Randy, you should get qualified and use a lender YOU feel will best serve you. It doesn’t matter where they are located to deliver service. Today, I closed a home here in Nashville and the lender was in Minnesota. Smooth as silk…the buyer had a long relationship with them. If you do not have a vested interest/relationship in a lender, it makes sense to get qualified where you will get the best rate match with the best service and communications.
What you need to be aware of, is that there are three major types of lenders out there. (1) Mortgage companies affiliated with a joint venture (JV), meaning they do business primarily with a certain real estate agency with that agency receiving a benefit which must be disclosed. These JVs typically charge a little higher rate to cover the profit to the agency. (2) A mortgage broker will be able to shop a rate across many lenders, however they can’t always control their underwriting and processes as smoothly as they would like. (3) Bank direct lenders are a financial institution. The joys are you will likely not have your mortgage sold and you are working with the one entity. The question to ask your rep here is, “Where does your underwriting take place?” If they have an underwriter in close proximity, bingo. The process can move a lot more smoothly.
As a final note, while we have very few short sales and foreclosures in the Nashville area, if you find something in one of those categories, be aware that some banks give preference to buyers (in multiple offers) who agree to get their loan through their bank (who owns the foreclosure or will have the short note.) While I DO NOT like this practice, I have seen it happen twice in the past year.
