Mortgage lending recommendations in Houston

[Jeremy Gengenbach]

Hello BP Team,

We are planning to cash out refinance this month and I am looking for a little advice. I have a lender that I have built a trusting relationship with at Prime Lending, but one of my wife's requirements to go through with this is that we get quotes from 5 different mortgage companies...I suggested 3, we settled on 4. It seems like a lot of extra effort to me, but she agreed to the refi so I can't complain.

While I am putting the effort into this to get the best rate, are there any suggestions or tips that you have for me? Our goal is to refinance now while rates are low, and save the money to purchase our next home in the next 12 months. We should be able to pull out about $35K and our target for downpayment on our next home is $50K. 

My questions are: 

Are all lenders trustworthy?

Do different lenders charge different fees or points? Are they relatively the same amounts?

Are there any tricks or tips to look out for?

Where is the safest/most efficient place to put the money while we continue to save? (Estimated 6-12 months)?

Thank you for your inputs!

Jere'my Gengenbach