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Better.com

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LAST UPDATED: December 12th, 2022

Better.com (also known as Better Mortgage or Better Mortgage Corporation) is a direct mortgage lender that entered the digital mortgage market in 2016. The lender's mission is to completely redefine the homeownership process and make it simple, fast, and affordable — for everyone. Better.com accomplishes these objectives by keeping the entire mortgage process online and eliminating commission and lender fees.

Better.com is also committed to providing superior customer support and you can call any time if you have questions or concerns about your mortgage.

Better.com is headquarted in New York and services more than 40 states.

Continue reading for more information about this lender or jump down to read Better.com reviews from real customers.

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The Good

  • 100% Online Application
  • Simple, Straightforward Process
  • Loan Officers Don't Earn Commission
  • No Lender Fees
  • Additional Resources
  • Altruistic Values
  • Better.com Reviews

100% Online Application

Better.com's mortgage application is 100 percent online. This means you can apply, lock in a mortgage rate, and get your mortgage funded without leaving your home.

Simple, Straightforward Process

Consumers should appreciate Better's straightforward process. To get started, all you need to do is select whether you're buying a home or refinancing.

If you choose the 'buy' option, you'll need to fill out some general information — things like whether you're just looking or if you plan on making an offer.

If you choose the 'refinance' option, be prepared to fill out some information regarding your property.

Filling out the online application should only take a few minutes, and once that's done, Better.com presents you with the amount you can borrow or how much you potentially can save (with a refinance).

Overall, the process is straightforward. Just be sure to have your personal information and property information (if you're refinancing) on hand.

Loan Officers Don't Earn Commission

Better.com is unique because its loan officers don't earn a commission. This means that homebuyers aren't responsible for commission fees which can significantly raise upfront costs.

According to Better.com, mortgage loan officers generally receive about one percent of the total loan amount. If your mortgage loan officer gets you a $500,000 loan, they get $5,000 in commission. However, this can be avoided with a Better mortgage.

No Lender Fees

Better.com doesn't charge any lender fees. There are no origination, application, processing, or underwriting fees. Instead, the lender makes money by selling loans to investors in the secondary market.

Using its technology, Better matches borrowers with investors interested in buying their loans and paying a reasonable price for them. This then allows Better to offer low rates to its borrowers.

Additionally, Better's rates are lower because of the company's dedication to streamlining the mortgage process.

Additional Resources

Better's website is filled with helpful information and resources. You can easily view mortgage rates. There is a loan comparison calculator, and the company's blog is packed with valuable articles that are great for everyone — no matter where you are in the home-buying process.

Altruistic Values

Better.com was founded by CEO Vishal Garg, whose vision was to streamline the mortgage lending process after encountering difficulties when trying to secure a good interest rate and mortgage loan for his own young family in 2012.

The company seeks to defy the norms of the mortgage industry by offering mortgage loans to everyday people who are fed up with the big players and exorbitant fees that often come with hiring a real estate agent.

These values may be appealing to potential homeowners across the United States who face a similar situation to that of Vishal Garg a decade ago. 

Better.com Reviews

On BestCompany.com, 96 percent of Better.com reviews are 4 or 5 stars. These ratings alone significantly set Better.com apart from other mortgage lenders.

Satisfied Better.com borrowers typically highlight the following in positive reviews:

  • Efficient mortgage process — Better.com can get you to closing much faster than other lenders
  • Low mortgage rates
  • Reliable and responsive customer service representatives
  • Overall transparency throughout the mortgage process — the lender doesn't hide anything from homebuyers

Reviews with 3 stars or below are minimal, but some customers express dissatisfaction with how quickly Better.com sold their loan after closing, in some instances putting the loan in the hands of a servicing company that is difficult to work with. Most, if not all, mortgage lenders sell loans, so this is not an uncommon practice, but it is worth noting that your Better.com mortgage will likely be transferred to a different servicer immediately after closing.

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The Bad

  • No Home Equity Loans or HELOCs
  • No VA or USDA Loans
  • Not Available Nationwide

No Home Equity Loans or HELOCs

Currently, Better.com does not offer home equity line of credit (HELOCs) or second mortgages. HELOCs can be beneficial as they are secured loans backed by your home. With HELOCs, you are given access to a credit line (similar to a credit card) and only charged interest on the amount you use. HELOCs can be used to remodel your home, pay off student and other debt, or fund a vacation (there are no restrictions on how HELOCs can be used).

