Zillow Home Loans Review 2024 (2024)

Most of Zillow Home Loans mortgage products offer periods of five-year increments (10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years), but it depends on the type of loan.

Zillow Home Loans is licensed to offer mortgages in every state except New York. The company offers a standard lineup of home purchase and refinance loans. However, it doesn’t disclose rates for these products online—you’ll need to contact a loan officer.

Related: Mortgage Calculator

Home Purchase Loan Options

Zillow Home Loans offers conventional mortgages, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans and jumbo mortgages up to $2 million. But here’s a more detailed breakdown of the minimum credit score and down payment required based on each loan type.

Keep in mind that with an FHA loan, although you can put less than 20% down, you’ll need to pay monthly mortgage insurance premiums for the life of the loan if you do.

Zillow Home Loans also offers conventional adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) in 7/6 and 10/6 variations.

Refinancing Loan Options

Zillow Home Loans also offers a handful of refinancing options, including several that streamline the process:

• Fannie Mae’s RefiNow
• FHA Streamline Refinance
• VA Streamline Refinance

Credit Score

Zillow Home Loans requires a minimum credit score of 620 for most of its purchase loan products, except for jumbo mortgages, which require a score of 700 or more.

DTI Ratio

Debt-to-income (DTI) ratio is calculated by dividing your monthly debt payments by your monthly gross income. Many lenders require that borrowers have a DTI less than 43%, in order for the loan to conform to certain government-backed standards. A Zillow Home Loans spokesperson says the lender generally allows a maximum DTI of 45%.

Down Payment

Zillow Home Loans requires a down payment of at least 3% for conventional mortgages and FHA mortgages. VA mortgages have no down payment requirement and in some cases, borrowers can roll closing costs into the overall mortgage. But jumbo mortgages with ZHL require a down payment of 20%.

For purchase mortgages, Zillow Home Loans charges a lender fee of $1,500 for conventional, FHA and jumbo mortgages. For VA loans, it charges $499.

For refinances, Zillow Home Loans charges a lender fee of $1,500 for conventional, FHA, and Jumbo mortgages. For VA loans, it charges $499.

The lender does offer some discounts, however. Customers can save an average of $7,140 when they sell and buy with one of the company’s local partner agents, and finance through Zillow Home Loans. Benefits include a 1.5% rebate from Zillow, $1,500 in closing credits and a hand-selected team of loan officers and local expert agents.

You can start your application for a Zillow Home Loans mortgage, whether for purchase or refinance, on the company’s website. Applicants will then be directed to speak with a loan officer to complete the application and preapproval process. A Zillow Home Loans spokesperson says once approved, a preapproval letter can be sent within minutes but generally takes an hour.

To apply for a Zillow Home Loans mortgage, you’ll need:

• Your most recent month’s pay stub
• W-2 forms showing the last year of your employment for conforming conventional loans (varies by loan type and program)
• Bank and investment account statements from the last two months (if assets are required)
• A home purchase contract signed by you and the seller
• Your most recent two years of tax returns, signed (if you’re self-employed or you get paid any commissions)
• Your most recent two years of personal tax returns and any relevant business returns (if you own your own business)

Zillow Home Loans shouldn’t be the only lender you look to when shopping for a mortgage. Consider rates from different types of mortgage lenders, including these alternatives.

Zillow vs. Chase

Chase is a traditional bank offering competitive interest rates, loan programs with smaller down payments and relatively speedy closing times. If you’re looking for more of an in-person mortgage experience, the bank has branch locations in a number of states; Zillow Home Loans has no branch locations.

Zillow vs. Flagstar Bank

Flagstar Bank offers all the major mortgage loan options both online and at its branch locations in California, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. If you don’t live in those states or New York, Zillow may be a better choice.

The bank also offers several specialty loans that you can’t get from Zillow, including multiple-property loans, as well as professional mortgage loans for doctors, lawyers and other professionals.

Zillow vs. Better

Better is a digital lender that touts fast preapproval times, a fully online process and sophisticated technology to help you find discounts without any extra cost or effort on your part. The company also doesn’t charge application, origination or underwriting fees.

We graded Zillow Home Loans based on features that have a meaningful impact on the cost of a mortgage and a borrower’s experience, including interest rates, loan options, accessibility, closing time and customer service.

We award bonus points if a lender offers a specialty rate discount or mortgage product, a home equity product or maintains a fully online mortgage application process.

Our scoring method is broken down as follows:

• Interest rate. 20%
• Loan options. 20%
• Time to close. 20%
• Accessibility. 20%
• Customer service experience. 20%
• Bonus points. Up to 25 points

We chose to focus on these core elements to bring forward lenders that offer the most competitive rates while also providing a satisfactory customer experience accessible to borrowers of all financial backgrounds. We believe this scoring system best reflects consumers’ top priorities when comparison shopping for mortgage lenders.

To learn more about our rating and review methodology and editorial process, check out our guide on How Forbes Advisor Reviews Mortgage Lenders.

Forbes Advisor Contributor Brai Odion-Esene contributed to this article.