Can Rocket Mortgage Be Trusted?

Millions who’ve seen the popular ad campaign are asking, “Can I trust Rocket Mortgage?” The short answer is “Yes, but with a couple warnings.” The tables below have the quick info on trust and Rocket Mortgage. We cover their Better Business Bureau A+ score, customer reviews, web reviews and more.

Rocket Mortgage is the famous 8 minute mortgage company with the high profile ad campaign. It turns out their trust level is actually quite high. The highest BBB rating possible and years of customer satisfaction awards are reasons Rocket Mortgage can be trusted. Points against them are reports of higher than average interest rates and a lawsuit by the U.S. Government.

Reasons to Trust Rocket Mortgage

It turns out there are lots of reasons to trust Rocket Mortgage. There are also a couple reasons to be wary. The table below shows an overview of Rocket Mortgage trust facts. Overall, Rocket Mortgage can be trusted to deliver a fast, easy online loan approval. They’re a subsidiary of Quicken Loans and Intuit, the company that makes TurboTax. Their interest rates may be higher than some and they do have at least one hole in their trust armor. That hole comes in the form of a lawsuit by the U.S. government.

Can Rocket Mortgage Be Trusted?
Reasons to Trust Rocket MortgageExplanation
BBB A+ RatingRocket Mortgage (and Quicken Loans) has had an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau since 1986. That is incredibly difficult.
Low number of BBB complaintsRocket Mortgage's trust score with the BBB is based on a very low number of complaints for its size.
Rocket Mortgage Responds to all BBB ComplaintsRocket Mortgage works to promote trust by responding to each customer who complains with the BBB.
Complaint Resolution is HighThe ratio of resolved Rocket Mortgage BBB complaints vs unresolved complaints is high.
Good Reviews Around the WebReview site BestCompany.com ranks Rocket Mortgage and Quicken Loans as the #1 trusted mortgage company out of 38 companies.
Lots of Awards for Trust and ExcellenceRocket Mortgage received six straight years of J.D. Power & Associates customer satifsaction and trust awards (2010-2015), Forbes favorite, Fortune mag "Best of the Web."
Rocket Mortgage has Closed Over 2 Million LoansTwo million loans with about 2,500 complaints is an excellent satisfaction record.
Reasons NOT to Trust Rocket Mortgage
Higher than Average Interest RatesRocket Mortgage interest rates are reported as higher than the national online average.
Government SuitOn 4/23/15, The U.S. Government filed a lawsuit alleging Quicken Loans improperly underwrote and originated FHA insured home loans.

Also see: Free Credit Scores from Credit Karma: What’s the Catch?

Reasons to trust rocket mortgageThe biggest reason to trust Rocket Mortgage is probably the highest A+ BBB score. It’s incredibly hard for a company to maintain an A+ score if customers don’t love them. Another reason to trust Rocket Mortgage are the array of largely positive reviews around the web. Review site BestCompany.com ranks Rocket Mortgage as the #1 online mortgage company out of 38. Rocket mortgage has also received numerous awards for customer and employee satisfaction.

The reasons to be wary about Rocket Mortgage are reports of higher than average interest rates and a government lawsuit. The interest rates can be as much as half a percent above other similar firms’ rates. The lawsuit surrounds improper lending practices, alleged to break U.S. lending laws in 2015.

We give the details on each Rocket Mortgage trust factor in the sections below.

Also see: How to Find Your Credit Score

The BBB and Trusting Rocket Mortgage

Rocket Mortgage’s A+ rating is probably the single biggest reason to trust them. The Better Business Bureau doesn’t claim to evaluate products or services. However, they do evaluate customer satisfaction.

Based on customer satisfaction, Rocket Mortgage’s degree of trust is high indeed. Check out the Rocket Mortgage trust info in the BBB table below.

