We went through something similar too. At first, I was tempted to just stick with the builder's lender because, honestly, I was exhausted from all the building decisions. But my gut kept nudging me to look around. Glad I listened—it was definitely worth the extra hassle for us. Either way, congrats on making it through the build...now comes the fun part of making it yours.
I agree, shopping around is usually beneficial. When we finished our build, I initially leaned toward the builder's lender too—mostly for convenience—but after comparing rates and terms elsewhere, the difference was substantial enough to justify the extra effort. One thing I'd add: pay close attention to closing costs and fees, not just interest rates. Those can vary significantly between lenders and really impact your bottom line over time. Congrats on finishing your build...now the real work begins with landscaping and decorating!
Definitely agree on the closing costs—those can sneak up fast. Another thing I've noticed is builder lenders sometimes offer incentives like appliance upgrades or credits. Worth factoring those perks into your comparison too, since they might offset a slightly higher rate.
"Worth factoring those perks into your comparison too, since they might offset a slightly higher rate."
Good point about the incentives, but have you looked closely at the fine print on those appliance upgrades or credits? In my experience, sometimes the builder's lender inflates the base costs just enough that those perks aren't quite as sweet as they seem at first glance. Have you run the actual numbers to see how much you'd really save long-term? Could be worth getting a few outside quotes just to be sure you're coming out ahead...
Yeah, those perks always sound great at first, but I've seen them turn into smoke and mirrors once you crunch the numbers. When we built our place, the builder's lender threw in a fancy appliance package, but after shopping around, we realized their rates were padded enough to cover those "freebies." Ended up going with an outside lender and saved enough to buy even nicer appliances ourselves...just sayin'. Worth double-checking before you commit.
