Ally Bank serves customers nationwide through its digital platform. In addition to checking and savings accounts, Ally Bank offers mortgage loans that can help you purchase or refinance a home through its fully online application process.
However, Ally Bank’s mortgage options don’t include government-backed loans and customer reviews on trusted consumer sites aren’t overwhelmingly positive. Here’s everything you need to know about Ally Bank’s mortgage offerings.
Best for: Borrowing affordability
Getting a mortgage with Ally Bank is an affordable process, whether you’re purchasing a home or refinancing one. The lender offers conventional loans with fixed or adjustable rates and no lender fees, including origination fees. If you’re delaying the homebuying process because you don’t have a large enough down payment, Ally Bank’s low down payment requirements can make buying a home more realistic.
Getting a mortgage through Ally Bank can be even more economical if you take advantage of its discounts and grants. For example, eligible borrowers can earn a $500 cash bonus after opening an Ally Bank account and closing a home loan, as long as they meet certain requirements.
Ally Bank
4.6
Credible Rating
Min. Credit Score
620
Days to Close
30
Pros and cons
More details
Methodology
To determine the best mortgage companies, Credible evaluated lenders based on several different categories: rates and fees, reputation, eligibility, efficiency, customer experience, and discounts and perks. We also looked at the types of loans offered by each lender for research purposes only, they did not factor into the overall score. We assigned a score out of five stars to each lender based on our findings.
Learn more about our expert lender ratings by checking out our Mortgage Lender Rating Methodology.
Ally Bank Mortgage: Pros and cons
Consider these pros and cons when deciding if an Ally Bank home loan will meet your needs:
Pros
- Entirely online process
- No lender fees
- Low down payment requirements
- Jumbo loans available
Cons
- No FHA, USDA or VA loans
- Poor customer reviews
- No in-person branch
- No home equity options
Pros
- Entirely online process: From start to finish, you can get and manage an Ally Bank Mortgage exclusively online.
- No lender fees: Ally Bank doesn’t charge lender fees — including origination fees, which are commonly charged by other lenders.
- Low down payment requirements: Ally has affordable down payment requirements, with minimum down payments for conventional loans starting at 3%.
- Jumbo loans available: Ally Bank offers jumbo loans of up to $4 million to eligible borrowers.
Cons
- No FHA, USDA or VA loans: Ally Bank only offers conventional home loans, refinance loans and jumbo loans, leaving out customers who want an FHA, USDA or VA loan.
- Poor customer reviews: Customer reviews for Ally Bank are poor, with low ratings on sites like Trustpilot and the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
- No in-person branch: If you prefer a lender that offers face-to-face support, Ally Bank’s lack of in-person branches won’t meet your needs.
- No home equity options: Ally Bank doesn’t offer popular ways to tap into your home equity, such as home equity lines of credit or home equity loans.
What to consider before applying
Since Ally doesn’t offer in-person mortgage services, you’ll need to consider whether an entirely online experience is for you before applying for an Ally Bank mortgage. If you would like to meet with a loan officer in person, you’ll be better served elsewhere.
Plus, you’ll want to remember that Ally only offers conventional home loans, refinance loans and jumbo loans. This means that you won’t be able to get VA, USDA or FHA loans from Ally Bank. At the same time, you should also keep in mind that Ally Bank has poor customer reviews on consumer review sites, such as Trustpilot and BBB. Average reviews on the BBB’s website gave the lender 1.12 out of 5 stars, while Truspilot reviewers gave Ally Bank 1.2 stars out of 5.
How to apply for a mortgage loan with Ally Bank
Applying for an Ally Bank mortgage loan is a straightforward process that can be done entirely online. Here’s what you can expect:
- Pre-approval: To start the Ally Bank pre-approval process, you must visit the lender’s mortgage website. Then, select “Purchasing” on Ally Bank’s website and complete a 3-minute questionnaire. You’ll be asked questions about your finances, how much money you need to borrow and more. During this process, Ally Bank might ask you to upload pre-approval documents that verify the information you provided.
- Review your rates and terms: If pre-approved for a mortgage, you can review the mortgage rates and terms Ally Bank offers you and decide if you want to proceed with an mortgage loan.
- Complete an application: If you’d like to move forward, you can complete an Ally Bank mortgage application online. This application will require you to provide more detail about yourself, your finances and the home you want to buy.
- Submit documents: Ally Bank will request that you send paperwork supporting the information you provided on your application. The specific documents it will ask for depends on the Ally Bank loan option you’re applying for, but be prepared to submit pay stubs, bank statements and tax returns.
How to qualify for a home loan with Ally Bank
To qualify for an Ally Bank home loan, you’ll need to meet eligibility requirements. These are in line with those of many other mortgage lenders and include:
- Minimum credit score: 620 is the minimum credit score for a conventional loan through Ally Bank.
- Maximum debt-to-income ratio (DTI): For most Ally Bank loans, you’ll need to have a DTI of 43% or less. However, it is possible to get a home loan with a higher DTI, but you’ll likely receive less favorable rates.
- Minimum loan amount: You’ll need to borrow at least $75,000 to qualify, whether you’re buying or refinancing a home.
- Minimum down payment: Ally Bank offers conventional loans with down payments as low as 3%, and jumbo loans with a minimum 20% down payment.
How to refinance with Ally Bank
Getting an Ally Bank refinance loan is similar to the application process for a purchase loan, requiring you to complete an online application and review available rates and terms. Ally says a refinance application takes about 15 minutes to complete.
Refinancing with Ally Bank comes with no lender fees, including no origination fee or underwriting fee. However, you can expect to pay closing costs of 2% to 5% of your loan amount, which covers items like your title search fee and the cost of pulling your credit report.
Note:
If you’re getting a $200,000 refinance loan, your closing costs could range from $4,000 to $10,000.
How Ally Bank compares
If you have a high DTI or are looking for a convenient online application, Ally Bank digital mortgage options are worth considering. However, its poor customer reviews on trusted sites like Trustpilot and BBB are enough to warrant considering your other options. Here’s how Ally Bank compares to other lenders:
