JustFindMyLender | © 2024 ComplianceTech

Shopping for the right mortgage lender can save tens of thousands of dollars.

Data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) can make mortgage shopping easier.

Who are the mortgage lenders making loans in your area?
Which lenders' APR histories suggest that they're a good starting point for savings?
How important are APRs differences to a consumer's bottom line, and ultimately, their long-term wealth?
The CFPB's forecast for this week's average 30 year, Prime APR (APOR) is waiting.... How does a specific offer compare?

The CFPB's Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data is "the most comprehensive source of publicly available information on the U.S. mortgage market". Sadly, in its raw state, the HMDA data is incomprehensible. JustFindMyLender.com democratizes the HMDA data and gives borrowers simplified access to information about lenders' historical pricing behavior. By democratizing the HMDA data we're advancing transparency in the mortgage lending industry and narrowing the information gap between the information rich and the information poor.

Please read before proceeding...

JustFindMyLender.com is not affiliated with, associated with, authorized by, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or any other government agency.

JustFindMyLender.com was created by ComplianceTech, a multidisciplinary team of seasoned professionals operating at the intersection of lending, fair lending, and information analysis, and information technology. For over three decades we've been at the front-line of fair lending and financial inclusion; working with lenders, federal agencies, state and federal regulators, community groups, and other stakeholders. JustFindMyLender.com continues this tradition. We're convinced that minimizing the information gap between the information rich and the information poor can contribute to erasing information-driven inequality in mortgage lending, home ownership, and generational wealth.

JustFindMyLender.com uses the HMDA data to create; 1) a list of lenders in active an area, 2) a "ballpark" prediction for each lender's prices based on its Pricing Tendency, and 3) an estimate of the long-term savings between lenders. Our goal is to ensure that every borrower has an opportunity to maximize wealth built through home ownership.

The information that we're presenting here is based on lenders' historical pricing tendencies (e.g. rates and fees relative to the market) and approval tendencies. Consumers should keep in mind that historical tendencies provide only a ballpark prediction of what an individual consumer can expect, but they are useful for comparing lenders' general behavior.

All information and analysis provided here is based on data reported to the U.S. Government by the lenders themselves, and made publicly available by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, pursuant to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, as the CFPB's Snapshot National Loan-Level Dataset. 5

Our analysis is based on the 3 most recent years of publicly available HMDA data and is only as accurate as the underlying HMDA data itself. Despite regulatory requirements mandating data accuracy, and the CFPB's efforts, HMDA data can be inaccurate. Lenders' resubmissions (to correct errors and omissions) subsequent to the release of the Snapshot National Loan-Level Dataset are not included in this analysis. In addition, this analysis includes only lenders who reported HMDA data in each of the last 3 years for which public data are available, and only those with at least 30 loans in the area during that period.

See the lenders in your area and how they compare.

1) Tell us about your loan.

Zip Code

Loan Purpose

Purchase

Refinance

Cash out Refinance

Loan Type

Conventional

FHA

Down Payment (Equity)

20% or more

less than 20%

3% or less

2) How confident are you that you qualify for lenders' best/lowest rates?

Not Sure (Average)

Optimistic

Pessimistic

We'll show a comparison based on each lender's average rates.

More about using JustFindMyLender.com to compare lenders...

JustFindMyLender.com uses public HMDA data to identify lenders' pricing tendencies, uses lenders' pricing tendencies to estimate their current average APR, and uses APR estimates to illustrate the effect that shopping can have on a borrower's bottom line. For example, if a lender's historical prices were (on average) .25 higher than the industry average, .25 is their pricing tendency. If today's average APR is 6.25%, the lender's current APR estimate = .25 + 6.25% = 6.50%. JustFindMyLender.com uses each lender's APR estimate to illustrate just how important shopping can be, by iluustrating savings over the life of the loan (hypothetical) between lenders.

Our APR estimate is a measure of the total cost of borrowing, encompassing interest rate and fees. Our APR estimate considers the lender's pricing history in the area, the current interest rate environment, the loan type, down payment and loan purpose. Note that the estimated APR is not the lender's actual APR but it does provide a useful metric for quantifying the potential impact of lenders' different pricing strategies on a borrower's bottom line. The metric is based on data that are both objective and reliable. The data are collected by the federal government from the lenders themselves, and the lenders are subject to penalties for inaccuracies (administrative sanctions and the possibility of civil money penalties).

