BMO Mortgage Lender Review 2024 (2024)

BMO offers various lending products, including purchase loans, refinancing, home equity loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs). The bank also offers FHA and VA loans but not USDA loans.

One standout feature is BMO’s cross-border mortgage program, the Neighborhood Home Loan, which makes it easier for Canadians to buy or refinance a home in the U.S. The Neighborhood Home Loan product offering requires as little as 1% down payment with no private mortgage insurance (PMI) needed.

BMO also offers a rate discount of 0.125% if a borrower uses autopay from a BMO personal checking account to make payments.

Loan Types

BMO offers several loan types, including:

• Conventional (fixed-rate and adjustable-rate)
• FHA
• Jumbo
• VA
• Home equity loans
• HELOCs
• Freddie Mac Home Possible
• Construction loans
• Investment property loans
• Condo financing
• First-time homebuyer

Loan Minimum

BMO doesn’t publicly disclose its minimum mortgage amount. This figure could depend on the location of the home, your credit profile and other factors.

Loan Maximum

The maximum amount you’re allowed to borrow depends on your lender and what type of loan you’re getting. For instance, a jumbo loan offers a higher maximum amount than a conventional loan.

Loan Servicing

BMO manages its own loan servicing but does sell loan portfolio assets to others. You may have BMO as your loan servicer initially and for several years, but there’s a chance another servicer might purchase your loan on the secondary mortgage market.

As with other lenders, not everyone will qualify for a loan with BMO. Here’s what BMO considers when determining whether to approve your application.

Minimum Credit Score

BMO publicly discloses the required minimum credit scores for only some of its mortgage products. You’ll need at least a 580 credit score for some mortgages, like an FHA or VA loan. Other mortgages, including its Neighborhood Home Loan, require a 640 credit score. The Home Possible mortgage requires a credit score of 620.

Minimum Down Payment

For some loans, like a VA loan, a down payment isn’t required. Other mortgages that BMO offers require the following down payment amounts:

• Conventional. 3%
• FHA. 3.5%
• Jumbo. 10%
• Neighborhood Home Loan. 1%

Maximum Debt-to-Income Ratio

The maximum debt-to-income (DTI) ratio for a mortgage depends on your financial situation and which loan you’re getting. Most lenders require a DTI of 35% to 45% based on your ability to repay and the type of loan you’re trying to borrow. Use our calculator to determine your DTI.

BMO charges certain fees when you get a mortgage, including:

• Appraisal fee
• Attorney fees
• Closing fees or title settlement
• Credit report charge
• Flood determination
• Government recording fee
• Origination fees
• Tax service fee
• Title insurance

You can complete a BMO mortgage application online, but there are a few steps you should take before you apply:

1. Get prequalified

While you can’t get prequalified online, there is an option to do so. You can request a prequalification and BMO will connect you with a qualified loan specialist to let you know if you’re eligible and review your options.

2. Review your requirements

Talk to a BMO representative about how much you want to borrow and what you’ll need to qualify for its special mortgage programs. After you find the best deal for your needs, you can submit a complete loan application online. A specialist will guide you while you complete your application.

3. Get a preapproval letter

Once you’ve completed your application, you’ll wait for BMO to review your submission. It could take a few days for a preapproval letter to come through. Once it does, you can use it when you go house hunting. A preapproval letter tells sellers you’re serious about buying and having one can speed up the buying process. Once you agree to the terms on a home, you’ll complete another application for full approval.

Getting turned down for a mortgage isn’t great, but your first step is to talk to your loan officer and ask why. It might be that once your credit report was pulled, you didn’t meet the minimum credit score or income requirements to borrow a loan. Maybe you need to pay down some debt or increase your cash reserves. Find out why you were denied so you can improve those aspects of your finances, then reapply.

You can also try to find other mortgage lenders, get preapproved and clean up any credit errors before completing more applications.

Even though BMO is one of the largest banks in the country, there are some folks who haven’t enjoyed their experience with the company. As of September 2023, BMO’s Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating is 1.06 out of a possible 5 stars based on 140 customer reviews. In the last year, there have been 419 complaints closed through the BBB. Despite the complaints, the BBB gives BMO an A+ rating.

Many of the complaints revolve around upset customer service experiences or a discrepancy in communication. In many cases, the complaints are for other BMO products, like checking accounts, saving accounts or other borrowing products.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Consumer Complaint Database shows 142 mortgage complaints about BMO from September 2020 through September 2023.

We graded BMO based on features that have a meaningful impact on the cost of a mortgage and a borrower’s experience, including interest rates, loan options, accessibility, closing time and customer service.

We award bonus points if a lender offers a specialty rate discount or mortgage product, a home equity product or maintains a fully online mortgage application process.

Our scoring method is broken down as follows:

• Interest rate. 20%
• Loan options. 20%
• Time to close. 20%
• Accessibility. 20%
• Customer service experience. 20%
• Bonus points. Up to 25 points

We chose to focus on these core elements to bring forward lenders that offer the most competitive rates while also providing a satisfactory customer experience accessible to borrowers of all financial backgrounds. We believe this scoring system best reflects consumers’ top priorities when comparison shopping for mortgage lenders.

To learn more about our rating and review methodology and editorial process, check out our guide on How Forbes Advisor Reviews Mortgage Lenders.