Safe Rate Rankings

Best Mortgage Lenders in Appleton

Updated February 5, 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 Lenders52

Total Loans2,899

Median Rate Spread0.23%

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Rank	Lender	Overall	Pricing	Pull Through	Place	Avg Fees	Rate Spread	# of Loans
1	Community FirstCredit Union	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	$611Fees	0.341%Below	471
2	FOX COMMUNITIES Credit UnionCredit Union	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	$510Fees	0.153%Below	199
3	Johnson BankBank	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Strong	$319Fees	0.003%Above	53
4	Associated Bank, National AssociationBank	Exceptional	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	$568Fees	0.114%Below	97
5	Bank First, N.A.Bank	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Sound	$152Fees	0.096%Below	26
6	CAPITAL Credit UnionCredit Union	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	Exceptional	$634Fees	0.153%Below	173
7	Old National BankBank	Exceptional	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$1,180Fees	0.165%Below	21
8	COVANTAGE CREDIT UNIONCredit Union	Strong	Strong	Strong	Strong	$4,470Fees	0.555%Below	74
9	U.S. Bank National AssociationBank	Strong	Strong	Strong	Strong	$645Fees	0.120%Above	64
10	Nicolet National BankBank	Strong	Sound	Strong	Exceptional	$936Fees	0.182%Above	134
11	Wells Fargo Bank, National AssociationBank	Strong	Strong	Sound	Strong	$1,585Fees	0.118%Above	111
12	UNITED WHOLESALE MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Strong	$1,936Fees	0.069%Above	108
13	UNISON CREDIT UNIONCredit Union	Strong	Strong	Sound	Strong	$552Fees	0.164%Above	29
14	Bank Five NineBank	Strong	Strong	Strong	Sound	$706Fees	0.258%Above	25
15	PROSPERA Credit UnionCredit Union	Strong	Strong	Sound	Strong	$1,290Fees	0.026%Above	22
16	GUARANTEED RATE, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Strong	Strong	$1,370Fees	0.270%Above	57
17	FIRST COLONY MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Sound	$1,436Fees	0.219%Above	34
18	ROCKET MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	$4,303Fees	0.326%Above	130
19	GUILD MORTGAGE COMPANY LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	$1,896Fees	0.429%Above	113
20	Nations Lending CorporationIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	$1,708Fees	0.369%Above	84
21	FAIRWAY INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	$3,228Fees	0.467%Above	78
22	Home State Bank, National AssociationBank	Strong	Sound	Sound	Strong	$1,816Fees	0.268%Above	74
23	JPMorgan Chase Bank, National AssociationBank	Strong	Sound	Strong	Sound	$1,817Fees	0.192%Above	39
24	FREEDOM MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Strong	Sound	$2,670Fees	0.104%Above	29
25	PENNYMAC LOAN SERVICES, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Strong	Sound	$1,544Fees	0.089%Below	26
26	NexBankBank	Strong	Sound	Strong	Sound	$1,148Fees	0.149%Above	25
27	Mortgage Research Center, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Strong	Strong	$1,680Fees	0.662%Above	55
28	Barrington Bank & Trust Company, National AssociationBank	Sound	Acceptable	Strong	Sound	$657Fees	0.433%Above	42
29	CROSSCOUNTRY MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Acceptable	Strong	Sound	$2,470Fees	0.604%Above	29
30	Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Inc.Independent Mortgage Company	Sound	Acceptable	Strong	Sound	$2,795Fees	0.309%Above	23
31	LOWER, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Acceptable	Strong	Sound	$1,712Fees	0.246%Above	20
32	Flagstar Bank, N.A.Bank	Sound	Acceptable	Strong	Sound	$1,209Fees	0.362%Above	20
33	Waterstone Mortgage CorporationIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Strong	Strong	$3,887Fees	0.391%Above	67
34	ENVOY MORTGAGE, LTDIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Acceptable	Sound	Sound	$2,633Fees	0.171%Above	32
35	PRIMARY RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Strong	Sound	$4,436Fees	0.569%Above	46
36	Ixonia BankBank	Sound	Mediocre	Strong	Sound	$2,641Fees	0.456%Above	30
37	Wolfe Financial, IncIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Sound	Sound	$4,207Fees	0.559%Above	22
38	MARINE CREDIT UNIONCredit Union	Sound	Mediocre	Sound	Sound	$3,068Fees	1.713%Above	20

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 30 Points)

Pricing

Rate and fee competitiveness (33%)

Pull Through

Reliability in closing loans (33%)

Place

Local market expertise (33%)

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.