Business Insider's personal finance team compared Zillow Home Loans to the best mortgage lenders and found its offerings to be fairly standard.
Zillow might be a good choice for you if you're looking for a convenient online experience. With Zillow Home Loans, you can quickly get prequalified to see how much you can afford without it hurting your credit score. The lender says it also offers down payment assistance in certain areas, so it could be a good option for first-time homebuyers. But Zillow Home Loans doesn't have as many beneficial features as some of the other lenders we've reviewed, and it ranks just average in affordability.
620
3%
Conforming, FHA, VA, jumbo
- You may be able to get down payment assistance
- Get prequalified without a hard credit check
- Limited loan options
- Online-only lender
- Lacks rate transparency
Zillow Home Loans is a fairly basic mortgage lender, though it does offer down payment assistance in some areas.
- Minimum credit score and down payment displayed are for conforming mortgages
- Available in all states except New York
Zillow Home Loans Overview
In 2018, the home listing site Zillow acquired Mortgage Lenders of America and began lending mortgages as Zillow Home Loans. You can get a mortgage from Zillow Home Loans in every U.S. state except New York.
Zillow's Mortgage Options
Zillow Home Loans offers the following types of mortgages:
- Conforming loans: The most popular type of mortgage, allowing 3% down payments for borrowers with a credit score of 620 or higher
- FHA loans: Often a good option for first-time and low-income borrowers thanks to their less stringent credit requirements
- VA loans: Allow 0% down payments for eligible veterans and military members
- Jumbo loans: For those who need a mortgage that exceeds the conforming loan limit ($806,500 in 2025)
How to Apply
To get a mortgage with Zillow Home Loans, you'll need to get prequalified first. This requires providing some basic details about your situation and contact info.
After that, you can get a "verified preapproval" that verifies the income and asset information you provided in your prequalification. At this point, the lender may need to do a hard credit inquiry. Getting preapproved is an important step because it provides additional assurance that you will ultimately qualify for the loan once you're under contract on a house.
Throughout the process, you'll be asked to provide a lot of documentation, so it's a good idea to get that ready ahead of time. The documents needed for a mortgage application typically include things like paystubs, W-2s, tax returns, bank statements, and other proof of your income and savings.
Eligibility Requirements
Zillow Home Loans says it requires a credit score of 620 for "most loan types." You'll need a 3% down payment for a conforming loan, 3.5% for an FHA loan, and 0% for a VA loan. It doesn't specify its minimum down payment for jumbo loans, but many lenders require at least 10%.
Zillow Home Loans Rates and Fees
How Zillow's Mortgage Rates Compare to Other Lenders
In our review of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, we found that Zillow Home Loans' mortgage rates are right around average compared to other lenders.
To see Zillow's current mortgage rates, you'll need to start an application with the lender, since it doesn't display any sample rates online.
Understanding Fees Associated With Zillow Home Loans
In 2023, the average borrower getting a conventional mortgage from this lender paid $3,864 in origination charges, according to HMDA data. This is around average.
When you get a mortgage, you'll need to pay closing costs. Some of your closing costs are fees charged by your lender, while others are third-party costs, like title insurance. If you're paying for discount points, which lower your interest rate, you'll pay for those at closing as well.
As you compare lenders, be sure to look at both their rates and the fees they charge.
Pros and Cons of Zillow Home Loans
Pros
- Zillow Home Loans offers down payment assistance in some areas
- You can get prequalified quickly with no impact to your credit score
Zillow Down Payment Assistance
Zillow Home Loans says it offers down payment assistance "in select markets," though it doesn't specify where. If you find you're eligible, down payment assistance can help cut down on the amount of cash you need to bring to closing.
Easy Prequalification Process
You may be able to get prequalified with Zillow Home Loans in as little as three minutes, with just a soft check of your credit score.
Cons
- Only offers a few types of mortgages
- No option to apply in person
- Doesn't display current rates online
Limited Loan Offerings
Zillow Home Loans only offers conforming, FHA, VA, and jumbo loans. If you have a more unique situation and are looking for another type of mortgage, like a construction loan or physician loan, you'll need to work with a different lender. It also doesn't have any home equity options (though you can tap into your equity with a cash-out refinance).
