mortgage hunting online—better luck with comparison sites or direct lenders?

Went through something similar myself last year. Comparison sites were great at first glance, but yeah, details got fuzzy once I dug deeper. Ended up directly contacting a local lender who took the time to walk me through stuff I hadn't even thought about—like prepayment penalties and closing timelines. Felt way more confident after that conversation. Honestly, direct contact saved me from some potential headaches down the road...