• Accessibility - You can meet with a local lender face-to-face. You can still e-mail, fax or call her, but when you need to, you can still go stand in her office. You become more than just a transaction when you meet lenders face-to-face.  
  
  
• Accountability - Online lenders will probably never talk to you or to your agent again after the loan settles. Their business comes from people who are simply shopping for the lowest rate. Online lenders recognize that their customers have very little loyalty to them and therefore they have little or no loyalty in return. There is a huge difference between getting business from advertising and getting business from referrals. Local lenders rely a lot on referrals, so they have an interest in giving thorough, personal service.
  
  
• Plausibility - You want the strongest possible position when you make an offer on a property, especially in today's market where sellers are often evaluating other offers along with yours. Each aspect of your offer becomes an opportunity to set yourself apart from the other offers. Having a local lender can make the difference between your offer being accepted over the others. Real estate agents know from experience that when there is a delay in settlement due to financing, they are helpless when dealing with online lenders -- they have no reason to care about making us happy because they know they'll likely never deal with us again. If your transaction doesn't settle, they have plenty more to take its place. It's a numbers game and you can get caught in the middle.

So, you may ask, “Do I have to use someone you recommend?” Absolutely not. You may use any lender you wish.

For the reasons listed above, I would hope you would use a lender that has been given a good recommendation by someone you know and respect. You should understand that my recommendations are simply a recognition of lenders who have done a good job in the past. No one, including me, can guarantee future performance.

Am I against all online lenders? No. I have had great experiences with those backed by large, reputable companies, especially those who also have a brick-and-mortar presence somewhere. The best advice for dealing with any lender: beware of deals that are WAY better than those offered by anyone else. As the saying goes: “If it sounds too good to be true, if probably is!”