Mr. Cooper Mortgage Review 2024

Mr. Cooper offers the following loan options in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands:

• Conventional (fixed or adjustable rate)
• Jumbo (fixed or adjustable rate)
• Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
• FHA streamline refinance
• Veterans Affairs (VA)
• VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL)

It also offers cash-out refinances—though you must contact the lender by phone for more information about these products.

Mr. Cooper has no physical branch locations but offers several features that streamline the online application process, including the ability to receive a verified approval letter in four hours.

The company doesn’t disclose mortgage fees or minimum down payment requirements online. Ultimately, available mortgage rates and down payments vary based on your creditworthiness, loan type and size, location and other factors. Eligible borrowers can take advantage of Mr. Cooper’s 1% Mortgage Markdown, which lowers your interest rate by one percentage point for one year.

Loan Minimums

Mr. Cooper doesn’t publish minimum loan amounts for its mortgages. If you need a small mortgage loan, contact one of Mr. Cooper’s mortgage experts to see if the lender can accommodate your needs.

Loan Maximums

Available loan amounts depend on the type of loan and your qualifications. That said, the 2023 baseline conforming loan amount for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is $726,200 for most states. Jumbo loans are available for up to $2.5 million, depending on several factors like property type.

Loan Servicing

Mr. Cooper retains servicing on 99% of the loans it originates. This helps simplify the mortgage repayment process since you’ll make payments through the lender, not a third party.

Mortgage Offers and Discounts

If you apply for a mortgage through Mr. Cooper, you can take advantage of the company’s digital loan tracker to track the status of your application. You can also use this to electronically sign disclosures, upload financial documents and ask questions. Once approved, you can view your mortgage balance, make payments and view other real estate information through the Mr. Cooper mobile app.

Mr. Cooper also advertises a Close On Time Guarantee for conventional, FHA and VA loans. If your loan doesn’t close by the guaranteed closing date, Mr. Cooper will cover your first month’s mortgage payment.

Customer Support

Customers can contact Mr. Cooper’s customer service team via telephone Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CT and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. CT. Customer support is closed on Sunday.

Prospective borrowers can contact one of Mr. Cooper’s mortgage experts through a second, dedicated phone number, whereas current borrowers can log in to the lender’s secure message center. That said, the lender doesn’t list an email for reaching customer support.

In addition to live customer service, Mr. Cooper offers an online help center that includes resources for new customers, account help, mortgage assistance, refinancing, tax matters and other topics.

These are the basic mortgage approval criteria that Mr. Cooper imposes:

Minimum Credit Score

Mr. Cooper has relatively flexible minimum credit score requirements. For instance, you only need a score of 600 to qualify for a conventional mortgage. Borrowers who can pay 3.5% down on an FHA loan can also qualify with a minimum score of 580. This makes Mr. Cooper a good lender for first-time homebuyers.

VA loan applications are evaluated based on a range of factors, and there’s no minimum credit score requirement. As such, qualifying for a VA loan may still be possible if you have bad credit.

Minimum Down Payment

Mr. Cooper’s minimum down payment requirements are as follows:

• Conventional. 3%
• FHA. 3.5%
• VA. 0%

As with other lenders, borrowers who make a down payment of less than 20% of the purchase price on a conventional loan typically must pay for private mortgage insurance (PMI).

Maximum Debt-to-Income Ratio

Debt-to-income ratio, or DTI ratio, is your total monthly debt payments compared to your monthly income. Mortgage lenders use DTI as an indicator of a borrower’s ability to make monthly mortgage payments in addition to existing debts.

Mr. Cooper doesn’t publish its DTI requirements online, but most lenders impose a maximum ratio of 43%.

You can expect to pay several closing fees when taking out a mortgage, but the amounts and types of fees vary by lender. In general, mortgage fees range from 2% to 5% of the loan amount, including origination fees, rate-lock fees and more. Some lenders charge borrowers prepayment penalties if they pay off their mortgage early.

Like many lenders, Mr. Cooper doesn’t publish its mortgage fees online. However, its website does mention that it charges an origination fee. The lender’s RateSwap program waives the origination fee if you refinance within three years (up to $1,500).

You can apply for a Mr. Cooper mortgage online or by phone. The lender also offers the ability to get preapproved in as few as five minutes or to get a verified approval letter in as few as four hours.

Follow these steps to apply for a Mr. Cooper mortgage:

1. 1. Visit the Mr. Cooper website. From the Mr. Cooper homepage, navigate to “Buy/Sell a Home” and then “Get Started.” If you’re ready to apply, enter your contact information and property location and a representative will contact you directly.
2. 2. Get preapproved. Begin the preapproval process by providing details about where you are looking for a new home and the type of property you intend to buy. Also indicate whether you plan to use the property as a primary residence, second home or investment property.
3. 3. Provide additional details. Enter your estimated purchase price and your planned down payment amount or percentage. Then, enter personal information for the primary borrower and the co-borrower, where appropriate. You’ll also have to provide supporting documents such as W-2s, tax returns, pay stubs and bank statements and undergo a hard credit check, which temporarily dings your credit score.
4. 4. Work with your mortgage professional. Work with your Mr. Cooper representative to answer outstanding questions and submit additional documentation as part of underwriting. At this point, Mr. Cooper will also order a home appraisal and title search. Respond to requests from your loan officer quickly to avoid delays.
5. 5. Close on the loan. If Mr. Cooper approves your loan, a Mr. Cooper loan officer will send you a closing disclosure that describes the loan agreement’s final terms and costs. This document also lists how much cash is required at closing. The time it takes to close on a house varies, but purchase loans often close within 30 days, while a refinance may take 45.

If Mr. Cooper denies your mortgage application, contact your mortgage officer to determine why it was rejected. Lenders reject mortgage applications for a variety of reasons, including poor credit, high DTI or inadequate employment.

In some cases, though, applications may be rejected because of errors or incomplete information. If your application was inaccurate or incomplete, it might be possible to correct the mistakes and resubmit it.

If your application is denied because of your credit score or outstanding debts, take steps to pay down balances and focus on making on-time payments that will increase your score over time. Likewise, check your credit report for errors and dispute inaccurate information that could negatively impact your score. Increasing your income can also improve your approval chances.

You may also consider applying for a mortgage with a co-borrower or co-signer—especially if you don’t have time to improve your score. Note, however, that a co-signer will be equally responsible for making payments as you, so don’t enter this relationship lightly. Use our mortgage calculator to determine how much you can afford to spend on your own.

Finally, compare as many mortgage lenders as possible to increase your approval odds and get the best deal possible. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), submitting multiple mortgage applications within 45 days of each other will have the same impact on your credit score as submitting a single application.

At the time of writing, Mr. Cooper has 4.1 out of 5 stars based on 2,472 reviews through Trustpilot. That said, the lender has a 1.08 out of 5 stars based on 574 reviews through the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

Negative reviews of the company primarily focus on the lender’s loan servicing, including misapplication of payments, insurance issues and tax complications. Other customers also reported that Mr. Cooper’s customer service representatives were rude, unhelpful and difficult to reach in some instances.

The company is also not BBB accredited and was accused of violating multiple federal consumer financial laws in 2020. Ultimately, the company was required to make approximately $73 million in repayments to over 40,000 affected borrowers and pay a $1.5 million civil penalty to the CFPB.

Alternatives to Mr.Cooper

We graded Mr. Cooper 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.