place to find a significantly lower mortgage rate or fewer closing costs. While the interest rates it advertises online tend to be lower than most banks or direct lenders, a quick look at the underlying assumptions shows that these rates are the result of factoring in mortgage discount points, which must be paid for upfront as an extra item in your mortgage closing costs. Recalculating Quicken's rates without the effect of points shows that its rates are as high as or higher than offers at most of the competing lenders you'll find.
How Does Quicken's Rocket Mortgage Compare?
Quicken's home loan service is branded as Rocket Mortgage, hinting at the company's goal of speeding up the usual mortgage process. While Quicken won't really save you any money with a lower mortgage rate or fewer closing costs, the convenience of its online tools ensure that most borrowers will have an easier time navigating their applications than they would with a standard bank.
30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Estimates at Major Banks
| Quicken Loans | Chase | Bank of America | Wells Fargo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interest Rate | 4.13% | 4.00% | 3.75% | 4.00% |
| APR | 4.50% | 4.26% | 4.14% | 4.23% |
| Discount Points | 1.00 | -0.25 | 0.89 | - |
| Monthly Payment | $922 | $851 | $892 | $912 |
The rates we collected from Quicken and the three largest US banks were based on a home price of $198,000 and down payment of 10%. These rates showed that Quicken's monthly payments and upfront costs mostly fall in line with the average at major brick-and-mortar lenders. Instead, the company strives to differentiate itself by simplifying the complex process of applying for a home loan. Quicken's use of web-based interfaces aim to help borrowers navigate both the application process and the monthly servicing of their mortgages.
These online tools include the MyQL mortgage portal, through which Quicken mortgage borrowers can review and make payments on their home loans. While an increasing number of brick-and-mortar lenders are following suit with similar web portals for their own products, Quicken's complete dependence on such systems likely means that it will devote much closer focus to maintaining and improving on user experience than a competitor that's just beginning to build out its online services. This idea is supported by Quicken's strong performance in our analysis of customer satisfaction.
Customer Service and Mortgage Servicing
Quicken's clearest advantage over more established mortgage lenders is its outstanding performance in consumer satisfaction. Both JD Power's 2017 survey of mortgage borrowers and the CFPB's data on mortgage-related complaints point to Quicken's enormous lead in making sure that customers receive the service and support they want.
Mortgage-Related Complaints at Major Banks, 2013-2017
| Company | Mortgage Originations | CFPB Complaints | Ratio | 2017 JD Power Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quicken Loans | 1,406,001 | 1,207 | 0.09% | 840 |
| Chase | 948,000 | 14,778 | 1.56% | 764 |
| Wells Fargo | 2,155,222 | 25,182 | 1.17% | 745 |
| Bank of America | 1,172,113 | 28,187 | 2.40% | 767 |
For its large volume of home loans, Quicken boasts a much lower rate of mortgage-related complaints shown in the public CFPB database. Its performance in this category is backed up by JD Power's survey score, which rates Quicken as one of the best companies for mortgage service satisfaction. Quicken's ability to garner such praise is especially impressive given the rapid expansion of its business. In the past half-decade, the company has run a close second to megabank Wells Fargo in total mortgage originations.
Mortgage Loan Products at Quicken Loans
While Quicken publishes a table of current rates for each of its mortgage products, we decided to run some numbers through its online tool to see how the costs would look for a typical borrower. We used the 2016 US median home value of $198,000 as our purchase price with the current average down payment of 10%.
Quicken Loans 30-Year Fixed Mortgages
| Interest Rate | APR | Cost of Points | 30-Year Savings | Monthly Payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.88% | 4.34% | $3,796 | $18,720 | $896 |
| 4.13% | 4.50% | $1,782 | $9,360 | $922 |
| 4.38% | 4.67% | - | - | $948 |
Since each point on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage lowers Quicken's base rate of 4.38% by 25 basis points, we found that you would need to pay about $2,700 to reach the standard mortgage rate of 4.00% found at most major banks. However, the added cost may be worthwhile if Quicken takes you through the application and approval process more quickly than other lenders. In addition, the company has maintained its stellar reputation for customer satisfaction in spite of running its originations and servicing with zero brick-and-mortar support.
Besides the usual 30-year mortgage, Quicken provides 15-year fixed rate home loans and adjustable rate loans with fixed rate periods of 5, 7 and 10 years. It also offers variations of these mortgage products through the FHA and VA loan programs, making Quicken a possible option if you qualify for either. If you're considering a larger mortgage, the company originates jumbo loans that accommodate mortgage balances exceeding the conforming loan limit set for conventional home loans.
Where Can You Get a Mortgage With Quicken Loans?
Despite conducting all of its business online, Quicken Loans is licensed to originate and service mortgages in all 50 states of the US. In fact, the company is responsible for providing more home loans in the past five years than either Bank of America or Chase, two of the country's largest consumer banks. When it comes time to sign your mortgage agreement with Quicken, the company will send a representative to your current home or a public meeting place of your choice.
Chris is a Product Manager for ValuePenguin with years of experience in addressing critical questions about mortgages and homeowners insurance. He spends his time evaluating insurance providers and policy features to understand where consumers might find the most cost-effective coverage. Chris has contributed insights to the New York Times and many other publications.
Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the author’s opinions and recommendations alone. It has not been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.