People tend to shop with their eyes, so give them something incredible to look at!

The agent has little control - life events, inspection issues, appraisal problems, ego.I can for sure see this in the investment real estate space or flipper space.. when I had my shops..

Trying to get an institution to reply and comment in a timely fashion is comical.

If so, Id recommend shopping with at least 3 lenders/brokers with at least one of them being a broker (brokers typically have better rates).

We do have a couple engineers in our program, but the majority come from all walks of life – home builders, software engineers, dentists, fix n flippers, home wholesalers, real estate agents, shop owners… to name a few.

The property listing function is really strong, a one stop shop. 

Hi Melvin,Origination charges = 0 [Covered completely with lender credits]Services you cannot shop for = 2725 [This is the VA funding Fee]Services you can shop for AKA title work = 1723Total Loan Costs A+B+C = 4448Taxes and government fees = 3279 & G Prepaids and initial Escrow at closing = 10007Total cost including escrow = 14455

Any advice for shopping for lenders is much appreciated!

I've spent a lot of time dining and shopping there. 

I also have experience with retail, both my wife and I started and used to run a clothing shop while we both were busy (me with my company and she with a corporate job), for around 5 years before we decided to sell it.