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Business Insider's personal finance team compared Ally Home to the best mortgage lenders and found it to be a standard online lender with many affordable features.
Ally is an affordable mortgage lender thanks to its low rates, lack of lender fees, and homebuyer grant, which offers up to $5,000 in assistance in eligible areas. It also has features that rival some of the best lenders out there, including a convenient rate customization tool.
But Ally has a very limited range of loan options to choose from, so if you're not sure if a conventional mortgage is right for you, we'd recommend shopping elsewhere to better explore your options.
620
3%
Conforming, jumbo, One Day Mortgage
- Smooth online application process
- $5,000 homebuyer grant available
- Zero origination, application, underwriting, or processing fees
- Easily see personalized rates
- Large jumbo loan amounts
- Lock in a rate and receive conditional approval within 24 hours
- Only offers conforming and jumbo mortgages
- Doesn't accept alternative credit data
- Homebuyer grant only available in certain areas
Ally has a very limited range of mortgage options to choose from, but it also offers features that rival some of the best mortgage lenders out there, including a rate customization tool and no lender fees. Plus, it ranks high in customer satisfaction and offers large jumbo loan amounts.
- Online-only mortgage lender
- Available in all 50 states and Washington, DC
- Does not accept alternative credit data, such as utility bills, if you have a low/no credit score
- Minimum credit score and down payment displayed are for conforming mortgages
Ally Mortgage Overview
Ally is an online bank that lends conventional mortgages in all 50 states.
Ally Mortgage Products and Services
Home Purchase Loans
If you're looking to purchase a home, you can get one of the following types of mortgages from Ally:
Many mortgage lenders offer at least one or two government-backed mortgages, such as FHA loans or VA loans, in addition to conventional loans. Ally doesn't, making it a little unusual. This may put borrowers at a disadvantage since they can't explore other mortgage options.
On the other hand, more than 70% of home purchase loans in the U.S. are conventional loans, according to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, so most borrowers will likely be able to find what they're looking for with a conventional-only lender.
Refinancing Options
You can also refinance your mortgage with this lender. It offers the same types of mortgages for refinancing as it does for purchase transactions, and you can also do a cash-out refinance. This type of refinance lets you borrow from your home's equity while also replacing your current mortgage.
Adjustable-Rate Mortgages (ARMs)
Ally has both fixed-rate and adjustable-rate options on its mortgages. Its ARM options include a 5/6 ARM, a 7/6 ARM, and a 10/6 ARM. This means that, depending on the ARM you choose, you'll have a fixed interest rate for the first five, seven, or 10 years of the loan. After that, your rate will adjust every six months.
Ally also has multiple term length options for its fixed-rate loans, including a 15, 20, and 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. With a fixed-rate mortgage, your rate stays the same for the life of the loan.
Ally Home Grant
Ally offers a $5,000 grant that homebuyers can use toward their down payment or closing costs. The grant doesn't need to be repaid. It's available to borrowers who earn up to 120% of the area median income in eligible census tracts in Charlotte, Detroit, Chicago, Houston, and Philadelphia metro areas and certain counties in Utah.
One Day Mortgage
Ally also has a feature called a One Day Mortgage available on its loans that gives eligible borrowers a conditional commitment letter within 24 hours of locking their rate, as long as they provide the required financial documents. A conditional commitment letter means that the lender has agreed to give you a mortgage, as long as you continue to meet its requirements and the home you're buying doesn't have any issues with it (such as a low appraisal). This process happens after you've had an offer accepted on a house, and may speed up the closing process.
Ally Jumbo Mortgage
If you need a jumbo mortgage, Ally might be a good lender for you. Ally's jumbo loan amounts go up to $4 million, which is relatively high. Many lenders only offer jumbo loan amounts up to $2 or $3 million.
To qualify for an Ally jumbo mortgage, you'll need to make a down payment of at least 10.01%.
Ally Customer Service and Support
Accessibility
If you want to talk to someone from Ally about starting an application for a mortgage, you can call the lender Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. ET or Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. You can also start an application online.
Responsiveness
In online reviews, previous Ally customers generally said they had an easy time getting ahold of Ally mortgage representatives.
