As its name suggests, United Wholesale Mortgage is a wholesale lender — rather than work directly with consumers, it partners with mortgage brokers and financial institutions who then sell UWM loans to their clients.
UWM does service its loans, so although your broker will guide you through the loan process, you’ll make payments to UWM after your loan has closed.
In this review:
- United Wholesale Mortgage purchase review
- United Wholesale Mortgage refinancing review
- How United Wholesale Mortgage can improve
- Compare multiple lenders first
United Wholesale Mortgage purchase review
Best for:
- Borrowers looking for a fast closing
- Borrowers seeking discounted mortgage insurance
- First-time homebuyers
United Wholesale Mortgage isn’t a direct lender, but it does give its partners the flexibility they need to offer loans at competitive rates. That’s because mortgage brokers work with a variety of lenders, so UWM has to compete for your business.
Along with your standard batch of mortgages, UWM offers several exclusive programs as well.
One is called Conquest. If you’re a first-time homebuyer or you haven’t closed on a UWM loan within the last 18 months, Conquest loans offer especially competitive rates on select purchase products, including conventional loans, FHA loans, and VA loans.
There’s also the Elite and Elite M.I. products, which are low-cost conventional loans for well-qualified buyers. Here’s a quick breakdown of the two:
- Elite: A low-rate loan geared toward borrowers with credit scores of at least 700 who need to finance no more than 80% of the value of the home.
- Elite M.I.: Offers discounted mortgage insurance to borrowers with credit scores of at least 640 who are financing more than 80% of the value of their home.
Here’s a more detailed look at United Wholesale Mortgage’s purchase loans:
Credible rating | |
Mortgage programs | Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA |
Fixed-rate loan terms | 8 to 30 years |
Variable-rate loan terms | Contact your broker for information about ARM loans |
Rates and fees | Rates vary by loan type and borrower qualifications |
Min. credit score | 620 |
Min. down payment |
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Keep Reading: Jumbo Loans: Requirements, Limits, and Rates
United Wholesale Mortgage refinancing review
Best for:
- Homeowners who want to change their interest rates or loan term
- Homeowners with no late payments in the last 12 months and who can take advantage of the lender’s good-credit refinancing options
- Homeowners looking to close quickly
United Wholesale Mortgage offers rate-and-term refinances on its conventional loans, along with a cash-out refinancing option for properties in Texas. There are no cash-out options elsewhere.
A Conquest refinance option is available for new customers. It’s a 30-year fixed-rate loan with a preferred rate.
Other refinance loans include Fannie Mae’s HomeReady and Freddie Mac’s Home Possible, both of which let you borrow up to 97% of your home’s value.
Here’s a more detailed look at United Wholesale Mortgage’s refinance loans:
Mortgage refinance programs | Conventional, VA, FHA |
Fixed-rate loan terms | 8 to 30 years |
Variable-rate loan terms | Contact your broker for information about ARM loans |
Rates and fees | Rates vary by loan type and borrower qualifications |
Min. credit score | 620 |
Learn More: How to Refinance a Jumbo Loan
How United Wholesale Mortgage can improve
Because United Wholesale Mortgage doesn’t work directly with customers, and it gives its partner brokers some flexibility in the loans offered, your experience is likely to depend primarily on the broker up until closing.
After that, however, you’ll work with UWM for loan servicing, and there’s some room for improvement there. Here are some areas where UWM may be able to improve:
- Privacy: UWM tracks and shares information about your credit and equity with the broker you worked with so that the broker can reach out when it looks like you might be in the market for a new loan. It’s not clear from its website how much of this info sharing borrowers can opt out of.
- Customer service: Although UWM has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, a spate of recent United Wholesale Mortgage reviews on that site give the lender low ratings.
- Website: To log in to your account, you’ll go to a bare-bones page mostly devoid of content. Although there is a support page for those who are experiencing United Wholesale Mortgage problems, it’s not linked in the login page, meaning you’ll have to navigate back to the main site to find it.
Compare multiple lenders first
United Wholesale Mortgage could be a good option, whether you’re buying a home or refinancing. But research shows people who check multiple rates tend to get better deals, so it’s worth exploring your options before you apply for a mortgage.
UWM is not one of our partners, but Credible makes it easy to compare mortgage rates from our partner lenders. You can get personalized rates within minutes all without leaving our platform — checking rates is free, and it won’t affect your credit score either.