New construction!! Quick question

[Kevin Dreher]

Is it go to have your buyer go with a builders preferred lender? What are some questions I should ask to protect my buyer?

[Irene Nash]

Hey there, it may be helpful to also have your client be pre-approved and get a loan estimate with one or two other lenders not affiliated with the builder, preferably lenders/mortgage brokers who you know will be reasonable, so that you can compare those estimates with what's offered by the builder's preferred lender. 

I don't do a ton of new construction so I think others on here will have more advice, but essentially I think sometimes it can work out for your client if the lender is able to offer incentives because they're getting a good volume of business by being the preferred lender for a plat or new construction condo building. 

There may also be situations, i.e. with a condo building that's not finished enough to have a high owner occupancy rate, in which the builder's lender is up to speed and has made allowances for that, whereas a typical lender would want the building to conform to established guidelines already. 

If the builder's lender is offering a decent deal then going with them can help things move more smoothly, but definitely not worth it if the buyer has to take a significantly worse loan scenario. Hopefully others who do more new construction deals will chime in on here as well. Good luck!