Bank of America Mortgage Review 2024
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Our Take
4.0
Bank of America stands out for its generous down payment and closing cost grants, though qualifications (like income and location) are specific. But as a big bank, it offers broad options most folks can appreciate: Low interest rates, in-person service (if you want it) and plenty of loan options. Most likely to appeal to modest-income borrowers who qualify for assistance, or current banking customers eligible for Preferred Rewards discounts.
Pros
- Interest rates are lower than most lenders, according to the latest federal data.
- Offers up to $10,000 in down payment assistance to qualified borrowers.
- Banking customers can get discounted interest rates or fees.
Cons
- Mortgage origination fees are on the high side, according to the latest federal data.
- Rate estimator tool doesn’t personalize by credit score.
- Fined $12 million for reporting inaccurate mortgage applicant info to the federal government.
Lender | Min. credit score | Min. down payment | |
|---|---|---|---|
580 | 3% | Visit Lenderat New American Funding at New American Funding | |
620 | 3% | Visit Lenderat NBKC at NBKC | |
580 | 3.5% | Visit Lenderat Rocket Mortgage, LLC at Rocket Mortgage, LLC |
Full Review
Bank of America is a large national bank based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Loans are available nationwide.
🏠 Popular loan types include: fixed or adjustable rate; conventional; FHA; VA; jumbo; rate and term or cash-out refinances
🔑 Specialty loan options include: Affordable Loan Solution mortgage; doctor loans
💵 Home equity borrowing options: HELOCs
Bank of America’s Community Homeownership Commitment aims to make it more affordable for modest-income buyers to purchase a home. Programs vary by location. Some have income and other eligibility requirements, such as completion of a first-time home buyer class. Offerings include:
Down payment grants: Up to $10,000 or 3% of the purchase price, whichever is less, in select locations.
America’s Home Grant program: Up to $7,500 for nonrecurring closing expenses, such as title insurance and recording fees, or to buy down the interest rate.
Affordable Loan Solution mortgage: Buyers who meet income limits can qualify for a minimum down payment of 3%.
Bank of America also offers specialty mortgages for doctors, whose student debt might make it challenging to qualify for a traditional home loan early in their careers.
» MORE: How to apply for a mortgage
How we score Bank of America mortgages
Every year, NerdWallet writers and editors use the latest data and independent research to score lenders on an overall rubric, reflecting factors that are most important to mortgage borrowers. Select Why This Category Matters below to learn more.
Bank of America has a NerdWallet home loans rating of four stars overall. Here’s a breakdown of this year’s score.
Category | Star rating |
|---|---|
Average mortgage rates and fees | |
Mortgage rate transparency | |
Variety of loan types | |
Customer experience |
- Why This Category Matters
Average mortgage rates and fees (30%)
Our team analyzes federal data to compare mortgage lenders’ origination fees and offered mortgage rates, measuring annual averages across all loan types, as reported by the lenders. The lowest combination of average rates and fees earns the highest star rating in this category. (It’s worth noting that loans considered higher risk, including those such as FHA loans that are easier to qualify for, often have higher interest rates and fees.) Pro tip: In some cases, paying upfront fees may lower a borrower’s mortgage interest rate.
Mortgage rate transparency (25%)
We check how straightforward it is to compare rates online. NerdWallet’s transparency ratings are higher for lenders that post sample rates on their sites, and highest for sites with self-serve tools that allow shoppers to see what rates might be like for their particular loan. Pro tip: Borrowers who compare customized rate quotes by applying to three or more lenders could save thousands of dollars over the life of their loan.
Variety of loan types (25%)
Finding the right mortgage is different for each borrower. The highest star ratings in this category are awarded to lenders that our research shows offer a wide range of loan types, improving the odds that a borrower will find the best match for their needs: options for purchase and refinance; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate loans; government-backed FHA, VA or USDA loans; renovation or construction loans; and home equity loans or HELOCs.
Customer experience (20%)
How easy is it to interact with this lender? The highest-rated lenders in this category offer features that are convenient and clarifying for borrowers, such as: an online application, multiple customer service options, a helpful mobile app and candid closing timeline communications.
Bank of America earned bonus points for its proprietary programs for first-time home buyers. We deducted points for a $12 million civil penalty for reporting inaccurate mortgage application information to the federal government.
What borrowers say about Bank of America mortgages
NerdWallet’s lender star ratings assess objective qualities, including rates, fees and loan offerings. To help you understand borrowers’ subjective experiences, NerdWallet has gathered customer satisfaction ratings from J.D. Power and Zillow. We also contacted Bank of America customer support.
→ Above-average score in J.D. Power’s 2023 U.S. Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study. Mortgage origination covers the initial application through closing day.
Score: 747 out of 1,000. Industry average for origination is 730.
→ Above-average score in J.D. Power’s 2024 U.S. Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study. A mortgage servicer handles loan payments.
Score: 646 out of 1,000. Industry average for servicing is 606.
→ Above-average customer rating on Zillow.
Customer rating: 4.82 out of 5, as of the date of publication. Rating reflects more than 13,350 customer reviews.
🤓 Our Nerds say ...
Bank of America’s online chat connects you with a live person right away. It’s nice to talk to a real human when you have a question instead of working through prompts from a bot.
Bank of America and consumer trust
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fined Bank of America $12 million in November 2023 for incorrectly collecting, recording and reporting demographic data. Loan officers repeatedly failed to ask applicants about their race, ethnicity and sex, but reported that applicants declined to provide the information, the CFPB said in a press release. Accurate reporting allows regulators — and the public — to monitor fair lending practices in the mortgage industry.
In agreeing to the civil penalty, the lender neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing. In an email, Bank of America said that it notified the government after receiving one complaint in 2020 and conducting a review. In 2020 and 2021, Bank of America took additional steps to enhance employee monitoring and training about asking applicants for required racial, ethnic and gender information.
A lender’s NerdWallet star rating is negatively affected by recent regulatory actions for violations that harmed mortgage customers. When shopping for a mortgage lender, search online to see if the company is in the news, and why.
Alternatives to a home loan from Bank of America
We recommend comparing mortgage rate offers from three or more lenders.
U.S. Bank scores highly in our rubric for offering a wide variety of loan types.
Citi, another large bank, dedicates much of its business to jumbo loans.
» MORE: Best jumbo loan lenders
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More from NerdWallet
NerdWallet’s overall ratings for mortgage lenders are evaluated based on four major categories: average mortgage rates and origination fees, rate transparency to consumers, variety of loan types (purchase, refinance, fixed and adjustable, for example) and customer experience. Among the factors we consider in these categories are: options to apply for home loans online, typical time to close, mobile app experience, level of detail about mortgage rates on lender websites, and NerdWallet’s own analysis of the rates and fees lenders reported in the latest available Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. These and other items inform detailed rubrics, which generate ratings from 1 star (poor) to 5 stars (excellent). Read more about how we rate mortgage lenders here.
