Shopping for a loan is hard. Comparing loan terms and offers can be harder. When I recommend a lender, there is an incredible amount of conveyed trust in that recommendation.

A client asked me the other day –

“How do I know who has the best terms?”

So naturally I asked a lender I trust for his answer.

Matt Hodges with Presidential Mortgage wrote:

Well, there’s the following:

1.Rate & points & fees & lock in time frames
2.Meeting commitment/close dates
3.Breadth of products
4.Uniqueness of products – i.e. closing prior to starting your job, gift for 100% of down payment, 100% LTV deals, etc.

We all should be .125% in rate apart on any given day, but you might see outliers.  For example, I had a rate shopper asking for a conventional 20 year loan and I was able to quote 3.875%, and no one else was better than 4% and some were higher than that.  There are a few exceptions to that pricing point, but in general it’s the value a loan officer brings to the picture to get to the finish line with the least amount of upset and on time.

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I’d add to Matt’s last sentence with this: there is tremendous value in a lender (or any professional for that matter) who will:

– Foresee and anticipate problems
– Acknowledge problems
– Communicate problems
– If it’s their mistake, own the mistake and …
– Fix the problems

Also. I like local lenders; as a buyer’s agent, they make me immensely more comfortable. As a listing agent, I value a local lender (whom I know to be good) tremendously – and convey that to my clients.