Only Operates Online
If you prefer a more traditional lender where you have the option to apply in person, Zillow Home Loans isn't the right choice for you. With this lender, you'll complete the process online and over the phone.
Lacks Rate Transparency
Many lenders provide sample rates online to help prospective borrowers get an idea of what rates they offer, but Zillow does not.
Is Zillow Home Loans Trustworthy?
Zillow Home Loans has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and no recent major scandals.
What Borrowers Are Saying About Zillow Home Loans
Business Insider looked at positive and negative customer reviews, online forums, BBB complaints, and other sources to understand what borrowers think about Zillow Home Loans.
Positive Customer Experiences, With a Few Complaints
We found that borrowers generally have positive things to say about the lender. Many said that the loan officers they worked with were helpful and knowledgeable. But we did see a few negative reviews from borrowers who had issues with Zillow Home Loans during the origination process. For the most part, though, the sentiment was positive.
How Zillow Home Loans Compares to Other Mortgage Lenders
Zillow Home Loans vs. Rocket Mortgage
If you're looking for a convenient online mortgage lender, Rocket Mortgage is one of our top choices. Rocket Mortgage ranks high in customer satisfaction and has many affordable mortgage options that can help first-time and low-income borrowers get into a home. Plus, its online application and mobile app make the process of applying for a mortgage super simple. However, like Zillow, it doesn't offer some of the more niche types of mortgages that certain borrowers need.
Zillow Home Loans vs. Guild Mortgage
Guild Mortgage is another of our favorite mortgage lenders, and it might be a better option if you're looking for a wider range of loans to choose from.
Guild has all the mortgage offerings that Zillow Home Loans does, plus USDA loans, reverse mortgages, renovation loans, manufactured home loans, bridge loans, physician mortgages, ITIN loans, and more. It also offers 1% down and 0% down programs for eligible borrowers.
But Guild's average mortgage rates are slightly high compared to other mortgage lenders.
Zillow Homes Loans FAQs
Yes, Zillow Home Loans is a direct lender, meaning you'll work with the company directly to get a mortgage, rather than with a mortgage broker.
Zillow offers a few different types of mortgages, including conforming, FHA, VA, and jumbo loans.
Zillow Home Loans' mortgage rates are around average compared to other mortgage lenders.
Yes, you can get prequalified for a mortgage with Zillow on the lender's website.
Zillow Home Loans offers a convenient online experience, but if you prefer a more personalized approach, you might like working with a local lender or bank better.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Zillow Home Loans
For our review of Zillow Home Loans, we used our methodology for reviewing mortgage lenders.
We look at four factors — loan types, affordability, customer satisfaction, and trustworthiness — and give each a rating between 1 and 5, then we average these individual ratings for the overall lender rating. Lenders get higher ratings if they offer a large number of loan types with affordable features, have positive customer reviews, and don't have any recent public controversies.
Our Overall Lender Rating
Loan Types: 3 out of 5
Zillow Home Loans' mortgage offerings are relatively basic, but they should meet most borrowers' needs. If you're looking for home equity loans or HELOCs or you need a more niche type of mortgage, this isn't the lender for you.
Affordability: 3 out of 5
Zillow earns points in affordability for offering multiple government-backed mortgage options, since these loans have more affordable features and often come with lower rates. However, if you have a lower credit score, you may have a hard time qualifying with this lender, since Zillow says it requires a 620 score for most of its loans. Additionally, its rates and fees are just around average.
Customer Satisfaction: 4.87 out of 5
For our reviews, we use Zillow's mortgage lender profiles to see how previous borrowers rate their experience with a given lender. On its Zillow lender profile, Zillow Home Loans has a 4.87 out of 5-star rating, based on over 11,000 customer reviews.
Trustworthiness: 5 out of 5
Zillow Home Loans has an A+ rating from the BBB and no recent scandals. BBB grades are based on honesty in advertising, transparency about its business practices, and effectiveness in responding to customer complaints.
