Our Top Mississippi Mortgage Lenders

With median home prices at $119,000, Mississippi home prices are the cheapest in the entire United States. Since you can find homes priced at half the national median, finding bargain-priced homes in this state will be easier. And when you do find an affordable first home in Mississippi, you’ll want a good mortgage lender that can give you the most competitive rates.

Read on for more information about choosing the best Mississippi mortgage lenders with five simple criteria. We also have a list of the top 5 mortgage lenders that you can choose from to get your Mississippi home loans!

Choosing A Mississippi Mortgage Lender

Before embarking on your search for the best licensed Mississippi mortgage lender, you should have a set of criteria in mind. For this list, we use five:

Mortgage Loan Products Offered

There are many home loan types offered by Mississippi mortgage lenders, and they all cater to different consumers. Since not all loans can fit your financial situation, you need to find one that fulfills your needs.

Here are some of the most common loan programs offered to Mississippi home buyers today:

Conforming mortgages: This loan type consists of any mortgages valued under local lending limits. In Mississippi, home loan amounts are limited to $548,250.
Jumbo mortgages: Jumbo loans are usually offered to a person who wants to buy more expensive property. Jumbo home loans have higher rates to offset the large amounts.
Fixed-rate mortgages: This conventional loan type features static interest rates. Their stability makes them popular among first-time home buyers.
Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs): The interest rates on an ARM readjust every year based on the movements of a market index. Most ARMs also feature a period of fixed mortgage rates for 3 to 10 years.
Government loans: These home loans are backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Federal Housing Authority. They come with low interest rates and reduced down payment requirements for qualifying borrowers.
Mortgage refinancing (refi): Refinancing a mortgage means taking out a new loan to pay for an existing one. Borrowers usually do this to reduce their rates, either by changing mortgage terms or securing lower refinance rates.
Home equity lines of credit (HELOC): These loans give you a source of funds you can tap into, much like a credit card. However, HELOCs use your property as collateral.

Affordability

Mississippi mortgage rates may vary based on your financial situation. As a more consistent measure of affordability, we examine how easy it is to qualify for Mississippi home loans with these four metrics:

Minimum FICO score: Your FICO score measures your likelihood to pay debts on time, which is why it’s one of the primary qualification criteria for home loans. Most lenders want to see a FICO score of at least 620, but some lenders may make your loan more affordable by lowering the minimum FICO score.
Minimum down payment: Most lenders require a 20% down payment, but some may allow you to qualify with a 3% down payment. However, paying less than 20% down will often require you to pay private mortgage insurance.
Closing costs: Most costs incurred in your mortgage process, like your appraisal expenses and origination fees, will be rolled into your closing costs. These costs typically amount to 5% of your total loan amount to be paid upon closing, but some lenders offer you the option to fold them into your interest payments – increasing your upfront cash savings.
Homebuyer assistance programs: Your local housing authority may offer assistance programs for new and repeat homeowners. These programs may include closing cost grants and down payment assistance.

Application Process

A lender’s application process should be easy to understand and help consumers make the best choices. We evaluate the process with these three metrics:

Availability of online applications: Nowadays, mortgage lenders and banks are expected to have a way to apply for home loans online either on their website or through a specialized app. Good online capabilities are especially useful to consumers who can’t apply for loans in person with a loan officer or a mortgage broker.
Rate transparency: Easily accessible rate estimate information helps consumers rate shop between multiple lenders. Some lenders display sample purchase mortgage rates directly on their website, while others may require you to speak to a loan officer or mortgage broker first.
Length of the application process: Most mortgage loans close within a few weeks, but sometimes it may take several months to finalize. Check with your loan officer about the average closing times so you can better plan your home purchase.

Customer Service And Ratings

Customer service is an important factor because you need a lender that won’t abandon you if there’s a problem with your mortgage. For a better sense of customer satisfaction among our Mississippi lender picks, we use data from two rating organizations: The Better Business Bureau and J.D. Power.

The Better Business Bureau ranks a company’s trustworthiness by assigning it a letter grade ranging from A+ to F. The factors examined by the Bureau include the way a company handles complaints from consumers and the transparency of its business practices.

J.D. Power is a research firm that rates companies based on their customer satisfaction scores. Its findings are published in an annual study that also recognizes the best-scoring companies.

Access To Lender

We measure how easy it is to access a Mississippi lender’s services with two metrics:

The number of states a lender serves
The number of nationwide branch offices it operates

The first point is essential since you’ll have no choice but to look for another lender if a lender doesn’t service the Mississippi area.

Meanwhile, good branch coverage over multiple states, especially in Mississippi, is especially important for customers who prefer applying for loans face-to-face with a loan officer.

The Best Mississippi Mortgage Lenders

We’ve chosen five Mississippi mortgage lenders that best fulfill the five aforementioned criteria. Each lender we chose represents the best in one aspect of the mortgage lending process, so choose one that best suits your Mississippi home loan needs.

