Are you looking for the best mortgage refinance lenders online? When you want to ensure you're getting the best terms and rates for a mortgage refinance, you have to shop around. But how can you do that efficiently in today's hectic world? The answer is utilizing a trustworthy online mortgage lending marketplace.
Online mortgage rate aggregators use sophisticated technology and partner with highly qualified, pre-vetted lending partners. They come together to compete for your mortgage refinance business.
LendingTree is one of the best mortgage refinance lender due to its longevity, healthy balance sheet, and proven track record. They have one of the largest online market places where lenders compete for your business at no cost to you.
In the past, you'd have to apply for a mortgage one-by-one. It was cumbersome, slow, and very tiring. Now, you can apply for a refinance through online lending marketplaces and get multiple lenders to aggressively compete for your business. It's so much more efficient!
I've been writing about the best mortgage refinance lenders since 2009 when Financial Samurai first started. Further, I've used these lenders to help refinance multiple properties since 2005.
Best Mortgage Refinance Lenders
The best mortgage refinance lenders stated years ago. For LendingTree, it started in 2000.
Here's the story about its founding. After graduating from Bucknell University, Doug Lebda went to work for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Pittsburgh as an auditor and consultant. When he decided to purchase his first home and obtain a mortgage, he found the process of visiting multiple banks and combing through mortgage offers frustrating, time consuming, and exhausting.
Lebda realized that if the process was that difficult for someone with his financial acumen, then there must be a massive market of others with the same desire for a better way. With this idea, Doug founded CreditSource USA in 1996 with Jamey Bennett, whom he knew from Bucknell and had previous experience founding BookWire.
The new company was later rebranded as LendingTree and by 1998, LendingTree launched nationally online with its headquarters based in Charlotte, NC. They also have a large office in Burlingame, just 30 minutes south of San Francisco.
On February 15, 2000, LendingTree went through a successful IPO and is now a ~$700 million market capitalization company as of 2024.
Free Quotes, No Obligation
The great thing about the best mortgage refinance lenders is that you can apply for a no obligation loan online in minutes. Within the hour, you'll get competing banks e-mailing and calling you about their best rates. Then you can pit each one against each other to give you the best deal possible!
You, the borrower don't have to pay the online lending marketplace a penny. It's the banks who pay the hosting platform so they can compete for your business. As a result, lenders are motivated to try and get you the best loan possible to win your business.
Just be aware at how quickly you'll be contacted with rates. However, the number of e-mails and phone calls will quiet down after a few days once they realize you've already chosen a lender or are no longer interested.
I like using online marketplaces to get quotes in writing because I take them to my main bank for negotiating lower rates. Using this strategy, I was able to get my bank to refinance my jumbo loan to a 2.375% interest rate from their initial 2.5% offer.
Why You Should Refinance Now
If you are looking to purchase a home or want to refinance, get as many bids as possible. The more you shop around, the easier it is to get the best mortgage rate and terms as possible.
Interest rates rose between 2021-2023 which led many prospective homebuyers to put on the brakes. However, 30-year fixed mortgage rates alongside 15-year FMR and ARM rates are starting to come down now in 2024.
A big part about growing your net worth is doing everything possible to minimize expenses. I believe everybody should at least own their primary residence to get neutral the ever rising property market. Once you own, it's all about lowering your property taxes and getting the best mortgage rate possible.
Best Type Of Mortgage To Get In A Low Interest Rate Environment
In a continued low interest rate environment, I prefer taking out a 5/1 ARM amortizing over 30 years. Why pay a higher rate when the average length of homeownership is 7 years? It's a good idea to compare multiple mortgage offers to minimize your cost.
You can certainly go for a 30-year fixed loan if you want absolute peace of mind and believe interest rates will be aggressively higher in the future. But if the 5/1 ARM mortgage rate is at least 1% cheaper, then I would strongly consider an ARM.
7/1 ARMs are also good in 2021+ because the yield curve is at its lowest point around that duration. I got a new purchase mortgage in 2020 and locked in 2.5% for a 7/1 ARM without relationship pricing, and 2.125% with relationship pricing to buy more real estate.
Take the monthly interest savings and save or invest it. That's what best mortgage refinance lenders can help you do to build wealth.
There's a interest rate hike cap that's fixed for one year after the fixed adjustment of an ARM is done. There's also a lifetime interest rate cap that's usually no more than 4% – 5% higher than the initial rate. You can always refinance your ARM before the fixed period is over like I've done many times before.
I think the housing market should stay strong for years to come.
Take Advantage Of Lower Rates
The goal is to save money by locking in a new low rate now so you can pocketing the savings sooner. I've refinanced three different properties over the past 13 years multiple times, and my combined interest savings a month is roughly $4,000. That adds up to well over $1,000,000 in interest savings over the life of the loans!
If you can find a home that's a good deal, you can afford the payments, and plan to stay there for 10+ years, then I would take advantage of record low interest rates today.
Invest In Real Estate For As Little As $10
In addition, it's a great time to invest in real estate and diversify your portfolio. You can invest in real estate without taking on a mortgage by investing in private real estate funds. Take a look at Fundrise, a leading private real estate investment firm, manages over $3.5 billion in assets with a minimum investment of just $10. It focuses on residential and industrial real estate in the Sunbelt region, known for its lower valuations and higher yields.
Personally, I've allocated $954,000 to private real estate funds, predominantly targeting properties in the Sunbelt. With remote work becoming more prevalent, there's a growing trend towards lower-cost areas of the country.
About the Author: Sam began investing his own money ever since he opened an online brokerage account in 1995. Sam loved investing so much that he decided to make a career out of investing by spending the next 13 years after college working at two of the leading financial service firms in the world. During this time, Sam received his MBA from UC Berkeley with a focus on finance and real estate. H
About Financial Samurai: FinancialSamurai.com was started in 2009 and is one of the most trusted personal finance sites today with over 1 million organic pageviews a month. Financial Samurai has been featured in top publications such as the LA Times, The Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal.
Fundrise is a sponsor of Financial Samurai and Financial Samurai is an investor in Fundrise.