New American Funding vs Quicken Loans

Mortgage lenders typically offer similar rates and services, so it can be difficult to compare and contrast companies. However, while New American Funding and Quicken Loans do offer similar products and services, certain factors distinguish them from each other:

Loan Types
Rates and Fees
Underwriting Process
Mortgage Programs and Guarantees
State Licenses
Customer Reviews

Loan Types

New American Funding and Quicken Loans both offer a variety of loan types, but depending on the specific type of loan you are looking for, one lender might be a better choice than the other. Both companies offer the following loan types:

Based on the table above, New American Funding would be the best choice if you’re looking for a wide variety of loan types, including some specialized loan programs, such as the I CAN Mortgage or Buydown Loan.

However, if you’re looking for a fixed-rate conventional loan, or perhaps a government-backed loan option, such as an FHA loan, both New American Funding and Quicken Loans would be a good choice. A decision between the two companies based on traditional mortgage products would be based more on the rate that you could get with either company; thus, it wouldn’t hurt to complete a pre-approval application with both companies to see what rates you’d get based on your finances.

Neither company offers a USDA loan product. This could be a drawback for borrowers looking to purchase a rural property. If you want a variety of mortgage loan options, New American Funding would be your choice. But, if you are looking for a jumbo loan, Quicken Loans offers this product. If you are looking for a conventional loan, either company would be a good choice, but it would be in your best interest to compare your rates with each company before deciding.

Rates and Fees

Both New American Funding and Quicken Loans provide daily update rates on their websites. While these rates may change daily, and even hourly, it appears that New American Funding generally offers rates that are approximately 0.3 percent lower than Quicken Loans (depending on the loan type). While this point difference may not seem like a big deal, saving any portion of a point in interest could save you thousands of dollars over the life of your mortgage loan.

The rates that are displayed on the New American Funding and Quicken Loans websites are the lowest available rates, which are typically only available to borrowers with excellent credit health, stable finances, and the ability to make a larger down payment (at least 20 percent). To see what rates you qualify for, you will need to complete a pre-approval application with either company.

Underwriting Process

New American Funding and Quicken Loans typically both use automated underwriting to either approve or deny a mortgage application. In some cases, your application may be referred to a manual underwriter who will review and analyze your finances and documents, resulting in a more personalized rate and final decision. New American Funding and Quicken Loans will try to assess individual situations and financial circumstances when making an approval decision through manual underwriting. However, manual underwriting isn’t necessarily the standard practice — it is generally reserved for specific cases.

Mortgage Programs and Guarantees

To make the mortgage process easier, and to also help borrowers save where they can, New American Funding and Quicken Loans offer specialized mortgage programs and guarantees.

New American Funding offers the following programs and guarantees:

• On-Time Closing Guarantee — an average closing time of 35 days (industry average is 40 to 65 days)
• Mortgage Assistance — if necessary, a variety of options/solutions to help you make payments and stay in your home

Quicken Loans offers the following programs and guarantees:

• RateShield℠ Approval — lock your rate for up to 90 days
• Good-Faith Deposit — make a deposit between $400 and $750 which will cover lender fees and closing costs
• PMI Advantage Program — reduce or eliminate your private mortgage insurance (PMI) payments by increasing your interest rate or paying PMI as a one-time payment at closing (PMI typically applies if you make a down payment less than 20 percent)

State Licenses

Quicken Loans is licensed nationwide, but New American Funding is licensed in 49 states — New American Funding is not licensed to lend in Hawaii.

Customer Reviews

New American Funding and Quicken Loans both have more than 300 reviews on BestCompany.com. Based on these reviews, New American Funding has a much higher customer satisfaction rating with 96 percent of customers giving the company 5 stars.

Quicken Loans, on the other hand, has more mixed reviews with 58 percent of customers giving the company 5 stars, and 24 percent giving it 1 star.

New American Funding reviews typically highlight the following:

• Exceptional customer service (frequently naming specific loan officers)
• A quick and easy mortgage process
• Competitively low rates

Quicken Loans reviews typically highlight the following:

• Reliable customer service
• A quick and easy mortgage process
• Competitive rates

While positive reviews for both companies highlight the same factors, Quicken Loans complaints also outline poor communication and bad experience with customer service, as well as a lack of company transparency, including additional fees or costs popping up throughout the mortgage process.

Based on customer star-rating only, we would recommend New American Funding for your mortgage needs. But, Quicken Loans is the largest mortgage lender in the United States, and thus has a much larger customer base that will contribute to a wider variety of customer reviews.