Safe Rate Rankings

Best Conventional 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	Product	Pull Through	Place	Avg Fees	Rate Spread	# of Loans
1	PROVIDENT FUNDING ASSOCIATES, L.P.Independent Mortgage Company	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Sound	Strong	$2,410Fees	0.181%Below	27
2	First American Bank and Trust CompanyBank	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Exceptional	$1,867Fees	0.091%Above	82
3	NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNIONCredit Union	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	$296Fees	0.757%Below	11
4	Ameris BankBank	Exceptional	Sound	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	$2,974Fees	0.241%Above	69
5	Truist BankBank	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$2,423Fees	0.009%Below	13
6	U.S. Bank National AssociationBank	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$1,041Fees	0.018%Below	11
7	UNITED WHOLESALE MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	$3,580Fees	0.083%Above	190
8	ROCKET MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	$4,809Fees	0.241%Above	167
9	Wells Fargo Bank, National AssociationBank	Strong	Strong	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	$2,769Fees	0.053%Above	18
10	Regions BankBank	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	$3,977Fees	0.020%Above	120
11	GUARANTEED RATE, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	$4,218Fees	0.316%Above	80
12	Synovus BankBank	Strong	Sound	Strong	Strong	Strong	$1,620Fees	0.009%Below	55
13	COLONY BANKBank	Strong	Sound	Strong	Strong	Strong	$3,341Fees	0.022%Above	26
14	JPMorgan Chase Bank, National AssociationBank	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$2,469Fees	0.116%Above	17
15	LOANDEPOT.COM, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$4,738Fees	0.302%Below	15
16	Cadence BankBank	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$2,636Fees	0.044%Above	14
17	FAIRWAY INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	$3,908Fees	0.261%Above	65
18	MOVEMENT MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	$2,783Fees	0.284%Above	49
19	PENNYMAC LOAN SERVICES, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	$2,932Fees	0.413%Above	19
20	Capital City Home Loans, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Strong	Strong	Sound	$1,121Fees	0.156%Below	17
21	Magnolia Bank, IncorporatedBank	Strong	Acceptable	Strong	Strong	Strong	$3,927Fees	0.037%Above	49
22	CROSSCOUNTRY MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$3,848Fees	0.527%Above	22
23	First-Citizens Bank & Trust CompanyBank	Strong	Sound	Strong	Sound	Sound	$872Fees	0.137%Above	15
24	United Community BankBank	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$1,558Fees	0.811%Above	13
25	NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$6,919Fees	0.382%Above	12
26	LOWER, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$3,348Fees	0.244%Above	11
27	GUILD MORTGAGE COMPANY LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$2,455Fees	0.687%Above	11
28	BANKSOUTH MORTGAGE COMPANY, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Mediocre	Strong	Strong	Exceptional	$4,719Fees	0.342%Above	107
29	EVERETT FINANCIAL, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Mediocre	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	$5,905Fees	0.824%Above	49
30	NEW AMERICAN FUNDING, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	$3,826Fees	0.751%Above	19
31	Presidential Bank, FSBBank	Strong	Acceptable	Strong	Strong	Sound	$3,372Fees	0.632%Above	11
32	NEWREZ LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	$1,514Fees	0.669%Above	11
33	Prosperity Home Mortgage, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Acceptable	$2,991Fees	0.392%Above	10
34	AMERICAN PACIFIC MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$6,040Fees	0.658%Above	24
35	NFM, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$3,938Fees	0.703%Above	17
36	Bank of EnglandBank	Sound	Acceptable	Strong	Sound	Sound	$1,621Fees	0.341%Above	12
37	First Option Mortgage, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Strong	Sound	Sound	$5,126Fees	0.744%Above	23
38	SOUTHEAST MORTGAGE OF GEORGIA, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Sound	Sound	Sound	$4,385Fees	0.733%Above	17

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.