Movement Mortgage Review 2024
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Our Take
3.5
Movement Mortgage has a feel-good factor: It shares a significant portion of its profits to fund charitable efforts like charter schools, health clinics and housing projects through the Movement Foundation. The lender has a relatively high market share of FHA loans and offers some harder-to-find types, like FHA 203(k) loans. However, Movement doesn’t post rates online, and the latest federal data shows its fees are higher than many lenders’. Most likely to appeal to borrowers seeking FHA loans and down payment assistance.
Pros
- Average closing time under 25 days, faster than the national average.
- Offers down payment and closing cost assistance for FHA loans, with no income limits.
- Profit-sharing model supports charitable giving through the Movement Foundation.
Cons
- Doesn’t post mortgage rates online.
- No online chat for customer service.
- Average origination fee is on the high side, according to the latest federal data.
Lender | Max. loan amount | Max LTV | Min. credit score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
$400,000 | 85% | 640 | Visit Lenderat Figure at Figure | |
$750,000 | 80% | 580 | Visit Lenderat New American Funding at New American Funding | |
$350,000 | 80% | 680 | Visit Lenderat Rocket Mortgage, LLC at Rocket Mortgage, LLC |
Full Review
Movement Mortgage is a nonbank lender based in Indian Land, South Carolina. Loans are available in all 50 states.
🏠 Popular loan types include: Fixed or adjustable rate; conventional; FHA; VA; jumbo; rate and term or cash-out refinance
🔑 Specialty loan options include: USDA; reverse mortgages; renovation loans; construction-to-permanent loans
💵 Home equity borrowing options: HELOC
Movement Mortgage was co-founded in 2008 by former pro football player Casey Crawford. It coined the term “Impact Lender” to promote its profit-sharing model with its affiliated nonprofit, the Movement Foundation.
To help ease the cost of homebuying, Movement offers Movement Boost, a down payment and closing cost assistance program for FHA loans. First-time or repeat buyers are eligible. Notably, the program doesn’t have income limits, like many other down payment assistance programs. Movement Boost is not available in New York.
» MORE: How to apply for a mortgage
How we score Movement Mortgage
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.
Movement has a NerdWallet home loans rating of 3.5 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 comparison-shop 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.
What borrowers say about Movement Mortgage
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 Movement 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: 745 out of 1,000. Industry average for origination is 730.
→ Excellent customer rating on Zillow.
Customer rating: 4.98 out of 5, as of the date of publication. Rating reflects more than 18,600 customer reviews.
🤓 Our Nerds say ...
It looks like the Movement Mortgage mobile app, MM Servicing, underwent a significant update in September 2024. Afterward, we watched its App Store rating jump from 1.7 to 4.9 stars (at the time of publishing). It’s encouraging when a lender responds to customer pressure to fix a buggy mobile app. The app is useful for existing customers managing their mortgages, but doesn’t offer the option to apply for a mortgage.
Movement Mortgage and consumer trust
Movement Mortgage agreed in June 2023 to pay $23.75 million to settle U.S. Department of Justice claims that the lender improperly certified government-backed loans and mortgage insurance for borrowers who were not eligible. These actions dated back to 2008. The lender also admitted, the DOJ said, that it failed to follow federal requirements for self-reporting instances of misrepresentation or fraud. The allegations were brought to the government’s attention by two former Movement Mortgage employees.
Because this settlement affects consumers indirectly, it did not impact NerdWallet’s star rating. When shopping for a mortgage lender, do an online search to see if the company is in the news, and why.
Alternatives to a home loan from Movement Mortgage
We recommend comparing mortgage rate offers from three or more lenders.
Pennymac is a nonbank lender known for providing FHA loans, and its website makes it easy to customize and compare mortgage rates.
PNC Bank’s foundation supports charitable efforts with a focus on early childhood education.
» MORE: Best mortgage lenders
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.