No VA or USDA Loans

Better.com does not offer any VA loan or USDA loan options at this time. However, in addition to its conventional loan options, Better.com does offer FHA loan options which can be helpful for first-time homebuyers.

Not Available Nationwide

Better.com offers its services to more than 40 states but still is unavailable in some states.

Although Better.com notes it has plans to become available nationwide soon, it's not quite there. 

That said, if you live in the following states, Better.com is currently not an option:

  • Hawaii
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Nevada
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The Bottom Line

Better.com sets itself apart in the mortgage industry with it's 100 percent online business model, providing homebuyers with a simpler and faster mortgage process. In addition, the lender has zero commission fees and lender fees, cutting upfront costs that you would encounter with other mortgage lenders. 

To qualify for a Better.com mortgage, you will need a credit score of 620 or above, but if you are a first-time homebuyer or low-credit homebuyer, Better.com may have a mortgage solution for you, such as an FHA loan.

Better.com reviews are overwhelmingly positive with customers highlighting exceptional customer service and low rates.

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Star Rating

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4.7

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529 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

78%

4 grade

18%

3 grade

2%

2 grade

1%

1 grade

2%

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Brian

It was a low price or low cost loan and I got a good rate. There were some changes in the term between when I submitted it and when the loan closed and I think better communication about those changes and why during the process will be better. Everyone was pretty responsive. There was some difficulties with the underwriting and a few small miscommunications but overall it was good.

2 years ago

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Stephen

I thought everybody was trustworthy.The support was great, multiple people are tending to the loan throughout the process so somebody always got back to you whether it'd be via email or telephone call or text and I like that. The process actually exceeded my expectations. I had some reservations and it actually ended up exceeding my expectations and it ended up being a more enjoyable experience than I thought it would be.

2 years ago

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Henri

I am very glad I chose Better.com because of their good pricing and the good user experience with the website. I did recommend them to a lot of friends who finished a long time before me but that might be a New York thing. It took a really long time to get done. They were pretty responsive. Being handed from person to another was not as good as being a single person the while time. Still keep up the good work. The American Express deal was very good. It is a great partnership.

2 years ago

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Yaser

Better provided the best rates from all the different mortgage companies I looked into. The process was pretty straightforward. It is streamlined for each step of the process. There was a hiccup because I am on the east coast and my underwriter for the loan was on the west coast so I had to wait a few hours and they had technical issue. The rest of the process was really smooth. They allow you to reach out.

2 years ago

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Anonymous

The process and everything else is good, my experience is good with better.com the only problem I have is, it's very difficult to get in touch with anybody and typically cannot get a hold of them. Disconnected customer experience in terms of service. Apart from that the process the structure of the online models that's always good. But then yeah when you run into questions that's when you'll start experiencing multiple people responding and nobody knowing exactly what the answer would be.

2 years ago

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Christiane

Seems really easy to me. I really can't complain, the website is very interactive. I was able to upload documents easily so it was it was really easy. I think everybody was real nice but the the time zone difference. I think they are based in California and I'm on the east coast so that made it a little bit harder when I needed something. I think it's a great service. In the beginning I was a little dubious about it just because these days everyone's been worried about things not actually being ligitimate.The general product is great.

2 years ago

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Anonymous

I could not always get a hold of my person that I was working with same day, it was usually the call they were not available have to you know wait for them to call me back. It went pretty smoothly except a couple of times there was some confusion going back and forth on changing some stuff in the quote. And It was a little stressful because I was trying to do the refinance to cash out to take care of obligations that I had and it was on the time line and they did ask for a lot of documentation.

2 years ago

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Anonymous

Overall its good, any new platform you want it to be more solid and that would make the costumer feel more confident in every action people take have a always have a way to figure out the out come and if anything goes wrong people can easily track them. I contacted the support four to eight times and they stopped to respond and help soon and simply solved my problem quickly so I'm satisfied with that.

2 years ago

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Elizabeth

Better.com has a little better comparable rates. The benefits is that it is easy to use. My wife is pregnant with twins. We needed it right when we signed. It was pretty seamless. We didn't have to find babysitters. We didn't have to worry about getting a cold. It is not perfect. There are some small things that could be better but overall I would definitely recommend it. It would be helpful if there were some sort of portal or tool that showed our loan. The people behind it are great but there was a lot of back and forth.

