Yeah, smaller lenders can be a lifesaver if your situation's a bit unusual. When we refinanced, our income was kinda irregular, and the big banks just didn't wanna deal with it. Ended up going local—rate was slightly higher, but honestly, the ease of communication and flexibility made it totally worth it. Just make sure you ask around and compare a few options...sometimes even credit unions can surprise you with decent rates and less hassle.
Good points on the credit unions—I found they're often more flexible than you'd expect. One thing I'd be careful about though is prepayment penalties...smaller lenders sometimes sneak those in. Learned that the hard way when I tried paying off a loan early and got hit with fees I didn't anticipate. Did your local lender have anything like that, or were they pretty upfront about it?
"Learned that the hard way when I tried paying off a loan early and got hit with fees I didn't anticipate."
Yeah, been there myself. My local lender was pretty transparent overall, but I still double-checked everything. Glad I did—turns out they had a sliding scale penalty if you paid off within the first two years. Wasn't huge, but enough to make me pause and reconsider timing. Always worth reading the fine print twice...
My local lender was pretty transparent overall, but I still double-checked everything.
Haha, yeah, lenders love sneaking in those "gotcha" moments. I remember thinking I was being super responsible paying off early, then BAM—early payoff penalty. Felt like getting charged extra for finishing dinner too fast...
That dinner analogy hits home, haha. Reminds me of a client who thought they had a great adjustable-rate deal—until the rate jumped dramatically after a year. It was like ordering the lunch special, then realizing the "special" price only applied for the first few bites. Makes me wonder, though...has anyone here had a loan that seemed questionable at first but actually turned out to be a good deal long-term? Curious if those exist.
