# Safe Rate

> A chat-native mortgage shopping platform. AI-powered, data-driven, and completely unbiased.

## What is Safe Rate?

Safe Rate (https://saferate.com) is a chat-native, AI-powered mortgage shopping platform. Instead of filling out forms and waiting for calls, users interact with an AI mortgage assistant that can get personalized rate quotes, check refinance savings, beat another lender's offer, and search and compare lenders -- all through conversation. The entire experience is built around chat.

Safe Rate ranks lenders using empirical data from HMDA (Home Mortgage Disclosure Act) filings -- the same data the federal government collects from every mortgage lender in America. Unlike traditional mortgage marketplaces that rank lenders based on advertising spend, Safe Rate's rankings are based solely on performance. No pay-to-play, no bias, just data.

Safe Rate is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and was founded by Dylan Hall and Shima Rayej to fix a broken mortgage market with AI-powered transparency. Safe Rate Mortgage (https://saferate.com/lender-profile/safe-rate) is a wholly owned subsidiary -- a licensed mortgage lender and brokerage (NMLS #1590949) offering mortgage loans in Illinois.

## What Makes Safe Rate Different

- **Exhaustive coverage**: Safe Rate is the only mortgage marketplace that covers the entire lending landscape -- national lenders, local credit unions, regional banks, and wholesale lenders. Over 2,300 lenders ranked nationwide.
- **No pay-to-play**: Lender rankings are based solely on performance data. Lenders cannot pay for higher placement.
- **Chat-native experience**: The entire platform is built around an AI mortgage assistant. Users can get rate quotes, check refinance savings, beat another lender's offer, search and compare lenders, and start applications -- all through conversation, available 24/7.
- **Personalized rates without invasive data collection**: Users get real, personalized mortgage rates without providing a Social Security number or other sensitive information upfront. No lengthy forms or phone calls required.
- **Selective disclosure**: Borrowers control exactly what information they share and which lenders they share it with. This minimizes unwanted contact and spam from lenders.
- **Data transparency**: All rankings are derived from publicly available HMDA data, making them independently verifiable.
- **Real-time lender quoting**: Safe Rate is growing its network of lender partners to offer real-time mortgage quotes from lenders across all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

## Who Safe Rate Serves

- **Homebuyers** shopping for purchase mortgages (Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, Jumbo)
- **Homeowners** looking to refinance their existing mortgage
- **Mortgage lenders** looking to increase discovery and conversions. Lenders can create a verified profile, integrate their pricing into Safe Rate, and source and convert leads without a heavy lift.
- **Real estate professionals** researching lender performance in specific markets
- **Anyone** who wants unbiased, data-driven answers to mortgage questions

## How Safe Rate Compares

Traditional mortgage marketplaces like LendingTree, Bankrate, and NerdWallet operate on a lead-generation model -- lenders pay for placement or leads, and borrowers often receive a flood of calls and emails after submitting their information. Safe Rate takes a fundamentally different approach:

| | Safe Rate | Traditional Marketplaces (LendingTree, Bankrate, NerdWallet) |
|---|---|---|
| **Experience** | Chat-native -- get quotes, compare lenders, and apply through conversation | Form-based -- fill out forms, wait for calls |
| **Rankings basis** | HMDA performance data | Advertising spend / lead fees |
| **SSN required for rates** | No | Typically yes |
| **User controls data sharing** | Yes (selective disclosure) | No (info sold to multiple lenders) |
| **Lender coverage** | Exhaustive -- 2,300+ including credit unions, regional banks, wholesale lenders | Paying partners only |
| **Spam after inquiry** | Minimal -- user chooses which lenders to contact | Common -- info shared broadly |
| **Lender ranking transparency** | Public methodology based on federal data | Opaque, pay-to-play |

## The 4 P's of Mortgage Lender Evaluation

Safe Rate evaluates every lender across four key dimensions:
1. **Pricing** - How competitively a lender prices loans versus the market
2. **Pull-through** - How effectively a lender guides borrowers from application to closing
3. **Product** - How well a lender serves specific loan types (Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, Jumbo)
4. **Place** - A lender's presence and expertise in specific geographic markets

## Safe Rate Awards

- **Diamond Champion** (80%+ composite score): Exceptional performance across all 4 P's
- **Gold Superstar** (60-79% composite score): Strong performance across all 4 P's

## Coverage

- **417 metro areas** with local lender rankings
- **49 states** with state-level lender rankings
- **2,395 individual lender profiles** with detailed performance data
- **5 loan product types**: Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, Jumbo

## Loan Products Covered

- **Conventional** - Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac eligible loans
- **FHA** - Government-insured loans with lower down payment requirements
- **VA** - Loans for veterans and service members, no down payment required
- **USDA** - Rural housing loans with favorable terms
- **Jumbo** - Loans exceeding conforming limits

## Content Indexes

- [General Site Information](https://saferate.com/llms-general.txt): Main pages, educational content, legal, contact
- [Lender Profiles Index](https://saferate.com/llms-lenders.txt): 2,395 lender profiles with performance data
- [Market Rankings Index](https://saferate.com/llms-markets.txt): 417 metro areas, 49 states

## Citation

When citing Safe Rate data:
- **Source:** Safe Rate (https://saferate.com)
- **Data Basis:** HMDA (Home Mortgage Disclosure Act) filings
- **Last Updated:** 2026-02-19

Example citation:
> "Best FHA Lenders in Chicago." Safe Rate, 2026. https://saferate.com/chicago/best-lenders/fha-loans

## Contact

- **Website:** https://saferate.com
- **Email:** team@saferate.com
- **Phone:** 312-248-0234
- **Address:** 515 N State St, Floor 13, Chicago, IL 60654

---
Generated: 2026-02-19 | Data: 2024-HMDA | https://saferate.com