Wintrust Mortgage is a division of Barrington Bank & Trust Company. The lender is headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois, and is licensed in all 50 states. It has more than 65 loan offices and 175 bank branches. It is the 35th largest lender by volume with more than $ 8 billion in loans issued, according to the Ranking of the Scotsman Guide 2021.

Wintrust Mortgage offers a wide range of mortgage loans, including government backed, conventional, construction and home equity (HELOC) lines of credit. It has an online application process where you can track the progress of your application. It doesn’t offer any estimate of mortgage rates or fees online, but customer service representatives are relatively easy to contact during business hours.

Advantages and disadvantages of the Wintrust mortgage

Wintrust Mortgage: Types of Loans and Products

The Wintrust Mortgage offers a number of mortgage products for those looking to buy a home, refinance an existing home loan, or renovate. It also offers mortgages for second homes, investment properties and jumbo loans.

The specific types of loans that you can get through Wintrust Mortgage include:

If you need a loan that doesn’t quite meet the guidelines of a traditional mortgage program, you may want to work with a local loan officer. The Wintrust Mortgage website states that “there is a variety of locally served loan options” for non-standard loans.

Wintrust mortgage transparency

The Wintrust Mortgage website offers few details on the cost of your loan. It contains several FAQ videos detailing certain steps in the application process, general questions about mortgages and types of mortgages. But other than a basic list of the types of loans he offers, there is no information available on his site on the minimum qualifications or down payment amounts for any of his loans.

However, it is quite easy to reach a real person to talk to at Wintrust Mortgage to answer your questions. You can call or submit questions via a online form. We were able to easily get in touch with a loan officer to answer our questions by calling. Questions we submitted online were answered by email, with contact details of a person to talk to, within hours.

Part of the reason some costs and qualifications are not posted on their website is probably because they can change and differ depending on your situation. A loan officer told us that the minimum credit score required for an FHA loan is 620 and for a conventional loan is 640. But these numbers may change. Even the types of mortgages offered may vary. For example, the Wintrust mortgage website listed Variable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) at time of research, but we were told that it does not offer these loans at this time because mortgage rates are so low.

Wintrust mortgage: rates and fees

To get an accurate estimate of the mortgage or refinance rate you qualify for or the loan closing costs, you will need to submit an application to Wintrust Mortgage. Once your financial data is verified and your credit withdrawn, you will have an offer that you can compare with other lenders.

When analyzing your mortgage offer, take a look at the loan estimate to get a good idea of ​​your upfront costs. Pay attention not only to the interest rate, but also to the Annual Percentage Rate (APR), which will take into account not only your mortgage rate, but fees as well. Sometimes discount points or mortgage points may be included. These points are additional fees that you pay up front in exchange for a lower interest rate. If they are included, make sure that makes sense for you in the long run.

Besides closing costs and standard fees, which typically range between 2% and 6% of your loan amount, Wintrust Mortgage doesn’t have a lot of other fees. There are no early repayment penalties or administration fees. However, some standard costs may apply, such as private mortgage insurance (PMI) if your loan-to-value ratio is above 80%.

Refinancing with the Wintrust mortgage

Refinancing with Wintrust Mortgage is a process similar to what you will need to do with other major mortgage lenders. Refinancing rates and fees are not available online, but you can speak to a loan officer for a basic quote. It offers cash refinancing options, and with this type of loan, your rate will be adjusted by 0.50%.

As part of the closing costs, there is an administrative fee of $ 1,315, and we were quoted $ 465 for an assessment. Under certain circumstances, the appraisal may be canceled and you may have the option to defer closing costs on your new loan.

Once you submit your request and receive your quote, you can get a 60-day rate freeze. The loan officer we spoke with said that it currently takes about 45 days to close a refinance loan. Wintrust Mortgage offers several refinancing terms, including 30, 25, 20 and 15 year loans. It also offers conventional loan refinance options and government-backed refinance loans, such as VA interest rate reduction refinance loans.

The Wintrust mortgage compared to other mortgage lenders

	Wintrust mortgage	Motion mortgage	Wells fargo
Minimum credit score	620 for FHA, 640 for conventional	580 (some mortgage programs may require a higher score)	620
Minimum deposit	Varies by loan program, but VA loans require 0% down payment	0% to 3.5%	0% to 3.5%, depending on the loan program
Where does the lender operate?	The 50 states	The 50 states	The 50 states
Main types of loans	Conventional, jumbo, FHA, VA, USDA, construction, renovation, refinancing, HELOC, construction, cash-out refinancing	Conventional, Jumbo, VA, FHA, USDA, Various Home Improvement Loans, Variable Rate, Fixed Rate, Refinance, Refinance With Withdrawal, Reverse Mortgages	Conventional, jumbo, VA, FHA, adjustable rate, fixed rate, refinancing, cash-out refinancing, construction loans

How to Shop for the Best Mortgage Rate

Each mortgage lender will assess your personal situation differently, so it’s important to shop around when trying to get the best mortgage rate. Prices vary from day to day, but be sure to pay attention to fees as well. You can end up with two loan offers with the exact same interest rate but very different closing costs.

Some of the factors that influence your interest rate are beyond your control, such as the economy in general. But you can control what matters most: your credit score and the loan-to-value ratio (LTV). As you increase your credit score, the interest rate you are paying should decrease. And as you increase your down payment or increase your home equity if you refinance, your interest rate will also decrease. Having a credit score above 740 and an LTV of 80% or less are both good benchmarks to aim for.

Final result

Wintrust Mortgage offers a wide range of loan options for homeowners and home buyers. It offers home equity lines of credit for homeowners looking to tap their equity without paying for a full refinance loan.

While rates, fees, and specific requirements aren’t readily available online, it has responsive customer service during normal business hours. Wintrust Mortgage lends in all 50 states, but does not have a large footprint in all regions. So if you prefer an in-person experience, it might be more suitable for those who live in areas where it is more prevalent, like Chicago or Los Angeles.