Be aware that JustFindMyLender.com can't predict the actual APR that a lender will offer a borrower. That will depend on the borrower's credit score and debt-to-income ratio, etc. JustFindMyLender.com can only compare lenders based on information about their general, historical APR tendencies found in the HMDA data.

Keep in mind that price isn't everything. Borrowers should also consider other factors when shopping for a lender. In particular, how easy is it to get a loan? A lender's Approval Rate can be an indicator of the flexibilty of their credit policy and/or the level of support they provide during the application process.

Definitions: Pricing Tendency, Approval Rate, Compare Lenders, Lender Snapshot, Raw HMDA Data

More info...

-Results are based on the 3 most recent years of the publicly available Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data. Specifically, the 3 most recent years of the CFPB's Snapshot National Loan-Level Dataset.
-Lenders appearing in analysis have a minimum of 30 loans that match the Loan Purpose, Loan Type, and Down Payment/Equity filters, in the area.
-Results are based on a generalized zip code area. The area comprises all counties that contain any part of the zip code, per HUD's USPS ZIP Code Crosswalk files.
-Pricing Tendency summarizes the "Spread" values that the lenders report in their HMDA data, on originated and preapproved applications. Spread is the difference between a loan's APR and the industry Average Prime Offer Rate at the time the loan was made (APOR). When "Optimistic" is selected the lender's Pricing Tendency is the difference between the lender's lowest APR and the APOR. When "Not Sure" is selected the lender's Pricing Tendency is the difference between the lender's average APR and the APOR.
-Results are based on 30-year, conforming, fixed rate, 1st lien, single family, owner-occupied and second home, purchase and refinance applications submitted to the lender directly. Apps where reported Spread appears to be unreliable (i.e. greater than 15 or less than -15 percentage points) are excluded. Approvals = Applications approved by the lender i.e., HMDA Action = 1 or 2 (Originated, Approved but not accepted). Loans = HMDA Action = 1 (Originated).
-Small lenders (not subject to HMDA reporting) and lenders who did not report HMDA data in the most recent public data are excluded.
-NA (in fields related to pricing) denotes lenders who did not report pricing information (Spread and Total Loan Costs).
-When possible, nontraditional mortgage products and features such as reverse and balloon mortgage loans, HELOCs, commercial purpose and investment properties are excluded.
-Lenders with * are smaller lenders who did not report information needed to isolate nontraditional mortgage products. Analysis for these lenders may include nontraditional mortgage products.
-The Average Prime Offer Rate (APOR) is a week's average APR for a 80% loan-to-value, first-lien, 30-year, fixed-rate loan based on a survey of lenders performed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Loan Term (years): Loan Amount ($):

Definitions

• APR Estimate is based on the Lender's Pricing Tendency. Pricing Tendency is the historical difference (per the HMDA data) between a lender's rates and the industry average rate. The APR Estimate = APOR (the current Average Prime Offer Rate) + the lender's Pricing Tendency (for the area, loan purpose, loan type and equity). The APR Estimate is used to compute Monthly Payment, Total Interest, and the Savings Estimate.
• Potential Savings are hypothetical savings versus the most expensive lender in the comparison. The cost of borrowing from a lender = Total Loan Cost + Total Interest.
• Total Loan Costs are estimated using the requested loan amount and the lender's average loan cost (i.e., fees and services) to loan amount ratio, per HMDA data.
• Total Loan Cost comprises Origination charges paid by borrower + Services borrower cannot shop for + Services borrower can shop for.
• Monthly Payment and Total Interest are based on an interest rate that assumes APR includes all charges appearing in Total Loan Cost.
• Results are based on the lenders' publicly available HMDA data published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
• NA in fields related to pricing denotes lenders who did not report pricing information (Spread or Total Loan Costs).
• Results are based on a generalized zip code area. The area comprises all counties that contain any part of the zip code, per HUD's USPS ZIP Code Crosswalk files.

All estimates are hypothetical, reflect the historical rates and prices reported in the lender's HMDA data, and are only intended to illustrate the potential impact of different lenders' pricing tendencies. They are not the actual rates that the lenders will offer borrowers today.

Lender	APR Estimate*	Potential Savings Estimate* (Over life of loan)	Monthly Payment Estimate* (Principal and Interest)	Total Loan Cost Estimate* (Paid at closing)	Total Interest Estimate* (Over life of loan)	Compare