Safe Rate Rankings

Best Conventional Mortgage Lenders in Ames

Updated February 6, 2026

⚖️ The 4 PsRankings are calculated based on observed lender differences on closed loans across Pricing, Pull-through, Product, and Place.

🛡️ No Pay to PlayLenders cannot buy their way to the top. Rankings are 100% earned.

📊 HMDA 2024Built using publicly available originated loan data from the federal government.

🎯 Peer BenchmarkedPerformance is normalized and benchmarked against peer institutions.

Market

Total Lenders28

Total Loans1,003

Median Rate Spread0.19%

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Rank	Lender	Overall	Pricing	Product	Pull Through	Place	Avg Fees	Rate Spread	# of Loans
1	IOWA BANKERS MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	$865Fees	0.092%Below	219
2	GREENSTATE Credit UnionCredit Union	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Strong	$524Fees	0.173%Below	69
3	VERIDIAN CREDIT UNIONCredit Union	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Strong	$272Fees	0.329%Below	31
4	Community Choice Credit UnionCredit Union	Exceptional	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	Strong	$1,089Fees	0.315%Below	30
5	WEST GATE BANKBank	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Sound	$1,328Fees	0.012%Below	14
6	Northwest BankBank	Exceptional	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	Strong	$812Fees	0.060%Below	39
7	Luana Savings BankBank	Exceptional	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	Strong	$879Credit	0.188%Below	24
8	GREATER IOWA CREDIT UNIONCredit Union	Exceptional	Exceptional	Sound	Strong	Strong	$279Fees	0.165%Above	47
9	U.S. Bank National AssociationBank	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	$605Fees	0.212%Above	38
10	Wells Fargo Bank, National AssociationBank	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	Sound	Strong	$1,294Fees	0.058%Below	51
11	Bankers Trust CompanyBank	Exceptional	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	Strong	$399Fees	0.532%Below	26
12	Fortress BankBank	Strong	Strong	Strong	Strong	Sound	$1,214Fees	0.371%Above	10
13	ROCKET MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Exceptional	Strong	$3,625Fees	0.301%Above	47
14	Barrington Bank & Trust Company, National AssociationBank	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$2,581Fees	0.255%Above	15
15	GERSHMAN INVESTMENT CORP.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$1,347Fees	0.121%Above	14
16	GUILD MORTGAGE COMPANY LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	$2,665Fees	0.416%Above	105
17	UNITED WHOLESALE MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Exceptional	Sound	$2,210Fees	0.147%Above	16
18	LOWER, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$2,211Fees	0.585%Above	17
19	FAIRWAY INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$1,454Fees	0.782%Above	14
20	GUARANTEED RATE, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$3,349Fees	0.588%Above	13
21	AMERICAN PACIFIC MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Mediocre	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	$3,560Fees	0.482%Above	41
22	NEW AMERICAN FUNDING, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	$1,990Fees	0.562%Above	21
23	HOMESERVICES LENDING, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Strong	Strong	Sound	$1,851Fees	0.278%Above	18
24	Flagstar Bank, N.A.Bank	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Acceptable	$1,803Fees	0.272%Above	10
25	LAND HOME FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Strong	Sound	Strong	$2,807Fees	0.263%Above	26

How We Rank Lenders

Our rankings use geometric mean scoring across equally-weighted categories. This rewards lenders who perform consistently well across all metrics, not just excel in one area.

Our Point System (Max 40 Points)

Pricing

Rate and fee competitiveness (25%)

Pull Through

Reliability in closing loans (25%)

Product

Specialization in the loan type (25%)

Place

Local market expertise (25%)

Data Integrity & Updates

Data is updated quarterly based on the latest HMDA filings and proprietary SafeRate analysis. All metrics are calculated using standardized methodologies to ensure fair comparison across lenders.