BBB and Trusting Rocket Mortgage
A+ rating (Very hard to get. Denotes the highest level of trust)
BBB has found Rocket Mortgage is committed to resolving customer complaints
Rocket Mortgage is BBB accredited and trusted since 1986 as Quicken Loans
Rocket Mortgage has resolved 1361 complaints in past 3 years
BBB says Rocket Mortgage advertises honestly. Their ad campaigns can be trusted.
BBB says Rocket Mortgage tells the truth.
Low number of BBB complaints for a business of Rocket Mortgage's size.
High ratio of resolved to unresolved BBB Rocket Mortgage complaints.
Note: Don't be confused by the out of business "Rocket Mortgage" on the BBB's website. It has nothing to do with the national Quicken Loans Rocket Mortgage.

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Can You Trust Rocket MortgageThe BBB’s A+ rating is exceptionally difficult to get and maintain. It denotes the highest level of customer satisfaction possible on a scale of A+ to F. To get the A+ rating, Rocket Mortgage has had to demonstrate a serious commitment to customer service. They work hard at resolving customer complaints.

In the past three years, 2,561 people have complained to the BBB about Quicken Loans and Rocket Mortgage. That is considered low for a business the size of Rocket Mortgage. The company has responded to every one of those customers personally. 1,361 of those complaints, or 53%, have been resolved to the customer’s satisfaction. In the opinion of the BBB, Rocket Mortgage has attempted to resolve the other complaints in good faith.

Rocket Mortgage Customer and Employee Awards

Another reason the question, “Can I trust Rocket Mortgage” can be answered with a “yes” is their awards. Rocket Mortgage and Quicken Loans have received numerous customer and employee satisfaction awards since 2010. See a list of their awards below.

Rocket Mortgage Trust Awards

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Rocket Mortgage Trust JD PowerJ.D. Power & Associates has given Quicken Loans and Rocket Mortgage their highest award for customer satisfaction in a mortgage operation the past six years in a row. That’s a pretty stout reason to trust Rocket Mortgage. J.D. Power rates businesses on strict guidelines for customer satisfaction. To get their top award six years running, Rocket Mortgage has to be doing something right.

The company has also received nods from Forbes, Fortune and PC Magazine. Each of those magazines have included Rocket Mortgage in their “Best of the Web” sections.

Rocket Mortgage and Quicken Loans have received over 15 “Best Place to Work” type awards. Those awards are both national and local. Finally, according to Quicken Loans internal data, 95% of their clients would recommend their service.

Points in Rocket Mortgage’s Favor

Beyond trust, there are several reasons to prefer Rocket Mortgage to the old style of walking, cap in hand, into a bank branch office to ask for a loan. The process is quick and painless and can be done online. We’ve outlined the reasons in the table below.

Points in Rocket Mortgage's Favor
8 minute mortgage
Quick approvals
High customer satisfaction
No in-person meetings with bankers

Simply put, customers love the 8-minute mortgage approval (and hey, even if it takes you 10 minutes, what the heck). They love the quick approvals process. They love not having to meet with a banker to get a loan. They love that it all takes place online. All these things plus Rocket Mortgage’s commitment to customer service result in exceptionally high customer satisfaction ratings.

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Reasons Not to Trust Rocket Mortgage

Amid all the great reasons to trust Rocket Mortgage, there are a couple of caveats. One is higher interest rates. The other is a government lawsuit.

Marks Against Trusting Rocket Mortgage
Reported higher than average interest ratesRocket Mortgage has higher rates than some other online mortgage options.
Government lawsuitIn 2015, The U.S. Government sued Quicken Loans and Rocket Mortgage for improperly underwriting hundreds of government assisted mortgages.

Trust Rocket Mortgage LawsuitThere are reports that Rocket Mortgage has higher interest rates than other similar online mortgage loan companies. We did a little checking and found this to be somewhat true. It’s possible to get lower interest rates online through other services. However, Rocket Mortgage is in the ballpark for interest rates from other big financial institutions like Chase and Wells Fargo. Rocket Mortgage claims they have low rates, but it’s possible they’re fudging just a little.

