Just had the pleasure of closing on a refinance with Derek. Derek recently purchased a home through a large homebuilder that had an exhibit in their contract that stated he could not change lenders once drywall went up in his house.

For months he was stuck with a loan at a much higher rate than what was available in the market, in addition to higher fees and costs than necessary. In addition, this builder steered him to a homeowners insurance brokerage that put him in a policy with $925K of dwelling coverage on a $525K house. His premium was $700/year higher than it needed to be.

That all changed today. We got him into a loan at a much lower rate as well as helping him find new insurance that only covers him for what he actually needs. Needless to say Derek’s monthly payment is significantly lower and he couldn’t be more excited.

A couple of lessons to learn here when dealing with a builder: always read the contract thoroughly before signing and even though you might think you can save money on the price, always engage a Realtor to help you through the purchase process so that builders are held accountable for what is in their contracts and steering issues can be caught in advance.