Read our review of

Zillow Home Loans Review 2026

Written by

Andrew Dehan

Edited by

Laurie Richards

Updated Jun 18, 2025

The Bankrate promise

At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for .

On This Page

At a glance

NMLS: 10287

Editor's take

Best known for its listings and Zestimates, Zillow also offers mortgages. Zillow Home Loans can be a solid choice for simplifying the homebuying process, allowing you to shop for a home and mortgage through one site.

Bankrate Score

5.0

Bankrate Score

Customer Rating

4.1

26 ratings

Loans offered

Conventional, jumbo, FHA, VA, refinancing

Min. credit score required

620 for conventional loans

Nationwide availability

All U.S. states except New York

Min. down payment

3% for conventional loans, 3.5% for FHA loans, none for VA loans

Recent customer reviews

The customer reviews posted on Bankrate.com ("Bankrate") are individual, subjective opinions of reviewers, and not of Bankrate. Bankrate does not endorse any of the opinions expressed by reviewers or any responses to reviews. Bankrate cannot guarantee or verify the accuracy of the opinions shared by individual reviewers, and reserves the right to reject or remove any review, at any time, for any reason at Bankrate’s sole discretion, including but not limited to those that Bankrate deems inappropriate, fraudulent, invalid, irrelevant, or otherwise outside the parameters of the Bankrate Review Guidelines, the Privacy Policy, or the Terms of Use.

Read 0 customer reviews for Zillow Home Loans

Zillow Home Loans overview

Zillow Home Loans has been around since 2000, although the lender, which was formerly known as Mortgage Lenders of America, became part of the Zillow brand in 2018. In 2024, the lender originated more than $3 billion in purchase mortgages. It is solely an online operation, with no branch locations.

Bankrate insights

Zillow's app has a new Buyability feature that lets you see how much house you can afford based on current interest rates, helping you find homes with monthly payments within your budget. It also updates in real time, meaning that if interest rates rise or fall, your estimated purchase price will adjust to reflect these changes.

Pros and cons of Zillow Home Loans

Pros

History of delivering fast closing timelines
Online resources including calculators and checklists

Cons

Doesn’t offer USDA loans
Requires a minimum credit score of 620 for most loans
Limited customer service contact options

How Bankrate scored Zillow Home Loans

Affordability: 5 stars

Zillow Home Loans offers mortgages with minimal down payments and below-average APRs, awarding it 5 out of 5 stars for affordability.

Interest rates: Zillow Home Loans displays mortgage rates that are often below industry averages, but these rates assume you’ll pay for points. Keep in mind that this adds to your upfront costs. The lender’s rates are also available directly through Zillow.com/homeloans.
Down payment: The lender offers FHA loans with 3.5 percent down, conventional loans with 3 percent down and VA loans with zero percent down. There are also options for financing investment properties and second homes.
Closing costs: Based on an analysis of HMDA data from 2024, Zillow Home Loans typically charges an origination fee of $1,500 or more. However, like many lenders, these fees often vary by borrower, so ask your loan officer for an upfront estimate of your costs.

Availability: 5 stars

Zillow Home Loans is available to borrowers in most states and offers various mortgage types, from conventional loans to government-backed options. For these reasons, the lender scores 5 out of 5 stars for availability.

Home loans offered: The lender offers conventional, jumbo, FHA and VA loans. You can also refinance your current mortgage through the lender.
Footprint: You can get a mortgage with Zillow Home Loans in every state except New York.
Where to find: Zillow Home Loans is an online-only lender.

Borrower experience: 4.4 stars

Zillow Home Loans has a customizable rate tool on its site, but it offers limited tech convenience and only a few ways to contact customer service. For these reasons, the lender scores 4.4 out of 5 stars for borrower experience.

Preapproval and application process: With Zillow Home Loans, you can get prequalified online in as little as three minutes. To get preapproved, you'll need to submit some documents and undergo a credit check. Once you find a home you like and the seller accepts your purchase offer, you can formally apply for your mortgage.
Transparency: Zillow Home Loans offers a customizable rate tool, along with the BuyAbility affordability tool, to help you understand your homebuying budget and what you might qualify for.
Customer service: You can contact Zillow Home Loans by submitting a contact form on its website or by calling 888-852-2212.

