Safe Rate Rankings

Best FHA 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	UNITED WHOLESALE MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Exceptional	Sound	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	$3,580Fees	0.083%Above	190
2	BANKSOUTH MORTGAGE COMPANY, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Exceptional	Sound	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	$4,719Fees	0.342%Above	107
3	Synovus BankBank	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	Strong	Strong	$1,620Fees	0.009%Below	55
4	FREEDOM MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$3,825Fees	0.510%Above	15
5	ROCKET MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	$4,809Fees	0.241%Above	167
6	Regions BankBank	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Sound	Exceptional	$3,977Fees	0.020%Above	120
7	PENNYMAC LOAN SERVICES, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Strong	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	$2,932Fees	0.413%Above	19
8	GUARANTEED RATE, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	$4,218Fees	0.316%Above	80
9	FAIRWAY INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Exceptional	Strong	$3,908Fees	0.261%Above	65
10	Magnolia Bank, IncorporatedBank	Strong	Sound	Strong	Strong	Strong	$3,927Fees	0.037%Above	49
11	LOANDEPOT.COM, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$4,738Fees	0.302%Below	15
12	NEWREZ LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	$1,514Fees	0.669%Above	11
13	Plains Commerce BankBank	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Strong	Acceptable	$3,661Fees	0.308%Above	10
14	EVERETT FINANCIAL, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Mediocre	Exceptional	Exceptional	Strong	$5,905Fees	0.824%Above	49
15	Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Inc.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$4,825Fees	0.623%Above	12
16	AMERICAN PACIFIC MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Mediocre	Exceptional	Exceptional	Sound	$6,040Fees	0.658%Above	24
17	CROSSCOUNTRY MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$3,848Fees	0.527%Above	22
18	First Option Mortgage, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Strong	Strong	Sound	$5,126Fees	0.744%Above	23
19	NEW AMERICAN FUNDING, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	$3,826Fees	0.751%Above	19
20	SOUTHEAST MORTGAGE OF GEORGIA, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Strong	Strong	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.