Safe Rate Rankings

Best VA Mortgage Lenders in Fort Smith

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 Lenders40

Total Loans2,045

Median Rate Spread0.34%

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Rank	Lender	Overall	Pricing	Product	Pull Through	Place	Avg Fees	Rate Spread	# of Loans
1	LENDLO MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Sound	$3,121Fees	0.661%Above	28
2	Firstar BankBank	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	Exceptional	Exceptional	$1,390Fees	0.098%Above	396
3	Arvest BankBank	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	$2,107Fees	0.378%Above	287
4	NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNIONCredit Union	Exceptional	Exceptional	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	$647Fees	0.435%Below	20
5	SWBC MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Exceptional	Sound	Exceptional	Exceptional	Strong	$3,620Fees	0.015%Above	61
6	PENNYMAC LOAN SERVICES, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$2,820Fees	0.045%Below	13
7	FIRST WESTERN MORTGAGE, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Exceptional	Acceptable	Sound	Strong	$1,772Fees	0.002%Below	53
8	USAA Federal Savings BankBank	Strong	Strong	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	$908Fees	0.069%Below	15
9	ROCKET MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Exceptional	Strong	$3,688Fees	0.513%Above	181
10	First Financial BankBank	Strong	Sound	Strong	Strong	Strong	$2,342Fees	0.128%Above	72
11	HIGHLANDS RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE, LTD.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	$2,681Fees	0.486%Above	114
12	Mortgage Research Center, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	$549Credit	0.598%Above	80
13	FIRST COMMUNITY MORTGAGE, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Exceptional	Sound	$3,495Fees	0.421%Above	40
14	FLAT BRANCH MORTGAGE, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Exceptional	Sound	$1,889Fees	0.289%Above	33
15	MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS OF COLORADO, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Sound	$1,163Fees	0.491%Above	13
16	NEW DAY FINANCIAL, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	$2,891Fees	1.324%Above	15

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.