I've also tried Yelp and just Google but haven't found anyone that seems trust worthy.

https://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news/study-reveals-....Not sure BP will allow that link to post, if not just google " 10000 saved using a broker vs direct lender" and you can find the article.On the flip side, there are some banks and credit unions that could offer products that they do not allow to be brokered.

Plus, there's huge appreciation potential here since there's so many companies moving/developing here (Intel headquarters, Amazon, FB, Google, Nationwide, and recently Anduril).

It would likely be comparable to what you pay in the NE.Just google "Lexington County tax estimator" or whatever county you're interested in and you'll usually find a web tool from the County you can use to estimate the tax bill based on the previous year's assessments.There is also a law called the ATI tax exemption that can potentially lower than 6% rate by 25%.

If you google anything regarding mortgage rates or refinancing, you only see lending tree and rocket mortgage or some brokers that will send your information to 1000 people.

For example Intel headquarters, Google, FB, Amazon, Nationwide, Honda, (recently Anduril announced another 4k jobs to Columbus).

You can also find real estate investing groups through meetup.com, Facebook, or a Google search.

I assumed the same thing, but I just wasn't familiar with this terminology until I looked it up on Google.

The consistent population and job growth are driving real estate values along with many companies choosing to move and develop here like Intel, Amazon, Google, Meta, etc.

I did a quick google search, but didn't find it.