Maybe a bigger reason not to trust Rocket Mortgage is the ongoing suit against Quicken Loans by the U.S. Government. The suit alleges Quicken Loans improperly underwrote and improperly originated hundreds of federally assisted loans. If true, this would basically amount to Quicken Loans approving loans knowing the borrowers wouldn’t be able to pay them back. It would further mean the U.S. Government would be left holding the bill.

In other words, the suit against Quicken Loans doesn’t allege the company defrauded customers. It doesn’t claim Quicken Loans hurt customers. However, a company that will make one unethical decision to make money might make others. The suit is a warning to consumers to proceed with caution.

Also see: Are TurboTax Free Taxes Really Free?

Rocket Mortgage Interest Rates vs Other Banks

Rocket Mortgage has been accused of having higher interest rates than other organizations. In fact, that may be true. We did a quick search for home loan interest rates as of 2/4/16 on the web. We found that Rocket Mortgage matched Chase Bank and did better than the national average. However, they fell behind Wells Fargo and Lending Tree.

Rocket Mortgage Interest Rates VS Other Interest Rates
Mortgage Company30 Yr Fixed Rate15 Yr Fixed Rate
National Average3.88%3.15%
Rocket Mortgage3.625%3.00%
Lending Tree3.125%2.5%
Chase3.625%3.00%
Wells Fargo3.125%3.00%

Chase Bank and Rocket Mortgage both offered a 30 year fixed rate mortgage at 3.625%. The national average was slightly worse at 3.88%. Lending Tree and Wells Fargo offered rates at 3.125%. That’s a full half percent better than Rocket Mortgage.

Is the added convenience of dealing with Rocket Mortgage worth the extra half a percent? To answer that, we did some math and put the results in the chart and table below.

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Rocket Mortgage Price Difference

An interest rate difference of half a percent may not seem like much. In fact it can be $26,000 or more, depending on the sale price of the house. The table and chart below give details.

Morgtage Rate Differences (30 yr mortgage, $200,000 home)
Monthly Payment
Total Interest Payments
Total Price Difference
3.10%$843$85,000$26,000 less
3.60%$912$106,000$26,000 more

The table above shows a $200,000 home purchase with a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. A 3.1% interest rate gives monthly payments of about $843. It also results in total interest of $85,000 paid over 30 years.


Next look at the same house with a half a percent higher interest rate. At 3.6%, that same mortgage has payments of $912 per month. The interest paid over 30 years is $106,000. That’s a price difference of $26,000. On a more expensive house, the difference can get a lot bigger.

Interest rate is the one area where Rocket Mortgage stumbles. It’s not a trust issue, per se, because Rocket Mortgage isn’t claiming to have the lowest interest rates. They do however say their interest rates are “low.” If they mean “below the national average,” then they’re right at least some of the time. However, someone willing to sacrifice convenience could save a lot by going elsewhere.

Rocket Mortgage Site and Apps

Rocket Mortgage trust sit appsOne of Rocket Mortgage’s convenience drives is their commitment to a seamless site and apps. The Rocket Mortgage website is easy to use. Mortgage seekers really can apply and get approved in minutes.

Their Rocket Mortgage Launchpad app lets users launch a mortgage from an iPhone or other mobile device. Their mortgage calculator app lets users see how much home they can afford. It also gives insights into the amount of monthly payments and total interest.

Rocket Mortgage on Twitter

The Rocket Mortgage buzz on Twitter on 2/3/16 is overwhelmingly negative. To start on a positive note, here’s their Super Bowl ad:

Now on to the negative. The tweet below is one of many that expresses horror and distrust at Rocket Mortgage.

Here is yet another:

While Rocket Mortgage’s ad campaign may seem worryingly like the “no credit, no problem” ads of the early 2000s, there’s a big difference. Rocket Mortgage is not claiming to approve everyone regardless of credit score. What they are claiming is fast turnaround time on an easy application. In other words, people who get denied will find that out in 8 minutes also.

Does a fast approval/denial process mean they’re not checking into a borrower’s finances deeply enough? Maybe. Tech has sped things up considerably since 2008, so it’s possible that Rocket Mortgage is able to do adequate background checks on customers in a very short time.