How to Choose a Lender: Questions to Ask Before You Commit

Picking a lender deserves the same level of scrutiny as picking a realtor. Here are the questions I tell every buyer to ask when they're interviewing a lender — before the lender starts asking anything of you.

The vetting questions to ask first

• What type of loan products do you primarily focus on? Some lenders specialize in conventional loans, others do more FHA/VA volume, others focus on jumbo or specialty products. You want a lender whose specialty actually matches what you need.
• How many loans do you close a month? This tells you about their volume and, indirectly, their experience and efficiency.
• Do you offer down payment assistance programs? Not every lender does, and this can make a real difference depending on your situation.
• What are your origination fees, and where does your compensation actually come from? Understanding how a lender gets paid helps you understand their incentives.
• What kind of borrowers do you most enjoy working with? This gives you a sense of whether their typical client looks like you, or whether you'd be an unusual case for them.
• Are you a direct bank with only one set of funds to offer, or are you a broker with backup options if underwriting gets complicated? This one matters more than people realize. A broker with multiple lending relationships can often pivot if your file hits a snag — a single-source lender may not have that flexibility.

These questions are about vetting the lender as a professional, before you even get into the questions where they'll be informing you — things like closing costs, what the process looks like, and what you qualify for.

Tell lenders upfront that you're shopping around

I always recommend being straightforward with lenders from the start: tell them directly that you're shopping around, and share what your goals actually are. People appreciate the honesty, and any lender worth working with already assumes you're comparing options. A good lender embraces that — they should want to earn your business, not just assume they have it.

Shopping around won't hurt your credit the way people think

A lot of buyers worry that getting multiple lenders to check their credit will tank their score. In reality, credit scoring models specifically account for mortgage rate shopping — multiple mortgage inquiries made within a short window (typically somewhere between 14 and 45 days, depending on the scoring model) are treated as a single inquiry, not as separate hits. So shop the rate. It's built into how credit scoring actually works.

Can you shop around once you're under contract?

Yes, absolutely — and you should. But get it done early. The sooner you lock in the right lender, the less risk you run of a financing delay putting your contract at risk down the line.

If you're getting ready to buy and want help thinking through which lender actually fits your situation, reach out and let's talk through it together.