Chase Lender Review | 2024


Teri Oppenheimer
Military VA Loan contributor

The bottom line

Chase provides financial services to nearly half of America’s households, including personal banking, credit cards, mortgages, auto financing, investment advice, small business loans and payment processing. That means Chase customers get all the benefits of a big financial institution.

Chase has a customer-friendly online mortgage lending platform and over 4,700 bank branches in most states and the District of Columbia.

Check today's VA rates by completing this quick online form (Nov 13th, 2024)

Pros & cons of Chase

JP Morgan Chase is the country’s largest bank by asset size and one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders. Whether you’re in the market to purchase a home or refinance an existing mortgage, Chase offers a wide variety of lending programs.

Existing Chase customers may benefit from extra savings.

Pros of Chase

  • Dedicated Home Lending Advisors available to match each customers’ financial situation and goals with the best mortgage loan to meet their needs
  • Existing Chase customers can take advantage of Chase’s Closing Guarantee, which ensures on-time closing in as soon as three weeks or they’ll receive $2,500
  • FHA, Conventional, VA and Jumbo loans are available for home purchase and refinancing at competitive interest rates
  • Chase can finance 1-4 units, owner-occupied, second homes, and investment properties with competitive rates and fees
  • First-time home buyer programs
  • Streamlined application process designed to minimize underwriting time
  • Variety of home buyer resources, including mortgage calculators and home buying guides

Cons of Chase

  • Branch offices are not located in all states
  • Chase does not offer USDA mortgage loans or VA construction loans

How to get a mortgage with Chase

Borrowers can submit an application either in person, online or by phone. Once an application is submitted, a Home Lending Advisor will review the borrower’s employment and credit history, as well as their income, assets and liabilities. In order to assess the value of the home, an appraisal of the property may be ordered.

From there, Chase will be able to provide borrowers with a lending decision — along with information about loan programs best suited to their needs.

For borrowers interested in VA loans, a Home Loan Advisor can explain the eligibility requirements and even help you request a Certificate of Eligibility (COE).

Once a borrower is approved for a mortgage, mortgage documents are prepared and a signing date is scheduled.

Whether buying a home or refinancing an existing mortgage loan, Chase Mortgage loan officers are trained to assist loan applicants from the point of application through closing.

Get started with your VA loan by completing this quick online form (Nov 13th, 2024)

Buying a house with Chase

Whether buying a primary residence, second home, or investment property, Chase offers a wide selection of mortgage loans to meet the needs of many home buyers.

In a very competitive housing market, buyers should be well prepared as they pursue the purchase of a home. The goal of Chase’s Home Lending Advisors is to assist mortgage applicants through every step of the process in order to move from application to closing as fast as possible. Chase has introduced their program to match homebuyers with a qualified Chase Express real estate agent and offers $1000 to eligible customers.

Chase’s home buying mortgage products include:

  • FHA loans: Very popular with first-time, lower-income, and/or lower-credit home buyers
  • VA loans: Designed for U.S. Veterans and offering many benefits including no requirement for a down payment
  • Conventional loans: A good option for buyers with good credit scores and low levels of personal debt
  • Jumbo loans: For buyers seeking to borrow more than the amount permitted for conventional loans (greater than $510,400 in most states)

Chase also offers several proprietary loan programs to help home buyers, including:

  • HomeStory, a program to match homebuyers with a qualified Chase Express real estate agent and offer $1000 to eligible customers
  • DreaMaker mortgage, with down payment options as low as 3% and lower monthly payments with a 30-year fixed rate

Refinancing a house with Chase

With interest rates near historic lows, many existing homeowners are refinancing their loans in order to lower their monthly payments, shorten the term of their loan and/or take cash out of the equity in their home. Chase offers refinancing options to help borrowers achieve their objectives in a fast, streamlined manner.

Chase’s refinance mortgage options include FHA, Conventional, and VA loans with a wide variety of terms (fixed rate, adjustable rate, 30 years, 15 years, etc.). For VA homeowners, Chase also offers VA cash-out loans up to 90% of your home’s value.

If you don’t need cash out, but only want to reduce your rate and payment, Chase offers VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loans (IRRRL) with no income/no asset and no appraisal options.

Once a refinance loan application is approved, borrowers can determine where and when they would like to close their loan.

Check today’s VA refinance rates (Nov 13th, 2024)

Special perks for veterans with Chase

Chase offers military Veterans, active members of the armed services, and their families a broad range of financial products and special benefits including:

  • No minimum balance requirements and no monthly service fees when you open a Chase Premier Plus CheckingSM account with Chase Military Banking benefits

In addition, Chase has donated more than $2 million to veteran-focused job training and employs over 11,000 veterans within its organization.

As part of its commitment to our nation’s service members and their families, Chase established the Military Survivor Program to assist eligible surviving spouses and dependents by canceling the debt of Chase military customers who were killed in action (KIA), died of wounds received in action (DWRIA) or died in a combat theater of operations since January 1, 2011.

Community involvement

JPMorgan Chase announced a new long-term commitment to advance racial equity in 2020. It committed an additional $30 billion over the next five years to provide economic opportunities to underserved communities, especially the Black and Latinx communities.

Chase Home Lending has expanded its grant program to help more customers cover closing costs and down payments when buying a home in 6,700 minority neighborhoods nationwide. Eligible customers in these communities may qualify for grants up to $5,000.

Chase is committed to investing in its customers, employees and communities. That includes a $500 million, 5-year initiative to invest in solutions to bolster the long term vitality of cities, including:

  • A commitment to invest $200 million in Detroit’s economic comeback by the end of 2022. In addition to capital and philanthropic investments, Chase employees are applying their skills and expertise to ensure the city’s economic turnaround creates lasting opportunities for its residents.
  • A commitment of $150 million in philanthropic capital and low-cost loans to Chicago’s South and West sides. This builds on an additional $600 million in home lending to increase homeownership among 3,000 Black and Latinx families across Chicago and is part of the firm’s $30 billion national commitment to advance racial equity.
  • In San Francisco and the Bay area, Chase has committed millions of dollars in philanthropic investments with a focus on jobs and skills, small business expansion, financial health and neighborhood revitalization — including nearly $1 billion in financing for affordable housing.

Should you use Chase?

As the country’s largest bank and one of the most experienced mortgage lenders in the nation, Chase offers a wide variety of home lending programs for consumers throughout the U.S.

Whether you are seeking a mortgage to purchase a home or you’re an existing homeowner looking to refinance your current loan, Chase Mortgage likely has a loan program to meet your needs.

Ready for a VA mortgage? Talk to a lender today (Nov 13th, 2024)