2 years ago

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Fred Mitro Houston, TX

The service of the Better Mortgage team was outstanding. Everything was professional and went smoothly with the exception of the closing agent that came to our home for the remote closing. He was was not fully prepared and familiar with some of the agreements which resulted in a delay. He then became impatient and frustrated when we asked any questions.

2 years ago

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Cory

I am going through a divorce, which is difficult to navigate, but better had no problems navigating. They have better interest rates that anything I could fine. There were a few hiccups but it was a great experience. It is easy because it is all online. It is a really efficient way of doing things.

2 years ago

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Charles

It wasn't a perfect experience but in the end they did a pretty good job. They responded promptly when we had questions. They were able to clarify what we were asking for. The only thing I wish they would have done differently is initiate contact with our former lenders and try to expedite emails.

2 years ago

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Janine

They gave us the best rate. All my questions were answered but whoever I was working with wasn't aware of a specific law. I was told I could do it at home but I had to go to the title company. I would still recommend them because they do have knowledgeable people.

2 years ago

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Michael

Better.com beat the interest rate and closing cost of any my local lenders and institutional lenders. They were able to accurately give me an interest rate. It did not change from the moment it was quoted. Customer service is open late at night.

2 years ago

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Alistair

Better.com has the cheapest rates and I liked that everything was done online. Sometimes I would get requests for things and after a few days it would be cleared up. There seem to be a lot of errors going on behind the scenes.

2 years ago

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Anonymous

I'm really happy with the experience I had. They had a good rate. I really like the web portal for submitting documents and checking status. I get in touch with someone knowledgeable but sometimes it took 24 hours to get an answer.

2 years ago

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Fernando

Everything was very easy to manage. I could do most of it online. They responded to all my questions. I was able to get a loan form overseas the first time but the second time, at the end of the process they told me they could not process it. They should train everybody on this topic.

2 years ago

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Erica

Most of the people are really friendly and get back to you. I do feel sometimes they don't get back to you as soon as you hoped. I would recommend they get faster at that. Everything was flat out simple. There wasn't much delay on the loan. I already knew what documents they needed and it was easy to upload everything. It is my top pick.

2 years ago

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Sandra

The customer service people were very responsive to any questions I had and any questions I hads were resolved quickly. It was a very easy process, quickly done, so I was satisfied. I am a fan setting up automatic payments and recurring payment and there isn't an option for it.

2 years ago

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Gary Haines Andale, KS

I would give 5 stars, but several times, information from one step of the process did not get passed on to the next person in the process. Otherwise, great to work with and my realtor raved about how easy they were to work with.

2 years ago

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Thomas Wonica

They were great up until i got my closing specialist then there were definitely disconnects. I had to fix some things that didn't make sense. Leading up to that and then minus some hickups at closing they were fine. I did already recommend better.com to a friend who is already going through the process I think.

2 years ago

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Yuri Caldwell, NJ

Overall experience was good. However, there were some communication lapses during underwriting, and unresponsiveness close to the closing date. Also, the team wasn't willing to work with me to adjust the rate even though the rates dropped after being locked.

2 years ago

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Alan Nampa, ID

The process and the website were great. I was disappointed that my loan was then transferred to servicing and sold to a different company. I'm not naive; I know that's how it works. But I'm still not happy about it because I liked the Better process and service and am now stuck with generic companies that don't care at all.

2 years ago

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Jennifer Pierce Charlotte, NC

The Closing part was not helpful at all, the notifying lady was unprofessional, no patience at all, just want done ASAP even she came late half hour, I mentioned her I have 2 hours to finish after she got agitated, only spent one hour to let me sign, no explanation for my questions.

2 years ago

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David

It is basically the same as everyone else but with much better rates. The process is very smooth and super easy. I love that you can drop files and they keep you updated as opposed to sending a bunch of emails. Everyone I worked with was great.

2 years ago

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Jonathan

All the forms were super intuitive. The site was super intuitive. Things I needed to upload were clear. The only negative thing is that it is not communicated when the loan is transferred to another servicer but everything else is great.

2 years ago

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Monique

Overall I am glad I did it. The only thing that wasn’t great was I had to do a quite a bit of leg work to get some paperwork and I don’t think that should have been my responsibility but overall they were very responsive.

