[roland35]

I used better for my first refinance, super easy to work with! I did have to use a different lender for a second refi since there seems to be a 6-month cooldown period (rates kept going down...)

My only recommendation for buyers is to do some cross-shopping, since it is pretty easy to compare different loan options. Lenderfi is good alternative. I have heard most lenders can generally match each other. Your credit will only take 1 hit when shopping for different mortgage lenders, at least for a certain time window.

You can shop around for various services (helpfully listed on the loan estimate as You can shop for..), but the most you can save is a few hundred $ there.

Lastly, you can ask to have no escrow for insurance and property tax! As long as you have discipline to pay the tax bill and home insurance once a year this makes it a lot easier, especially when you sell or refinance, since you don't have to wait weeks for the escrow to pay you back.