Safe Rate Rankings

Best All Lender Mortgage Lenders in Athens

Updated May 22, 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 Lenders43

Total Loans1,600

Median Rate Spread0.27%

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Rank	Lender	Overall	Pricing	Pull Through	Place	Avg Fees	Rate Spread	# of Loans
1	PROVIDENT FUNDING ASSOCIATES, L.P.Independent Mortgage Company	Exceptional	Exceptional	Sound	Strong	$2,410Fees	0.181%Below	27
2	UNITED WHOLESALE MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Exceptional	$3,580Fees	0.083%Above	190
3	First American Bank and Trust CompanyBank	Strong	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	$1,867Fees	0.091%Above	82
4	Ameris BankBank	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Exceptional	$2,974Fees	0.241%Above	69
5	Regions BankBank	Strong	Sound	Strong	Exceptional	$3,977Fees	0.020%Above	120
6	GUARANTEED RATE, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Strong	Exceptional	$4,218Fees	0.316%Above	80
7	COLONY BANKBank	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Strong	$3,341Fees	0.022%Above	26
8	ROCKET MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Exceptional	$4,809Fees	0.241%Above	167
9	BANKSOUTH MORTGAGE COMPANY, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Exceptional	$4,719Fees	0.342%Above	107
10	Synovus BankBank	Strong	Sound	Strong	Strong	$1,620Fees	0.009%Below	55
11	FAIRWAY INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	$3,908Fees	0.261%Above	65
12	Magnolia Bank, IncorporatedBank	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	$3,927Fees	0.037%Above	49
13	MOVEMENT MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	$2,783Fees	0.284%Above	49
14	EVERETT FINANCIAL, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Exceptional	Strong	$5,905Fees	0.824%Above	49
15	CROSSCOUNTRY MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Acceptable	Strong	Sound	$3,848Fees	0.527%Above	22
16	Mortgage Research Center, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Acceptable	Strong	Sound	$4,798Fees	0.233%Above	22
17	AMERICAN PACIFIC MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Exceptional	Sound	$6,040Fees	0.658%Above	24
18	First Option Mortgage, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Strong	Sound	$5,126Fees	0.744%Above	23

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.