Fairway Mortgage Review 2024

Fairway Mortgage is licensed to lend in all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., with more than 750 branches and satellite offices across the country. (It has a physical presence in all states except Alaska and West Virginia.)

Fairway offers a variety of loan products that appeal to a broad range of borrowers. The company, however, doesn’t disclose mortgage rates or terms online, and it declined to answer questions about its loan offerings and other programs.

Well-qualified Fairway applicants may be eligible for Fairway’s Advantage Pre-Approval or Cash Guarantee programs, which are designed to make its customers more competitive in the housing market.

For instance, the Advantage Pre-Approval is underwritten, minus the property details, indicating to sellers that the borrower is qualified to buy. In some cases, it can help speed up closing because Fairway has already dug into the applicant’s finances, including their income, credit score and debt-to-income (DTI) ratio.

If a seller accepts an offer backed by Fairway’s Cash Guarantee, and the buyer’s financing falls through, Fairway will either buy the home in cash or give the seller $10,000 (if the seller decides to relist). Fairway’s website says the Cash Guarantee “reduces the risk to the seller because it offers them protection if the buyer is unable to complete the sale.”

Meanwhile, for applicants whose credit needs work, Fairway provides a free in-house credit improvement program called CrediTool. It also offers a variety of online resources, including homebuyer guides and payment calculators, to help borrowers learn more about the homebuying process.

Loan Types

Fairway Mortgage offers the following types of home loans:

• Conventional
• VA
• FHA
• USDA
• Jumbo
• Physician loans
• Renovation mortgages, including the Fannie Mae HomeStyle Renovation Loan and 203(k) rehabilitation loans
• Reverse mortgages
• Rate-and-term refinances
• Cash-out refinances
• Streamline refinances

Loan Terms

In addition to fixed-rate loans with repayment periods ranging from 10 to 30 years, Fairway Mortgage offers adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), which have interest rates and payment amounts that change or fluctuate over the life of the loan following an initial fixed-rate period. However, the company did not provide details about the exact terms related to its ARMs.

Loan Servicing

Fairway Mortgage services some, but not all, of its own loans, which means your mortgage could be transferred to a third-party company after closing. However, this is common among mortgage lenders.

Depending on the applicant and type of loan, Fairway Mortgage may accept down payments as low as $0 and credit scores as low as 580.

Type of mortgage	Minimum credit score	Minimum down payment	Maximum DTI ratio
Conventional	620	3%	45% to 50%
FHA	580	3.5%	43%
VA	580	0%	Not disclosed
USDA	620	0%	Not disclosed
Jumbo	680	10%	Not disclosed

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Fairway Mortgage requirements also take into account an applicant’s income, other debts and assets and general credit history during the application process.

Fairway doesn’t disclose its fees, but its website states that borrowers’ overall closing costs range between 2% and 3% of the loan amount.

Generally speaking, closing costs typically include origination fees, underwriting fees (including appraisal and inspection fees), property taxes, title insurance and escrow costs, among others. Fairway and other mortgage lenders are required by law to send you a loan estimate detailing your approximate closing costs and fees within three days of submitting your application.

If you decide to apply for a home loan with Fairway Mortgage, you can start the process online or by calling or visiting a branch location. (You can view profiles of loan officers in your area on the website.) You also have the option to apply through the FairwayNow app, which you can use to track your application, communicate with your loan officer, upload documents and even search for a home.

While Fairway declined to provide details on its application process, including its average time to closing, you’ll likely need to provide a variety of financial documents to apply for preapproval, such as copies of your pay stubs, recent bank statements and tax returns for at least the past two years.

While being turned down for a mortgage is disappointing, it doesn’t mean your journey to homeownership is over. If Fairway denies your home loan application, here’s what you can do to help improve your chances next time:

• Dig into your credit history. If you haven’t already, request free copies of your credit reports from each of the three credit bureaus and review them for errors. Dispute any inaccuracies or incomplete information and make note of where you need to improve.
• Pay down your debt. Your DTI ratio is an important factor in determining your qualifications for a mortgage. If it’s too high, lenders like Fairway may doubt your ability to afford your monthly payments. Prioritize paying off your existing debt to help lower your DTI ratio.
• Get a co-signer. If your credit score and/or income leave something to be desired, getting a co-signer might help reassure your lender that you’ll repay the loan. Co-signers take on considerable risk, though, so consider this route only if you’re confident you won’t leave them on the hook for your mortgage.
• Pursue other lenders. Just because Fairway Mortgage denied your application doesn’t mean you won’t be approved elsewhere. Credit bureaus count multiple mortgage applications submitted within the same 45-day window as one inquiry, so you can apply with more than one lender without taking an extra hit to your credit score.

Fairway Mortgage offers excellent customer service. It received a 733 out of 1,000 in J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study; the industry average score was 716. It also has 4.95 out of 5 stars on Zillow based on more than 33,000 reviews, many of which note the lender’s responsiveness when answering borrowers’ questions.

Fairway Mortgage has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which rates companies based on their complaint histories, time in business, transparent business practices and other factors. Its customer rating on the site is 4.97 out of 5 stars, with 52 complaints closed in the last three years and 15 closed in the last 12 months. Most of those complaints were related to issues with the preapproval and closing processes.

We graded Fairway Mortgage based on features that have a meaningful impact on the cost of a mortgage and a borrower’s experience, including interest rates, loan options, accessibility, closing time and customer service.

We award bonus points if a lender offers a specialty rate discount or mortgage product, a home equity product or maintains a fully online mortgage application process.

Our scoring method is broken down as follows:

• Interest rate. 20%
• Loan options. 20%
• Time to close. 20%
• Accessibility. 20%
• Customer service experience. 20%
• Bonus points. Up to 25 points

We chose to focus on these core elements to bring forward lenders that offer the most competitive rates while also providing a satisfactory customer experience accessible to borrowers of all financial backgrounds. We believe this scoring system best reflects consumers’ top priorities when comparison shopping for mortgage lenders.

To learn more about our rating and review methodology and editorial process, check out our guide on How Forbes Advisor Reviews Mortgage Lenders.