Ally Mortgage Interest Rates and Fees
Based on Business Insider's review of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, Ally Mortgage's interest rates are on the low end compared to other mortgage lenders.
To explore Ally's rates, scroll down on its main mortgage page to the "Rates" section. From there, you can see sample rates for various terms, and you can even see custom rates based on your ZIP code, home price, down payment, credit score, and the type of property you're getting.
Ally doesn't charge lender fees, including application, processing, underwriting, or origination fees. However, it's common for borrowers to pay lenders for discount points, which give borrowers a lower interest rate in exchange for paying money at closing. While this is a cost paid to the lender, it's an optional one.
According to HMDA data, Ally's conventional loan borrowers paid an average of $4,505 in origination charges in 2023, which is average compared to other lenders. Because Ally doesn't charge fees, these costs are coming from discount points. This means that if you want to get a low rate from Ally, you may need to pay for points.
Ally Mortgage Overall Rating
Loan types: 2 out of 5
Ally's selection of mortgages is extremely limited, so you'll only want to apply with this lender if you're sure that a conventional loan is right for you.
If you're unsure of what type of mortgage you want, you may want to shop around some more. Many lenders offer both conventional and government-backed mortgages, in addition to more niche types like physician mortgages or non-QM loans.
Affordability: 4 out of 5
Ally earns points in affordability for offering down payment assistance and letting borrowers put just 3% down on its conforming mortgages. It also charges no lender fees and offers relatively low rates, which should keep your overall costs down as well.
However, we don't like that this lender doesn't offer FHA loans. These loans are geared toward first-time and low-income homebuyers and come with lower mortgage rates, less stringent credit requirements, and down payments as low as 3.5%.
Customer satisfaction: 4.44 out of 5
This lender has a 4.44 out of 5-star rating on its Zillow lender profile, based on over 300 customer reviews. However, these reviews are a couple of years old, so it's hard to say what kind of experience more recent borrowers have had.
Trustworthiness: 5 out of 5
We found Ally to be a trustworthy mortgage lender overall. The Better Business Bureau gives Ally Bank an A rating, rather than an A+ rating, due to a few unresolved complaints that have been filed against the business. The BBB evaluates responses to customer complaints, honesty in advertising, and transparency about business practices. Ally has no recent major scandals.
Pros and Cons of Ally Mortgage
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Variety of Beneficial Features
One of our favorite things about Ally's mortgage process is that it offers digital tools to set you up for success, including an easy-to-use customizable rate tool and a super simple online application. You might also like the One Day Mortgage feature if you want the certainty of getting your commitment letter right away, rather than having to wait days or weeks.
Current Ally customers may be able to get a $500 discount on their closing costs. You'll need to have been a customer for at least 30 days before your closing date to be eligible.
Large Jumbo Loan Amounts
Ally offers jumbo loans in amounts up to $4 million, which is higher than what many lenders offer.
Helpful Homebuyer Grant, But It's Not Available Everywhere
We like Ally's grant program that offers $5,000 in down payment or closing cost assistance for low-to-middle income borrowers. But it's only available in the Charlotte, Detroit, Chicago, Houston, and Philadelphia metro areas and certain counties in Utah.
You Can Only Get A Conventional Loan
One major downside of Ally: You'll only be able to get a conventional loan from this lender. If you're looking for an FHA, VA, or USDA loan, you'll need to apply elsewhere.
Are Ally and Better Mortgage the Same?
When you go to apply online for a mortgage from Ally, you might notice that you're taken to an application that is "powered by Better."
According to Ally, when you apply with this lender, the management of your application and the processing, underwriting, and closing of your loan will be handled by Better Mortgage, another popular online lender.
What does this mean for you as a borrower? Ally will still be your lender, and you'll work with Ally's teams as you go through the closing process. According to our analysis of HMDA data, you may pay comparable rates with both lenders, but Better's average fees are lower.
Ally Mortgage Customer Reviews and Ratings
Business Insider also looked at positive and negative customer reviews, online forums, BBB complaints, and other sources to understand what borrowers think about Ally Bank as a mortgage lender.
