Better is an online mortgage lender that promises a fast pre-approval process, no application fees, origination fees, and faster closing. Right now, American Express cardholders have a special offer with a $2,000 statement credit (conforming) or $6,000 (jumbo) when you use their link. Thanks for reader Brad for the tip.
Get an American Express Statement credit after you refinance or finance your home purchase with Better Mortgage. $2,000 for conforming or $6,000 for jumbo mortgages. Lock your rate by 9/13/22 and close by 12/17/22 to qualify for the statement credit — for eligible Card Members only
Better also has a $100 Better Price Guarantee (not restricted to AmEx cardholders):
We’ll match any valid competitor’s offer, and credit you an extra $100. If we can’t, the $100 is yours to keep.
If you think another lender has a more competitive price, just send us their loan estimate within one business day from the date it was issued. We’ll either do better by at least $100, or send that $100 to you; you win either way.
There are various mortgage “closing credit” offers out there, but keep in mind that the most important thing is your total cost, a combination of total closing costs and ongoing monthly payment. The easiest way to compare is to go far enough to receive a Loan Estimate from a variety of sources. (You’ll also need a loan estimate for the Better rate guarantee.) Beyond the major comparison websites, you may still benefit from a local human broker or directly checking with credit unions including Pentagon Federal and Navy Federal (if eligible).
If you can get Better to match or beat the best rate/cost combination, then this $2,000/$6,000 would be gravy on top! Here are some customer reviews of Better.
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The same American Express offer applies also to new mortgage loans originated through Rocket Mortgage (formerly Quicken Mortgage), although the eligibility dates and other qualifications may be slightly different.
Am I supposed to add the offer through my Amex platinum cards somehow?
How do you find it on Amex offers page
EUGENE: You “sign up” for the offer by (1) following the referral link from Amex (see “special offer” above” or by entering your Amex Card number at the point in the application process where you are asked for a card number to ay for the appraisal (unless an appraisal is waived by the lender).
NERISSA: This applies only to confirming and jumbo mortgage loans originated by Better or Rocket Mortgage. I don’t believe that either lender offers HELOCs and they are not part of this offer.
JAMES, ADAM, MICHAEL: Glad you found even lower rates. My experience with Better was the opposite (compared to SoFi and Rocket) and twice during my pre-approval and prior to my locking my rate, the points Better charged for my rate buydown to 2.50% were lowered without any action on my part.
From at least 1 report, they seem to have fairly competitive rates and fees.
The Mortgage Reports website had a review citing Better lower than Rocket with much lower fees.
Can you do this with a heloc? What if you took out a 50k heloc and just immediately paid it off?
I’ve used Better 4 times to refi or for a purchase. You will rarely get Better’s best rate at first. Checkout their advertised rate on Bankrate.com and ask if they will match it and also go for the AMEX credit on top of that.
Make sure to bring Better a competitive offer for them to match/beat. I had a terrible appraisal experience with them last year so just beware if you’re depending on hitting an appraisal number to get rid of PMI.
In my case, they did not match the competitor’s rate, so I would get to keep the $100. Well, $100 is a pittance compared to the savings from my lower rate, so I quickly dropped them.
who was the competitor?
Chase. I don’t know if it was the 15 year term or that I received a lower rate due to my relationship with Chase, but I never heard back from Better. I guess I don’t know for certain that they wouldn’t match the rate, but their silence implied either a lack of interest, or poor customer service, neither of which made me want to press the issue.