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finder.com’s rating: 3.9 / 5.0
★★★★★
As one of the largest banks in the US, Bank of America offers competitive mortgage rates and multiple loans — including a loan where you can put down as little as 3%. But its size can cause customer service hiccups.
Loan products offered | Conventional, Jumbo, FHA, VA, Home Equity/HELOC, Refinance |
---|---|
Minimum credit score | Conventional: 620 FHA: 600 |
Minimum down payment | 3% |
State availability | Available in all states |
NMLS # | 399802 |
To qualify for a mortgage with Bank of America, you’ll need a minimum credit score of 620 for Conventional mortgage loans or 600 for FHA loans and a maximum debt-to-income ratio of 43%.
The down payment depends on the loan type, but you can put down as little as 3% through the Affordable Loan Solution program.
You’ll need to provide:
Bank of America says nothing about its fees online, but you can expect to pay these closing costs:
These fees can be hefty. If you’re a Preferred Rewards customer, you may qualify for a $200 to $600 discount on your origination fee. The discount you get is based on the account balances of your Bank of America deposit and investment accounts at the time of application and your Preferred Rewards tier (Gold, Platinum or Platinum Honors).
You can apply for a mortgage in person, over the phone or online through the Bank of America Digital Mortgage Experience. The application takes around 30 minutes to complete.
To apply online:
You’ll also find the following more specialized products:
Bank of America’s mortgage offerings are what you’d expect from such a large national bank. The only government-backed loans it doesn’t originate are USDA loans, and it has a wide range of fixed-rate and adjustable-rate terms and options.
The lender also offers assistance programs, such as two grant programs, one to offer up to $7,500 to help cover closing costs and another that offers up to $10,000 to cover your 3% down payment. You may also qualify for a low down payment loan either through the Affordable Home Solution mortgage or the Freddie Mac Home Possible mortgage, both of which offer fixed-rate loans with only 3% down.
Bank of America has been accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) since 1949, boasting an A+ rating for its operations after closing almost 5,500 customer complaints over the last three years.
However, it falls short in the customer service department, earning slightly over a one-star rating from 405 customer reviews. It’s a similar story on Trustpilot, where the bank has a 1.4 rating based on 438 reviews as of December 2020. While customers praised the savvy online experience and diversity of mortgage products, many were frustrated with the service they received.
It’s worth noting that these consumer reviews are for Bank of America as a whole — and not for its mortgages specifically.
Bank of America is one of the country’s four biggest banks, offering mortgage products along with banking and investing accounts.
But it’s been involved in several scandals. In 2014, the bank was fined over $16 billion by the Justice Department for financial fraud, in large part because of how it handled mortgages. At the time, it was the largest settlement with a company in American history.
In a separate case, Bank of America was fined $1.27 billion for mortgage fraud, but the charge was thrown out after the bank appealed the ruling.
And in 2017, a judge fined Bank of America $45 million for it’s “heartless” treatment after it improperly foreclosed on a couple’s home and evicted them with only three days’ notice.
All numbers based on 2019 nationwide data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.
Loan type | Applications denied | Loans originated | $ Amount (originated loans) |
---|---|---|---|
Conventional | 154,413 | 211,424 | $84,542,020,000 |
FHA | 1,602 | 2,745 | $613,815,000 |
VA | 154 | 432 | $112,430,000 |
USDA | 0 | 0 | $0 |
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
We analyze top home loan providers and rate them one to five stars based on factors that are most important to you. These factors include: rates and fees, product selection and borrower experience.
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Review by
Heather Petty is a writer at Finder specializing in banking, investments and insurance. She's a self-proclaimed word nerd who worked as a technical writer and editor for the casino systems industry and is an internationally published young adult mystery author. Heather earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Nevada, Reno.
Bank of America mortgages are for people who like the comfort of banking with a well-known institution. It offers the convenience of keeping your mortgage, bank accounts and investment accounts together at one institution. But if customer service and ethical banking practices are important to you, BoA has some pretty negative reviews and some concerning history with the Department of Justice.