Financing

Why we have “Referred” and not “Preferred” lenders

Preferred Lender:

You must use in order to receive closing costs and other builder incentives.

Referred Lender:

Recommended for expertise, value and customer service.

There was a time when we had a “preferred” lender that buyers were required to use in order to receive incentives such as upgrades and closing costs. This was pretty common practice in real estate but the problem is that all (or at least a fair portion) of the value of those incentives were paid back to the builder from the lender, who in turn added those costs to the buyer—sometimes in the form of fees and points, sometimes in the form of higher interest rates.

The real estate crash we all experienced in 2008–2009 forced a lot of necessary changes. Builders can no longer receive kickbacks from lenders so we’ve seen a transition where builders have a vested interest or ownership in a lending company. This allows them still to offset the cost of incentives when a buyer uses their preferred lender. There’s nothing wrong with this but what if that preferred lender doesn’t have the best program for YOU?

We pride ourselves on having some of the most knowledgeable and well trained sales professionals in the industry; but as good as they are, the lender is still the most important person in the home buying process for you. They are the ones who determine what the real cost of homeownership is for you. We no longer have a preferred lender because with interest rates and home prices rising, it is that important for you to have the freedom to go with the lender that has the best program for you.

Our list of “referred” lenders are people who have proven themselves to be knowledgeable, have great customer service and who seem to have consistently competitive rates. We do not require you to use any of them but we do strongly recommend that you speak with more than one lender and if you don’t already have one, these lenders are a great place to start.