Personal Finance Mortgages
Written by Molly Grace; edited by Laura Grace Tarpley; reviewed by Elias Shaya
- About Newrez
- Overall Lender Rating
- Interest Rates and Fees
- Overall Rating
- Pros and Cons
- FAQs
- How Newrez Compares
- Why You Should Trust Us
Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate mortgages to write unbiased product reviews.
Newrez mortgages
On Bankrate's website
Insider’s Rating
3.66/5
Recommended Credit
620
Minimum Down Payment
3%
Types of Loans Offered
Conforming, FHA, VA, non-QM
Pros
- Non-QM loans for nontraditional borrowers
- Flexible credit requirements on its SmartEdge mortgage
Cons
- Lacks transparency around rates and fees
- Loan options are somewhat limited
Insider’s Take
Newrez is a solid option for nontraditional borrowers thanks to its "Smart Series" mortgages, which include three unique non-qualifying mortgage (non-QM)options for self-employed borrowers, real estate investors, and those with a rocky credit history.
Product Details
- Available in all 50 states and Washington, DC
- Minimum credit score and down payment displayed are for conforming mortgages
About Newrez
Newrez is an online-only lender that's available in all 50 states and Washington, DC. You can get started with this lender over the phone or online.
Newrez offers conforming, FHA, VA, and non-QM loans, which include its three Smart Series mortgages:
- SmartSelf loans let self-employed borrowers use bank statements or assets in lieu of traditional W-2s to show income.
- SmartEdge loans enable borrowers with recent negative events on their credit reports to get a mortgage sooner than they could with a conforming loan.
- SmartVest loans are for real estate investors. They require less documentation and let borrowers leverage equity in current real estate investments or cash flow from the property being purchased to qualify.
Is Newrez Trustworthy?
Newrez has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. The BBB measures trustworthiness based on response to customer complaints, honesty in advertising, and transparency about business practices. Newrez has no recent public scandals.
On WalletHub, Newrez has a 3.3 out of 5-star rating, based on over 3,400 online customer reviews.
In the J.D. Power 2023 Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study, NewRez ranked No. 27 — the lowest of all the lenders in the study. The J.D. Power study was based on responses from 9,191 people who got a new mortgage or refinances in the last 12 months.
Newrez Interest Rates and Fees
Newrez doesn't provide sample interest rates on its website. If you want to know what rate you might pay with this lender, you'll need to talk to a loan officer over the phone or start an application online to get a quote.
In addition to your interest rate, you'll also want to pay attention to what fees a lender charges for the service of originating and underwriting your loan.
Newrez doesn't list its fees online, but Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data shows that conventional loan borrowers who got a purchase loan with the lender in 2022 paid an average of $3,491 in origination charges. This is around average compared to other lenders.
Newrez: Overall Rating
| Feature | Insider rating (out of 5) |
| Loan types | 4 |
| Affordability | 3.5 |
| Customer satisfaction | 2.15 |
| Trustworthiness | 5 |
| Total | 3.66 |
Newrez: Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
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Newrez FAQs
Is Newrez legit?
Newrez is a real mortgage lender that offers both traditional and non-QM loans.
What bank owns Newrez?
Newrez is owned by Rithm Capital, a real estate investment trust. Newrez was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Pennsylvania.
Why was my mortgage sold to Newrez?
If you originally got your mortgage with a different lender but recently received a notice saying that your loan has been transferred to Newrez, this means that your original lender has sold the loan's servicing rights to Newrez. This is fairly common, and all it means is that you'll make payments to Newrez going forward instead of your original lender.
How Newrez Compares
Newrez vs. Freedom Mortgage
If your credit isn't great and you're looking for a government-backed loan, Freedom Mortgage is a great choice. Freedom accepts scores as low as 550 on its VA and FHA loans. Although it ranked higher than Newrez in the J.D. Power 2023 study, it still received a pretty low rating.
On the other hand, Newrez could be the better choice if you're in the market for a more unique type of mortgage with flexible requirements.
Freedom Mortgage review
Newrez vs. Rocket Mortgage
Rocket Mortgageis one of the best mortgage refinance lenders and is a good choice for those who want a simple, convenient online borrowing process. It earned the No. 2 spot in J.D. Power's 2023 study, so borrowers can expect a positive customer service experience.
But Rocket Mortgage's offerings are fairly basic, with no flexible credit requirements or options for alternative methods of approval. If you need something like a bank statement loan or have a recent bankruptcy, Newrez is the better choice.
Rocket Mortgage review
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Newrez
To review Newrez's mortgage offerings, we used our methodology for reviewing mortgage lenders.
We look at four factors — loan types, affordability, customer satisfaction, and trustworthiness — and give each a rating between 1 and 5, then average these individual ratings for the overall lender rating. Lenders get higher ratings if they offer a high number of loan types with affordable features, have positive customer reviews, and don't have any recent public controversies.
Mortgage Reporter
Molly Grace is a mortgage reporter at Business Insider with over six years of experience writing about mortgages and homeownership. She currently covers mortgage rates, refinance rates, mortgage lender reviews, and homebuying.Before joining the Business Insider team, Molly was a blog writer for Rocket Companies.You can reach Molly at mgrace@businessinsider.com, or on Twitter @mollythegrace.
Compliance Associate
Elias Shaya is a Compliance Associate on the Personal Finance Insider team based in New York City, whichensures content accuracy and editorial independence so readers are always getting up-to-date and objective financial advice.The team also works to minimize risk for partners by ensuring language is clear, precise, and fully compliant with regulatory and partner marketing guidelines that align with the editorial team. Elias is the point person for the loans sub-vertical and works with the editorial team to ensure that all rates and information for personal and student loans are up-to-date and accurate.He joined Insider in February 2022 as a fellow on the compliance team.
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