5 Reasons to Choose a Local Lender

Buying a home can be a stressful process, whether it’s your first or your tenth home purchase. You may have a lot of questions. If you aren’t familiar with the lender you’re working with, it could make the process more challenging. Going with a local lender is a wise choice as it will ease your mind knowing that your money is in trusted hands. Method Mortgage can help you every step of the way and offer a more personalized experience. 

5 Reasons to Choose a Local Lender

1. Personalized Service & Relationships
It’s a lot easier to develop a more personal relationship with a local lender. They tend to be more responsive, even on weekends or after hours, and you can work with them face-to-face. In-person interactions and a one-on-one connection help to decrease uncertainty and anxiety around the loan approval process. 

When you work with a local lender, there are no customer service lines. Instead, you speak directly with a local expert in a timely manner, rather than dealing with online services that aren’t personalized to fit your needs. You can also ask questions in person if needed.

Building an ongoing, personal relationship with a local lender also gives you a sense of security. If you ever need financial advice in the future, your local lender is someone you can trust to help you make tough financial decisions.

2. Knowledge of the Local Market

Another benefit of working with a local mortgage lender is their extensive knowledge of the area. We know the local market better than anyone else, so we have a better understanding of the local economy and property values. A local lender uses the resources around them like appraisers and real estate agents that understand the true value of your home.

A local, trusted lender could also mean the difference between landing your dream home or not. Sellers with several offers on the table may not consider an offer from a large banking company or an online lender based on previous bad experiences. Because local lenders have a good reputation and a better sense of lending risks, sellers and real estate agents are more likely to trust them. 

Because local lenders are experts in the region, they know first-hand that every customer circumstance is unique. Our loan officers can help you choose the right type of loan for your specific situation and make sure to keep you updated every step of the way.

3. Reputation & Realtor Relationships
Local mortgage lenders build more solid connections with other people in the area. Because they are better-known, they have a great reputation and typically hold a track record of success. We also have more dedication to the region we live in than larger companies do and can close every loan as efficiently and smoothly as possible.

A solid reputation means that local lenders can build connections with Realtors in the area. Method Mortgage loan officers are on a first-name basis with many of the real estate agents in Birmingham. This guarantees that closing will occur on time. Local lenders are incentivized to provide excellent service to all their customers because you could be a referral source for future business.

Also, with everyone on your team – the Realtor, the lender, you– working in proximity, a closing can happen quickly and without hassle. The final stage of home buying is sometimes the most stressful. Having a unified team that is familiar and comfortable with each other can make the process quick and painless.

4. Unique Loan Products and Services
Local lenders have a better understanding of property values and the local economy. When you work with Method Mortgage, you’re paired with a licensed loan officer and team of professionals who are experts in your region. Our loan officers help you choose the right type of loan for your circumstance, and we keep you updated along the way. We have in-house tools and resources to expedite a loan, ensuring everything is taken care of in a timely manner.

Local lenders are where you’ll find the specialized loans the big lenders won’t bother with. Maybe you want an adjustable-rate mortgage with a 15-year lock? Or you want to buy a vacation property that lacks a furnace? Or you want to buy or refinance a home for less than $100,000, an amount too small to be of interest most lenders? Or you want a jumbo loan?

Local lenders are have more flexibility. Big banks need process large numbers of loan applications. To do that, they have rigid guidelines about who they will and won’t lend to. Big banks are more about volume than customer service.

5. Reliable, Responsive & Flexible
Local lenders offer more flexibility by seeking out smaller niches of people that bigger banks don’t even bother with. They can still work effectively with many borrowers who need extra support or guidance during the loan process. Local lenders are better at closing loans on a timely basis. If the closing of a loan has to be extended by a week, local lenders are more flexible than big banks who have corporate mandates to crank out the volume. With a local lenders, you are much closer to the decision makers with the authority to approve your mortgage. You aren’t dealing with a corporate bureaucracy.

A local mortgage lender can approve certain mortgages for qualified borrowers that bigger banks won’t. This is because big lenders approve loans by processing large numbers of applications with very rigid guidelines, so often, many qualified borrowers that fall just outside these rules are denied. Method Mortgage loan officers are more likely to get personally involved in qualifying you for a mortgage, as opposed to big banks. Often, it’s a matter of the getting to know you. Perhaps you are self-employed with irregular income. Or you have poor credit due to a financial crisis, but have good income and low debt. Method Mortgage loan officers are better suited to be responsible and flexible for borrowers like these.

As your trusted mortgage lender in Birmingham, Method Mortgage can help to make the loan process easy for you. Get started with our pre-approval application today and let us lead you to The Smartest Way Home.