A bank checks whether it wants your loan. We check whether your file is ready for any lender.
"I bank with Chase — shouldn't I just get my mortgage there?"
Sometimes, yes. Big banks can offer relationship discounts, closing-cost grants, and portfolio products they keep on their own balance sheet rather than selling.
But a bank evaluates your file against its own appetite and overlays, which can be stricter than the agency guideline underneath.
ReadinessIQ scores you against the published guideline first, so you know whether a decline is the rule — or just that bank's policy.
| Capability | ReadinessIQ | Chase Home Lending |
|---|---|---|
| Time to a real answer | ~60 seconds | days (branch or phone) |
| Credit pull required | No | yes (hard pull to apply) |
| Scores FHA / VA / USDA / Conventional separately | Yes | Partial |
| Explains the guideline behind every answer | Yes | Partial |
| Tells you the exact fixes to qualify | Yes | Partial |
| Personalized next-step roadmap | Yes | Partial |
| May result in sales follow-up | No | relationship follow-up |
| Shareable Passport for lenders & agents | Yes | No |
| Works if you're self-employed / 1099 | Yes | Partial |
| Free | Yes | Yes |
Comparison based on publicly available product information and typical U.S. mortgage workflows as of July 2026. Features and processes may change over time.
The tool you should trust depends on the question you're actually asking.
"Does this loan fit our credit box?"
"How do I become the strongest buyer possible?"
Both tools do something valuable. They just answer different questions at different stages of the journey.
Relationship pricing and homebuyer grant programs are real money, and portfolio jumbo lending can approve files the agencies won't.
Built for the stage before an application — where most buyers have the most questions and the fewest tools.
Readiness is its own stage — and it belongs at the start.
An overlay is a requirement a lender adds on top of the agency guideline — for example requiring a 640 score when FHA policy allows 580 with a 3.5% down payment. Overlays are why the same borrower can be declined at one lender and approved at another.
It can be, but compare the full loan estimate. A rate discount tied to deposit balances is only a savings if the origination charges and mortgage insurance structure are also competitive.
No. ReadinessIQ does not pull credit — no soft inquiry, no hard inquiry. Your score is calculated against published underwriting rules using the information you provide.
No. A readiness score measures how strong your file is against guidelines. A formal approval comes only from a licensed lender after documents are verified and credit is pulled.
Know where you stand before filling out another application.
Understand your options before your phone starts ringing.
Improve your readiness before a lender ever reviews your file.