COLUMBUS, GA · The Best of The Best
DIGITAL EDITION · 2026
Best of Columbus
COLUMBUS, GA
HomeHome & GardenHome Mortgage

Home Mortgage

Open Mortgage

7830 Veterans Pkwy Bldg B, Columbus, GA 31909, USA(706) 576-2451billclayton.comView on Google Maps →
8.5/10 overall scoreExcellent
5.0

§ A — AWARDS · 2026 EDITION

Subcategory Winner

— BEST OF COLUMBUS · 2026 —honorable mention#3Home MortgageHOME & GARDEN · SUBCATEGORY↓ Download SVG

What Customers Say

top reviews · via Google

★★★★★4 months ago

If professionalism had a mascot, it would be Drew Lingo in a perfectly pressed suit holding a pre-approval letter. From start to finish, Drew was knowledgeable, responsive, and so on top of things that I’m fairly certain he knows my interest rate better than I know my own birt…

Allie Raines

★★★★★6 months ago

Wow and impressed is how I would start this review. First off ive done a few closings Im from Florida and this experience with Drew Lingo and his team was phenomenal. Very professional very knowledgeable super swift. That being said they told me we can close in 30 days. I laug…

Louis Machado

★★★★★4 months ago

Drew at North Star Lending made the home buying process incredibly smooth and stress-free. He’s extremely knowledgeable and always took the time to explain everything clearly. Communication was top-notch—he kept me informed every step of the way. I truly appreciated his profes…

Samantha McQueen

Business at a Glance

How we scored this →

Overall Score

Excellent

8.5/10

Category Rank

of 544 in Home & Garden · Top 25%

#65

Subcategory Rank

of 20 in Home Mortgage · Top 25%

#3

Overall Rank

of 2464 in Columbus · Top 25%

#391

Online Presence

Good

8.0/10

Website Rating

Needs Work · tap for breakdown

2/10
Mobile Score
40/100
Desktop Score
59/100
Page Load (LCP)
6000ms

Notes

poor mobile score 40; poor desktop score 59; very slow LCP 7456ms

↗ Upside

  • Fixing your website to a 10/10 would lift you from #3 to #1 in Home Mortgage.

Want a free walkthrough of exactly what to fix? We'll send a personalized audit — no obligation.

Rank in Home Mortgage

#3of 20Top 25%
1
8.5
NorthStar Mortgage Advisors
2
8.5
Benchmark Mortgage
3
8.5
Open Mortgage
4
8.1
Silverton Mortgage
5
7.8
John Tuggle - Fairway Mortgage
6
7.8
John Tuggle, Senior Loan Officer, Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation
7
7.5
Kinetic Credit Union
8
7.2
American Pacific Mortgage
Category average: 6.9/10

Estimated Upside

benchmarks · industry sources

Speed up site load (7.5s → under 2.5s)

Pages loading in 1s have 5× higher conversion than pages loading in 5s. 53% of mobile users abandon sites that take longer than 3 seconds. Google CrUX

+60

Lift mobile performance (40/100 → 90+)

60% of local searches happen on mobile. A poor mobile score means slow loading, high bounce, and lost customers before they ever see you. Think with Google

Complete your Google Business Profile

Profiles with full descriptions, hours, services, and Q&A get up to 7× more clicks than partial ones. Google Business research

Estimates are industry benchmarks, not guarantees. Actual results depend on execution, competition, and your specific market.

Issues Found

  • Mobile performance is poor (40/100)
  • Desktop speed needs improvement (59/100)
  • Slow page load — customers leave after 3 seconds

Ready to fix this?

Get a free, personalized plan for Open Mortgage.

We'll walk you through every fix above — no obligation, no sales pitch.

Call (706) 610-0102