Before we start breaking them down one by one, here is a quick rundown of our top five:

Lender	Minimum FICO Score	Minimum Down Payment	BBB Rating	JD Power Rating	Best For
SoFi	620	10%	A+	871	Online convenience
Navy Federal	N/A	0%	N/A	867	Military families
Bank of America	620	3%	A+	860	Closing cost discounts
Alliant Credit Union	620	0%	A+	N/A	Zero-down options
LoanDepot	620	5%	A+	844	Refinancing

1. SoFi - Best Online Lender

FICO score requirement: 620

Down payment requirement: 10%

Loan products offered:

Fixed-rate loans
ARMs
Mortgage refinancing

BBB Rating: A+

JD Power Rating: 871 (in 2020 personal lending study)

Overview: SoFi is a digital consumer finance company that offers a wide suite of products, including home purchase loans. As one of the first mortgage lenders to go fully online, its website features a robust application process.

All mortgage applications on SoFi’s website are guided by a loan officer that can answer any questions consumers may have. SoFi’s mortgage division also offers the ability to verify your financial data through major financial institutions, so you don’t have to search for your physical documents just to fill your form.

Lender availability: SoFi is licensed to originate mortgages in all states except Hawaii, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, and West Virginia.

2. Navy Federal – Best For Military Families

FICO score requirement: N/A

Down payment requirement: 0%

Loan products offered:

Fixed-rate loans
ARMs
Jumbo loans
VA loans
Mortgage refinancing

BBB Rating: A+

JD Power Rating: 867

Overview: Navy Federal is one of the largest credit unions in the world, serving over 9 million members from the military, Department of Defense, and other related organizations. Its product selection has more than just VA loans – it also offers conventional loans and two proprietary zero-down loan products.

The HomeBuyers Choice and the Military Choice loans are zero-down, 30-year fixed loans that allow you to roll funding fees into interest payments. This means you can get your loan free of initial expenses.

Lender availability: Navy Federal is licensed to provide mortgage loans nationwide and operates 322 branch offices in 30 states.

3. Bank Of America – Best For Closing Cost Discounts

FICO score requirement: 620

Down payment requirement: 3%

Loan products offered:

Fixed-rate loans
ARMs
Jumbo loans
VA & FHA loans
Mortgage refinancing
Home equity loans

BBB Rating: A+

JD Power Rating: 860 in 2020 study

Overview: Getting a mortgage loan with Bank of America has many advantages, due to its status as one of the largest players in consumer finance. In addition to its wide variety of loans, this equal housing lender also offers a host of closing cost discounts.

Bank of America’s Community Homeownership Commitment will give you up to $10,000 in down payment assistance and $7,500 in closing cost grants if you buy homes in select locations. Moreover, existing bank customers can also receive up to $600 in closing cost discounts.

Lender availability: Bank of America’s mortgage division is licensed to provide loans nationwide online and through its 4,600 branches.

4. Alliant Credit Union – Best No Down Payment Options

FICO score requirement: N/A

Down payment requirement: 0%

Loan products offered:

Fixed-rate loans
ARMs
Jumbo loans
Mortgage refinancing
Home equity loans

BBB Rating: A+

JD Power Rating: N/A

Overview: Chicago-based Alliant’s greatest feature is its mortgages that require little to zero down payment. Its Alliant Advantage Mortgage program allows qualified first-time homeowners to get a mortgage loan with no down payment and no mortgage insurance.

Even if you’re a repeat homebuyer, you can still qualify for the Alliant Advantage program to avoid mortgage insurance, although you need to make at least a 5% down payment.

Lender availability: Alliant is licensed to offer mortgage services online all across the United States.

5. LoanDepot – Best For Refinance Loans

FICO score requirement: 620 (580 for FHA)

Down payment requirement: 5%

Loan products offered:

Fixed-rate loans
ARMs
Jumbo loans
VA & FHA loans
Mortgage refinancing
Home equity loans

BBB Rating: A+

JD Power Rating: 844 in 2020 study

Overview: LoanDepot is one of the best choices for refinance loans because of its “lifetime guarantee”. If you take out a mortgage from this company, you’ll get free lender fees on any subsequent refinances. In addition, any appraisal expenses will be refunded when you refinance – meaning you can save money on upfront expenses.

Lender availability: LoanDepot is licensed to offer mortgage loans nationwide through its website and 200 branch offices.

Closing Thoughts

Mississippi residential property prices are some of the lowest in the entire country. When you find a reasonably-priced new home, you’ll need the right mortgage lender so you can get the best Mississippi mortgage rates and the best customer service.

Contact Wesley Mortgage, LLC today for more information and advice about buying a new home in Mississippi. Our team will be ready to help you through the mortgage process and make your homeownership dreams in Mississippi come true!