How easy is it to contact Zillow Home Loans?

When we called, we waited for about 30 seconds before speaking with a helpful representative, who walked us through the process of getting preapproved, which can take less than a day. Our conversation was pleasant and not pushy, and we weren’t hassled for any personal information.

Images courtesy of Zillow Home Loans as of August 13, 2025. Note: Depending on method of contact, your individual credit profile and other circumstances, your experience might differ.

Zillow Home Loans reputation

On Trustpilot, past borrowers have given Zillow Home Loans a collective rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars. The lender is accredited by the Better Business Bureau, although the limited feedback from customers there — a small sample of 10 reviews — isn’t great, either.

What Bankrate users say about Zillow Home Loans

The most recent Bankrate user reviews for Zillow Home Loans include complaints of poor customer service response times, along with frustrations about the transition between originating the loan and handing it off to a different servicer.

Zillow Home Loans in the news

The Federal Trade Commission is currently suing Zillow and Redfin. The suit alleges that the companies entered an illegal agreement in which Zillow paid Redfin to stop advertising multifamily rental properties, eliminating it as one of Zillow's top competitors.

Lender compare

Compare Zillow Home Loans to other lenders

Mortgage rates and fees can vary widely across lenders. You can use the drop downs to explore beyond these lenders and find the best option for you.

Lender

NMLS: 10287

5.0

Bankrate Score

Bankrate's take

Best known for its listings and Zestimates, Zillow also offers mortgages. Zillow Home Loans can be a solid choice for simplifying the homebuying process, allowing you to shop for a home and mortgage through one site.

Loans offered

Conventional, jumbo, FHA, VA, refinancing

Min. credit score required

Nationwide availability

All U.S. states except New York

Min. down payment

3% for conventional loans, 3.5% for FHA loans, none for VA loans

Recent Customer Reviews

4.1

26 reviews

Read full lender review

Lender

NMLS: 409701

5.0

Bankrate Score

Bankrate's take

Garden State Home Loans doesn’t solely work with borrowers in New Jersey; it also lends in a handful of other states, including Florida, New York and Pennsylvania. While that limits who can work with this lender, if you’re in one of its operating states, Garden State can be a smart choice if you’re looking for dedicated service and competitive rates.

Loans offered

Conventional, jumbo, FHA, VA, USDA, refinancing and more

Min. credit score required

Nationwide availability

Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia

Min. down payment

3% for conventional loans, 3.5% for FHA loans, none for VA loans or USDA loans

Recent Customer Reviews

5.0

287 reviews

Read full lender review

To help you make the most informed decisions, our mortgage lender reviews team suggests an alternative mortgage lender for each lender reviewed. In most cases, this alternative 1.) shares the same strength (affordability, availability or borrower experience) as the lender reviewed; and 2.) rates highly for Bankrate Score. In the event more than one lender meets these standards, we suggest the one with the lowest APRs.

To determine a mortgage lender’s Bankrate Score, Bankrate rates lenders on a scale of one (1) to five (5) stars — with five (5) the highest rating — based on a variety of factors relating to the lender’s products and services. To assign our ratings, we assessed each mortgage lender across three core areas:
1. Affordability: Annual percentage rate (APR) - 80%; assistance for first-time homebuyers - 10%; down payment - 10%
2. Availability: Loan products - 50%; licensing - 40%; credit score - 10%
3. Borrower experience: Rate transparency - 35%; customer service - 35%; convenience - 20%; rate locks - 10%; reputation (if applicable)
When a lender has entered a consent decree, been assessed a penalty in a case brought by a federal regulator or in a certified, federal class-action lawsuit, or received a federal judgment for harming mortgage borrowers within the past three years, we deduct one point for each penalty received from its total Bankrate Score.
Learn more about our methodology.