The Yahoo Finance View: As a behemoth in the mortgage and refinance space, loanDepot prides itself on being a one-stop shop for mortgage, refinance, and HELOC needs. One drawback is that they don’t publish interest rates online, making rate comparisons difficult.
As a mortgage lender in all 50 states, loanDepot is a force to be reckoned with. It’s the fifteenth-largest retail mortgage lender in the U.S.
Despite offering a wide array of mortgage and refinance loans plus home equity line of credit (HELOC) options, we have one prevailing frustration that you might share: loanDepot doesn’t publish interest rates for any of its products on its website. To see rates, you’ll need to reach out to the company via a contact form or phone and move into their marketing funnel.
Key benefits
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If you refinance your loan from loanDepot in the future, loanDepot will waive its lender fee through its Lifetime Guarantee program.
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Offers a “Home Search” tool so you can find houses in your area.
Need to know
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LoanDepot’s customer service rating is below average, according to the 2025 J.D. Power Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study.
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The company boasts a closing timeline that’s up to 50% faster than the industry average, so be sure to ask what a realistic closing estimate looks like for your loan.
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This company doesn’t publish its rates online, so you’ll need to reach out for an accurate quote.
Visit the loanDepot website to get started.
LoanDepot offers the following types of home loans:
LoanDepot does not offer the following types of home loans:
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USDA loans
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Interest-only mortgages
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Lot loans
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Construction loans
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Guest house loans
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Second home loans
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Nonqualified mortgages
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Investment property loans
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Energy-efficient mortgages
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1% down payment mortgages
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Buydown loans
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Bridge loans
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Manufactured home mortgages
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Piggyback loans
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ITIN mortgages
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Medical professional loans
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Home equity loans
Learn more about the different types of mortgage loans.
Mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) are often the gateway to homeownership for many first-time buyers. LoanDepot is a direct FHA mortgage lender and offers several FHA loans for buyers at varying stages.
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FHA purchase loans, offering 3.5% down payments to buyers with credit scores of at least 580
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FHA Streamline Refinance, for homeowners with current FHA mortgages looking for a lower interest rate without going through the appraisal process
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FHA cash-out refinance, for current FHA mortgage holders with equity who want to pull money out of their homes
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FHA 203k renovation loans, for those in the market for a fixer-upper who want to roll improvements into their FHA loan
LoanDepot doesn’t disclose its fees or rates for any of its FHA products online, which we found frustrating.
Homeowners wanting to access their home equity have three non-sale choices: a cash-out refinance, a home equity line of credit, or a home equity loan. If your mortgage rate is lower than what’s available now, a HELOC or HEL would be your best option.
HELOCs are available at loanDepot.
loanDepot home equity line of credit (HELOC)
Once you click “Check My Rate,” you’ll be taken to a form where you’ll share some personal information and your property address. Naturally, this form puts you into their sales funnel, so be prepared for incoming texts or calls. However, you will be able to see your estimated interest rate by step three of the process and determine if loanDepot’s rates are competitive with other potential HELOC lenders.
loanDepot HELOC fees
As for rates and fees, loanDepot’s disclosures say that HELOC annual percentage rates (APRs) will never exceed 18%, and the origination fee for HELOCs can be up to 5% of your credit line. That origination fee could be steep when stacked against other lenders, so it’s worth doing your research.
Again, loanDepot doesn’t publish mortgage rates on its website. However, if you’re drawn in by loanDepot’s offerings and don’t mind a bit of human-to-human connection as you shop for a mortgage, here’s how to get a glimpse of rates on its lending products:
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Call loanDepot: You can reach a licensed loan officer at (888) 983-3240, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.
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Use their contact form: From the main navigation bar on the website, navigate to “About Us” and then “Contact Us” to access their web form.
Here’s one more thing to keep in mind: The interest rate is only one part of a mortgage product’s total cost. While you’ve got a real, live person from loanDepot on the line, be sure to ask about other costs for closing your preferred mortgage loan, including mortgage lender fees.
Yahoo Finance uses 2024 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data from nearly 5 thousand mortgage companies to score lenders on issued mortgage rates and total loan costs. We score each lender on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest).
For example, regarding mortgage rates, a lender with a lower score charged a higher-than-median mortgage interest rate for loans issued in 2024. A higher score would indicate that a lender granted lower-than-median home loan interest rates to borrowers in 2024.
