The Cheaper Offer and What It Actually Tells You

Another lender said they can do your loan for less. Blaine Rolstad at the Rolstad Team at Canopy Mortgage has a straightforward response to that. They probably can. You can get cheaper tires. You can get cheaper brakes. You can absolutely get a cheaper tattoo. But cheaper does not always mean you are getting the same thing.

What Comparing Loan Offers Actually Requires

Before any decision is made based on a number that looks better the comparison needs to happen properly. Rate. Fees. Loan terms. Actual cost over the relevant time horizon. Two mortgage offers that appear different based on the interest rate alone may produce nearly identical outcomes when the full picture is examined. Two offers that appear similar based on monthly payment may differ substantially when fees, points, and total cost are laid out side by side.

Blaine will run that comparison for you. And here is the part that is less common than it should be. If the other deal really is better after a genuine apples-to-apples comparison he will tell you. The commitment is to honesty even when honesty means saying the better deal is not his.

What the Numbers Cannot Show You

There is a dimension of this decision that no rate sheet or loan estimate can capture. What happens when something goes wrong?

Who answers the phone on a Saturday afternoon when you are under contract and something unexpected surfaced in the inspection and you need an answer right now? Who picks up after hours when the appraisal came in and you need to understand your options before the response deadline? Who answers on a holiday when your closing is Monday and a document question just came up?

Who is still there six months or six years after your loan closes when you have a question about your mortgage, your escrow account, or whether a refinance offer that showed up in the mail is actually worth considering?

These questions do not have answers in a loan estimate. They have answers in a relationship built before and after the transaction closes.

The Refinance Mail Situation You Need to Know About

When rates begin to improve the volume of refinance solicitations borrowers receive increases significantly. Mailers. Calls. Texts. Emails. Some of them look official. Some of them will reference your current loan details in ways that make them appear to come from your existing lender or servicer.

Before assuming any of those offers came from the Rolstad Team because they do not send these solicitations and before assuming any of them represent a genuinely good deal bring them to Blaine first. He will look at the offer with you, explain what it actually is, and give an honest assessment of whether the numbers make sense for your situation. No pressure. No obligation.

That is the kind of ongoing relationship that a local lender with a genuine stake in your long-term outcome provides and that a national online lender optimized for volume cannot replicate.

The Bottom Line

The lowest number does not always tell the whole story. Compare your options. Ask questions. Look at the full picture. And if you want a second set of eyes on a competing offer or a refinance solicitation before making any decision give Blaine Rolstad a call.

509-869-4359. The Rolstad Team at Canopy Mortgage.

Sources

ConsumerFinancialProtectionBureau.gov
FannieMae.com
MortgageNewsDaily.com
Investopedia.com
BankRate.com