2 years ago

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Matthew

Better.com should probably do a little more research on who they use as their finance partners. We had some issues with the mortgage servicer they chose. For the most part we are glad we did it. They were good at communicating. The process was easy.

2 years ago

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Anonymous

I got the best rate on Better.com. I glad I used Better.com. It is convenient. Most of the stuff is done through mobile phone or email or on the website. There were a couple of times I had to go back and forth with customer service and there was some lag with some responses.

2 years ago

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John

The details they provided in the beginning were honest and better than what other provide. They were able to make the experience as near perfect as possible. I didn’t know they were not going to be a long term service as my loan as changed twice who I pay so that could be better.

2 years ago

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David

Overall the experience was very positive. There were a couple of questions they could have handled better but nothing is ever perfect. It was as good as I expected. I have nothing to complain about but it also was nothing spectacular.

2 years ago

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Gurjeet

They’re pretty good. It was easy to upload documents online. There was less hassle. It was easy to schedule someone to talk to. They would call you right on the scheduled time. It was good that they were always reminding you of things.

2 years ago

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Paul

Didn’t like that I wasn’t able to call anybody on a direct line when I needed someone. It wasn’t easy to get a hold of someone. You have to schedule something instead of picking up the phone to call them. Other than that it was pretty easy.

2 years ago

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Amber Colorado Springs, CO

The individuals I worked with to secure the loan were phenomenal and went above and beyond to the loan done. The amount of tasks and paperwork involved, however, was sometimes redundant and confusing.

2 years ago

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Ramesh

I am happy with the service. It is very simple. Everything is done on the web. There are low fees. The agents are very responsive. They're quick to give updates. There is not much waiting time.

2 years ago

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Ralph

Better.com offers a better rate. There was an issue with the owner paying for some of the fees. There was a change in management but the communication was good. They were always there. It took a while to straighten out.

2 years ago

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Virginia H Petsos Portsmouth, VA

The Better team is, in general, competent and professional. Our experience was top notch, until closing, where several of the final figures were incorrect and had to be changed during our closing or settled after closing.

2 years ago

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Kelly

The portal made it very easy to see what we needed and get it uploaded. It was reviewed quickly. I would like them to be more accessible when it comes to phone calls and it took long to know if it got approved.

2 years ago

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Tyler

Being all online made it super easy. I only had to talk to someone on the phone once or twice at the closing times because there was something weird about the house we were buying. It was great.

2 years ago

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Maryann

Customer service was good every time I called but there needs to be more constant contact from them when you are wating. It works but it takes very long which can be stressful. It is a good rate.

2 years ago

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Salustra Wallace Kennesaw, GA

On the whole fairly painless, very quick, a few issues one never given opt out of using my info requested and now getting too many emails from strange companies, etc. because of that actually a 3.5

2 years ago

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Wendi

Nice to do online but there are some things in their system that don’t get updated or reflect what you are talking about. When I needed customer support, they tried to get me the answers I needed quickly.

2 years ago Edited September 14, 2021

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Lisa

The process was seamless. It was great. The web interface was easy to use to upload documents. My loan person was fantastic and responsive. All my questions were answered. I was satisfied with the care I got.

2 years ago

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Marcus

It is easy to email them but every time I would call, I would have to wait maybe a day or so to get a call back. Everything being digital, uploading documents online made it easy.

2 years ago

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James

Every thing is great. It has the lowest rates I can fine. Submitting the documentation through the portal was a little confusing at times but the people were very responsive and courteous.

2 years ago

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Andrew

They did promised me a rate they could not actually obtain so I did lose a decent amount of money but I am still mostly glad I chose them for my refinance. Customer support was there every time I had to talk to them.

2 years ago

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Anonymous

Everything was great. I had a bad experience with Amerisave and they were very responsive and always got back to me. There was a little bit of a glitch with our homeowners’ insurance but overall they were fine.

2 years ago

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Jocelyn

A friend of mine recommended better.com because they are easy to work with. The interface is really simple. The staff is always responsive to whatever I needed.

2 years ago

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Leslie

The process is really tedious and time consuming. It was tough to get through but I did it. Customer service is always there if you have any questions or concerns.

2 years ago

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K

The prices were good and it went quickly. I didn't always get my questions answered by support but they are okay and I would recommend them. I had a good experience.

2 years ago