Why not use the builder's lender?

Let’s be honest… who doesn’t love one-stop shopping? 

If you can get everything you need in one place, then do it, right? 

As long as it doesn’t come back to bite you… 

If you’re shopping at a big box store and need a few other things, you might sacrifice a little quality on your plants or pay a few bucks more for paper towels if it saves you a trip to another store. 

But if you’re buying a home from a builder, is it worth looking around for your mortgage or should you just hit the “easy” button and work with their lender? 

Just the Facts 

Our advice is pretty simple. Your mortgage is probably the largest financing transaction you’ll ever make. Whatever time and effort you put into doing your research and shopping around will come back to you many times over in the form of saving money. 

In many cases, tens of thousands of dollars. 

Here are 3 things we’ve learned about builders and mortgage financing you should know: 

#1 - The lender and the sales agent work for the builder/developer. In some cases, they’re even affiliated financially.  

Stop and let that sink in for a minute. Then ask yourself, does the lender really have your best interests in mind when handling the transaction? 

This relationship means the builder is providing incentives if you use their lender, not because they are nice, but because they are making additional money off of you for their investors.  Their number one goal is to move inventory at all costs.  

#2 - Builder-preferred lenders don’t usually offer the best terms 

Don’t believe me? Let them give you a quote and then call us. We’ll prove it. 

Also, be careful to evaluate any incentives offered by the builder to use their team. Again, call us and we’ll help you compare apples to apples when it comes to your mortgage rate and fees, so you can weigh them against the incentive offer.

After all, do you really want an upgraded sink for $450 when you could save thousands of dollars with a better mortgage? 

#3 - You Don’t Have to Work with The Builder’s Lender 

When the lender is on site with the builder and sales agent, it certainly feels like you have to work with all three. 

As a borrower, you shouldn’t feel this way. 

You have every right to shop around and choose the lender you’re comfortable with. And don’t worry, the builder will still sell you the house even if you work with us!