Safe Rate Rankings

Best Conventional Mortgage Lenders in Fargo

Updated June 3, 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 Lenders40

Total Loans2,699

Median Rate Spread0.06%

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Rank	Lender	Overall	Pricing	Product	Pull Through	Place	Avg Fees	Rate Spread	# of Loans
1	Gate City BankBank	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	$2,883Fees	0.221%Below	387
2	VALLEY MORTGAGE, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	Strong	Exceptional	$1,808Fees	0.277%Below	211
3	NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNIONCredit Union	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	$758Fees	0.287%Below	12
4	First International Bank & TrustBank	Exceptional	Sound	Strong	Exceptional	Exceptional	$2,161Fees	0.000%Above	176
5	FIRST COMMUNITY CREDIT UNIONCredit Union	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	$2,676Fees	0.327%Below	101
6	U.S. Bank National AssociationBank	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$921Fees	0.004%Above	39
7	TOWN AND COUNTRY Credit UnionCredit Union	Strong	Sound	Strong	Strong	Exceptional	$2,858Fees	0.027%Below	191
8	UNITED WHOLESALE MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	$3,210Fees	0.239%Above	184
9	CAPITALCredit Union	Strong	Sound	Strong	Exceptional	Strong	$3,945Fees	0.255%Below	53
10	BAY EQUITY LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	$3,795Fees	0.117%Above	43
11	MAGNIFI FINANCIAL CREDIT UNIONCredit Union	Strong	Strong	Strong	Strong	Sound	$977Fees	0.032%Above	13
12	Wells Fargo Bank, National AssociationBank	Strong	Strong	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	$2,379Fees	0.041%Above	12
13	Bell BankBank	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	$2,382Fees	0.051%Above	295
14	ROCKET MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Exceptional	Strong	$3,327Fees	0.351%Above	114
15	Bremer Bank, National AssociationBank	Strong	Sound	Strong	Strong	Strong	$2,711Fees	0.049%Below	69
16	Western State BankBank	Strong	Strong	Sound	Sound	Strong	$1,532Fees	0.218%Below	54
17	Nations Lending CorporationIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Exceptional	Strong	$1,278Fees	0.200%Below	45
18	LOANDEPOT.COM, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$3,265Fees	0.358%Above	27
19	ARK-LA-TEX FINANCIAL SERVICES, LLC.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$1,916Fees	0.251%Below	14
20	Empeople Credit UnionCredit Union	Strong	Strong	Strong	Sound	Sound	$522Fees	0.098%Below	14
21	JPMorgan Chase Bank, National AssociationBank	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$2,157Fees	0.107%Above	11
22	FAIRWAY INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	$3,196Fees	0.056%Below	109
23	PRIMARY RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	$3,346Fees	0.375%Above	94
24	FIRST COLONY MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	$3,697Fees	0.186%Above	42
25	Choice Financial GroupBank	Strong	Sound	Sound	Strong	Strong	$2,789Fees	0.034%Below	36
26	Alerus Financial, National AssociationBank	Strong	Sound	Strong	Strong	Sound	$165Fees	0.172%Below	32
27	First Western Bank & TrustBank	Strong	Sound	Strong	Strong	Sound	$2,485Fees	0.081%Below	26
28	Dacotah BankBank	Strong	Sound	Strong	Strong	Sound	$1,734Fees	0.047%Below	21
29	PENNYMAC LOAN SERVICES, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	$2,823Fees	0.066%Below	12
30	GUARANTEED RATE, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$3,613Fees	0.438%Above	23
31	Plains Commerce BankBank	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$3,730Fees	0.528%Above	15
32	GUILD MORTGAGE COMPANY LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$2,473Fees	0.065%Above	12
33	AFFINITY PLUSCredit Union	Strong	Sound	Strong	Sound	Sound	$2,502Fees	0.352%Above	11
34	Cambria Financial Group, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Sound	Strong	Strong	$3,714Fees	0.311%Above	75
35	NEWREZ LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	$2,288Fees	0.356%Above	28
36	TOWNE MORTGAGE COMPANYIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Acceptable	$1,960Fees	0.417%Above	10

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.