It may be worth exploring rates with Ally if you're looking for a lender to handle your next home purchase. But keep in mind that large online mortgage lenders aren't always the right fit to help you get into a home.
Why is this? When you're buying a home, issues that crop up along the way can cause delays to your closing, putting the whole deal at risk of falling through. Online lenders aren't necessarily bad at dealing with these problems, but you may find a local lender can more quickly address your problems and is more available to answer questions you have as they come up.
On the other hand, when you're refinancing you don't have to work under the same time crunch, so your goal is more about saving money than finding someone who can offer great customer service. This is why we think Ally is also one of the best mortgage refinance lenders.
Low Rates
We saw many comments from Ally borrowers saying that they were able to get surprisingly low mortgage interest rates from this lender. Our review of the latest HMDA data backs this up, showing that Ally's rates are lower on average than other lenders.
Easy to Apply
Many previous Ally borrowers said the mortgage application was simple to complete and the overall process of getting their loan approved was smooth.
Overall Positive Customer Service Experiences
Ally has good reviews from previous borrowers. Many said they had an easy time getting a company representative or loan officer on the phone and that the pros they worked with were helpful.
How to Apply for an Ally Mortgage
You can start your application with Ally online or over the phone. Before you apply, make sure to get all your documentation ready ahead of time to ensure the process goes smoothly.
The documents you'll need for a mortgage application include things like paystubs, W-2s, tax returns, and bank statements. If you have a signed purchase contract, be prepared to share a copy of that, too.
Your first step will likely be to get preapproved to get an estimate of how much you qualify for. But this isn't a guarantee — when you apply for full approval and go through the underwriting process, the lender will take a much closer look at your finances, which could change the amount or type of loan you qualify for.
If all goes well, you'll be fully approved and ready for closing. Make sure you're available and respond to queries from your lender quickly while you're going through underwriting, since delays can push back your closing date.
Compare Ally Mortgages
Ally Home vs. Better Mortgage
Better Mortgage and Ally both use the same application and loan processing technology, so you might be wondering what the difference between these two lenders is and whether you'd be better off going directly to Better.
Both lenders offer a convenient online experience. Better has a slightly wider range of mortgages to choose from, so if you're looking for a tech-friendly lender that offers government-backed mortgages, it might be a good fit for you. But you might prefer Ally if you want to avoid lender fees.
Ally Home vs. Rocket Mortgage
Rocket Mortgage offers more variety than Ally. It has FHA and VA loans, in addition to custom fixed-rate terms, ranging from eight to 30 years.
Rocket Mortgage is also a leader in the industry when it comes to customer satisfaction. In J.D. Power's 2023 US Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study, Rocket ranked No. 2, and it was No. 1 in 2022. Ally ranked No. 6 in 2022, though it wasn't included in 2023's study.
You might prefer Ally if you're looking for a large jumbo loan. Ally offers jumbo loan amounts up to $4 million, while Rocket's jumbo offerings only go up to $2.5 million.
Ally Home Mortgage FAQs
Yes, Ally Home is a legitimate mortgage lender. Ally is an online bank that offers other bank services in addition to mortgage lending.
Ally could be a good fit if you have a good credit score and want an online application experience. But if your credit score is below 620, you'll need to look elsewhere.
Ally's mortgage application and underwriting process is managed by Better Mortgage.
Ally offers both conforming and jumbo loans for purchasing and refinancing a home. This includes both fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage options.
You can get an Ally mortgage in all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C.
Ally's mortgage rates are relatively low compared to other lenders, so you may get a good deal getting a mortgage from this bank.
Ally ranks high in customer satisfaction and has a lot of positive online reviews from previous borrowers.
You can apply for a mortgage with Ally on the lender's website or over the phone.
Ally is an online-only lender, and it doesn't have any physical branches. Depending on your wants and needs, you might want to also check out a smaller, local lender or a bank that has branches near you.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Ally Mortgages
To review Ally Bank's mortgage offerings, we used our methodology for reviewing mortgage lenders.
At Business Insider, we look at four factors — loan types, affordability, customer satisfaction, and trustworthiness — and give each a rating between 1 and 5. Then we 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.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews, or recommendations expressed in this article are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards.
Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
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