Totally agree that direct communication can save a ton of time. I’ve noticed that when folks start looping in too many people, things get bogged down ...

Totally agree, those “processing” fees are often just smoke and mirrors. I’ve had lenders try to tack on a “courier fee” for documents they emailed......

I've actually renegotiated loan terms mid-way through a project before. My lender was initially pretty rigid, but once I laid out clear reasons (unexp...

From my experience, it's usually a bit of both: - Internal guidelines are pretty rigid, especially post-2008. Lenders have tightened up their criteri...

Good tip on comps—saved me more than once. I'd also add: - Double-check the assessor's math (seriously, mistakes happen...) - Document any property q...

Exactly. A few things I've learned from experience: - Always request a detailed breakdown of your property's assessment—don't just accept the summary...

Good points here—appraisals definitely have a weirdly subjective element. I've seen properties I've developed swing wildly in value depending on who's...

- Good point about trusting the math—numbers rarely lie. I've seen plenty of cases where people hesitate because of upfront costs, but once they crunc...

Yep, totally normal—unfortunately. A few reasons I've noticed from experience: - Different departments handling docs separately (and not always commu...

Good points here, especially about personal situation being key. A couple things I'd add from experience: - Local market trends matter a lot—some are...

- Good points, especially about the psychological relief factor. - But how do you weigh the potential savings of waiting against the risk of rates cli...