With total home loan costs, a lower score would indicate that a lender charged higher-than-median total home loan costs in 2024. A high rating would mean that a mortgage lender offered lower-than-median all-in home loan costs in 2024.
loanDepot home loan rates score: 3 out of 5 stars
loanDepot total loan costs score: 1 out of 5 stars
What this means: loanDepot offered a typical mortgage rate of 6.375% but a higher-than-median total loan cost of $8,818.19 to borrowers in 2024.
To obtain a mortgage preapproval or apply for a home loan with loanDepot, you have two paths: speaking with a loan officer or using the company’s online application system.
loanDepot mortgage preapproval
Since you’ll need to speak to a loan officer in your state to get an accurate rate quote, the person-to-person route might be the one to set your sights on. What you’ll likely encounter is a more hybrid process, one where you first speak to a loan officer. Then, you’ll use their online application system to complete the application process and upload the required documentation.
To the company’s credit, loanDepot has a robust resource library for homebuyers. You’ll find calculators that let you run the numbers for various scenarios, including home purchase, refinance, renting versus buying, and mortgage affordability.
There’s also a hub for first-time home buyers with articles about how and why to buy a house.
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Online features are plentiful but not flashy. That’s worth 4 stars in this category.
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This lender earns 3 out of 5 stars in the Interest Rates category — which, looking at HMDA data, is actually pretty good compared to a lot of other big-name lenders. However, loan costs might outweigh the rate break, as we mention below.
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For affordability, loanDepot garners 3 stars, with an industry-average assortment of loan options.
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Rate transparency is lacking — as in there are no rates available online. However, you can contact a mortgage rep to get rates, but we don’t know how many hoops you’ll have to jump through to get an estimate. This earns loanDepot 1 star.
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While loanDepot offered decent interest rates in 2024, it looks like they offset those rates with higher loan costs. For that, they earn 1 star.
loanDepot mortgages vs. Newrez mortgages
Both loanDepot and Newrez offer similar mortgage products, including conventional mortgages and more specialty ones like VA and FHA loans. Newrez offers a 45-day mortgage rate lock option that doesn’t seem to be an option at loanDepot.
According to J.D. Power, neither lender rates high in the customer service department. Both score below average. And remarkably, Newrez doesn’t publish its mortgage rates online, either.
Newrez mortgage review
loanDepot mortgages vs. AmeriSave mortgages
LoanDepot and AmeriSave offer similar purchase and refinance options, including VA and FHA loans. AmeriSave also has USDA loans and home equity loans, which loanDepot does not.
AmeriSave mortgage review
Is loanDepot a reputable lender?
LoanDepot has more than 4,300 reviews at TrustPilot, with an overall star rating of 4.0 out of a possible 5. The company is paying $25 million to settle a lawsuit filed in early 2024 due to a data breach affecting more than 16 million of its customers.
Was loanDepot hacked recently?
LoanDepot experienced a security breach in early 2024, the result of a ransomware attack. As a result, 16.6 million of the company’s customers had their information stolen, including Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, and other identifying information. The lender has agreed to pay a $25 million settlement.
Does loanDepot offer home equity loans?
LoanDepot doesn’t offer home equity loans but does offer home equity lines of credit, or HELOCs. A home equity loan is a lump-sum loan with fixed payments, whereas a HELOC works more like a credit card; you’re issued a line of credit and can draw on it at will, and your overall credit line replenishes as you make payments toward principal.
Methodology:
Yahoo Finance reviews and scores mortgage lenders with quintile scoring in five primary categories: 1) Interest rates. Using 2024 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data from almost 5 thousand companies, we score mortgage lenders on issued mortgage rates below or above the annual median of reporting lenders. 2) Affordability. A measure of loan product availability and the willingness of a lender to offer government-backed loans, low down payments, down payment assistance, and consideration of nontraditional credit. 3) Loan costs. HMDA data is again analyzed, and lenders are rated based on total loan costs compared to the annual median. 4) Rate transparency. The ability of a website user to obtain a mortgage interest rate estimate. We score lenders based on whether rates are enhanced with discount points or high credit score requirements, disclaimers revealing rate assumptions, sample advertised rates, and whether adjustable or no discount point rate estimates are available. 5) Online features. An analysis of the educational material, calculators, and additional resources available to users.
Review of Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) data on regulatory actions can trigger a penalty to the score of any lender with a consumer mortgage-related administrative or enforcement action within the past five years.
Advertisers or sponsorships do not influence ratings.
Editorial disclosure for mortgages:
The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The details on financial products, including interest rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the lender’s website for the most current information. This site doesn’t include all currently available offers.
Laura Grace Tarpley edited this article.
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