How do low rates, big savings, and a simplified mortgage sound? Well, that’s what “Real Genius Mortgage” says it’s offering its customers.
The online mortgage lender has apparently renovated the home lending process to eliminate fees, while also boosting transparency and customer satisfaction.
So it might be possible to get a cheaper mortgage in less time, with less work, which should make for a happier borrower.
Let’s more about this digital mortgage company to see if they could be a good fit.
Real Genius Mortgage Fast Facts
- Direct-to-consumer mortgage lender offering home purchase and refinance loans
- Founded in 2012, headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida
- The online division of parent company FirstBank, an FDIC insured depository bank
- Licensed to do business in 40 states and D.C.
- Parent company originated $2.6 billion in home loans last year (2024)
- 99% of their loans come with a lender credit to reduce or eliminate closing costs
- Funded over $16 billion since inception to 52,000+ customers
Real Genius Mortgage is a direct-to-consumer mortgage lender that offers home purchase and mortgage refinance loans.
In February 2022, they changed their name from “ConsumerDirect Mortgage” to Real Genius, perhaps because it was confusing (consumer-direct lender is essentially a noun).
Of course, there’s an 80s movie called Real Genius that stars Val Kilmer, so perhaps they’ve created new confusion. lol.
Anyway, they are still a consumer direct lender, which means they work with borrowers remotely from a call center, which is located at their mortgage headquarters in Delray Beach, Florida.
Their loan production and operations center is located in nearby Charlotte, NC, and their mortgage servicing department in Newark, NJ.
While they’ve only been around since 2012, they are a division of FirstBank, a publicly-traded, FDIC-insured bank that was founded all the way back in 1906.
FirstBank funded roughly $2.6 billion in home loans last year, with about 20% coming by way of refinance and 80% home purchase loans.
Nearly 90% of their loan production consisted of conventional mortgages, with the remainder mixed between FHA, VA, and USDA loans.
At the moment, they are licensed in 40 states and the District of Columbia. They don’t appear to do business in Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New York, Utah, Vermont, or Virginia.
They were most active in the states of Alabama, Colorado, and Tennessee, which accounted for 87% of total production.
So it appears they do a lot of business in those three states, especially Colorado and Tennessee.
How to Apply with Real Genius Mortgage
- Simply call them up directly or visit their website to get started
- Prospective borrowers can generate mortgage rates quotes on the fly without providing contact info
- If you like what you see or hear, click on Apply Now to begin the digital mortgage application
- They claim to be a 100% paperless loan originator meaning most tasks should be electronic
To get started, simply call them directly to speak with a loan officer about loan pricing and eligibility, or visit their website and do it on your own.
If you go the website route, you can click on “View Rates” to price out your own unique loan scenario to see the latest mortgage rates available.
From there, you can click on Apply Now to begin a formal loan application, and a loan officer will be assigned to you as your guide.
Real Genius Mortgage claims to be a 100% paperless loan originator, so most if not all tasks should be digital/electronic, including the application itself.
I believe it’s powered by Silicon Valley-based Tavant, a provider of AI-driven digital lending products.
Once you’ve submitted an app, you’ll be able to log in to their online borrower dashboard to access your to-do list and see the latest status updates.
All in all, they seem to make it quick and easy to apply for a home loan thanks to their use of the latest technology available.
Loan Programs Offered by Real Genius Mortgage
- Home purchase loans including first-time home buyer options
- Refinance loans: rate and term, cash out, and streamline
- Conforming loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
- Jumbo home loans
- FHA loans
- VA loans
- Construction-to-perm loans
- Fixed-rate mortgages: 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30-year loan terms available
- Adjustable-rate mortgages: 5, 7, and 10-year ARMs available
Real Genius Mortgage offers a bevy of loan options, including home purchase loans, refinance loans, and construction loans.
You can get a conventional mortgage backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or a government-backed loan such as an FHA loan or VA loan.
They don’t appear to offer USDA loans, which is the only real major loan type missing. Or second mortgages, such as a HELOC or home equity loan.
However, they do offer jumbo home loans, though it’s unclear how large of a loan amount they’ll allow.
Those building a home can take advantage of their construction-to-perm loan offering, and my assumption is they also offer home renovation loans such as the FHA 203k loan program.
Their mortgages are available on all major residential property types, including single-family homes, condos, townhomes, and multi-unit properties.
You can get both a fixed-rate or adjustable-rate mortgage, in a variety of different loan terms ranging from 10 to 30 years.
Real Genius Mortgage Rates
While there are many areas on the Real Genius Mortgage to “view rates,” they don’t actually show you them without requiring you to fill out a rather lengthy lead form.
So even if you click on today’s rates from the menu on their website, you won’t actually be able to see how they’re priced.
In the past, you could see rates for all types of different loan programs at once, along with different rate and fee combinations to determine the best approach.
It’d be nice if they brought back that feature to boost transparency and the usefulness of their website.
As noted, most of their borrowers take advantage of lender credits to create a no cost loan, meaning nothing is charged to the borrower out-of-pocket.
In terms of lender fees, they appear to charge a $675 loan origination fee, which is pretty low relative to other lenders.
When they used to openly advertise their mortgage rates, they were pretty well priced for a variety of different loan types, including adjustable-rate mortgages like the 5/1 ARM, which is a rarity these days.
They may not offer the very lowest rates out there, but seem to be a super close second in many scenarios.
Real Genius Mortgage Reviews
One thing Real Genius Mortgage isn’t short of is good reviews. They’ve got lots from all the different ratings websites.
At Zillow, they have a 4.73-star rating out of a possible 5 from more than 800 customer reviews, which is super solid given the large sample size.
Quite a few of those reviews indicated that the interest rate and/or closing costs were lower than expected.
Over at TrustPilot they have a similar 4.8/5 from 625 reviews, which is considered excellent.
On LendingTree, they have an equally solid 4.71-star rating from 185 reviews, and a 94% recommended rating, meaning most past customers would vouch for them.
At Google, they have an even better 4.8-star rating from 140+ reviews, and at CreditKarma a 4.2 out of 5 from nearly 70 reviews.
They also have a 4.8-star Bankrate rating from about 1,000 customer reviews along with a 95% recommend score.
Lastly, they are an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau and currently hold a perfect ‘A+’ rating based on customer complaint history, of which there are currently zero.
In summary, Real Genius Mortgage appears to be a highly-liked mortgage lender with excellent customer satisfaction that is trying to appeal to younger homeowners.
Their website reflects that, as does their catchy copy, such as “It’s not just our low rates and charming personalities.”
If their mortgage rates are actually on point, they could be a good choice for a homeowner, especially someone looking to refinance an existing mortgage.
They may not be as favorable for home buyers due to their lack of physical locations, though these days working remotely doesn’t seem to be an issue for most borrowers.
One other plus is their lender fees appear to be lower than the competition and they claim you can potentially save up to $5,000 in lender fees compared to the nation’s top 5 lenders.
So if saving money sounds good, along with a more techy mortgage experience, Real Genius could be a good option.
Real Genius Mortgage Pros and Cons
The Pros
- Offer a digital mortgage application
- Can apply for a mortgage directly from their website
- Say they offer a 100% paperless loan process
- Lots of loan programs available
- Excellent reviews from past customers
- A+ BBB rating, accredited company
- They service their own loans
- Backed by a large, publicly-traded depository bank
- Extensive knowledge center and mortgage glossary on their website
The Cons
- Do not offer USDA loans or second mortgages
- Not available in every state
- No physical locations
(photo: Theo Crazzolara)
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