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Preferred Lenders

See what separates different types of lenders and why Koelbel chooses to work with The Federal Savings Bank.

Why We Have A Preferred Lender

Because our volume of home sales isn’t large enough to afford discounting, Koelbel doesn’t provide in-house financing for our home buyers. Instead, we extensively evaluated available financing providers to offer our homebuyers the best-in-class home mortgage provider. We offer a Preferred Lender for our homebuyers that provides both personalized service and competitive financing products and pricing.

Koelbel’s Preferred Lender is The Federal Savings Bank.

Questions? Contact Us!

Preferred Lender Criteria

When selecting our Preferred Lender Partner, we looked for the following:

1) Lenders who are large enough and have the experience and longevity to withstand volatile markets.

2) A Mortgage Company versus a financial institution — meaning that being a mortgage provider is their only line of business. Many financial institutions offer mortgages alongside other services, however, when the market becomes less favorable, their mortgage division is the first to be curtailed or even eliminated.

3) A Lender who understands the unique nuances in new home construction versus financing used homes. The amount of time it takes to build new homes requires consideration of loan locks as well as coaching for buyers throughout the months between contracting and closing.

4) A partner who values and prioritizes Koelbel homebuyers. Many mortgage providers are all about the ‘churn and burn’ volume of business. Koelbel will only work with a partner who values the relationship — with both Koelbel as well as our buyers — and will work with us to find programs that fit our unique buyers and find creative solutions when necessary.

Program Details

The laws that govern financing do not allow Builders to require their buyers use one specific lender to finance their new home purchase. We are allowed however to require our buyers to obtain a loan commitment from a specified lender; after obtaining that loan commitment, buyers can then utilize the lender of their choice.

 

Why we require our homebuyers to obtain a loan commitment from our preferred lender

 

We need to trust that the lender will perform.

There are so many lender options available today and some of them are either inexperienced or even bad actors. To protect our buyers, it’s imperative the loan is in responsible hands.

Our preferred lender understands new construction and will ensure a smooth process.

Even with lenders who are tried and true and do good work, they may not finance much in the realm of new construction. Our Preferred Lender not only knows and understands new construction but also the Koelbel way of doing things. This combination provides you with the assurance that the financing process of your new home purchase will go smoothly.

Koelbel’s Experienced Loan Officer

The Loan Officer matters as much, if not more, than the mortgage company. Kim Viner is our Loan Officer and she oversees all Koelbel loans. Kim has served as our Preferred Lender Loan Officer since 1999. While over the course of those decades, Koelbel has been forced to change Preferred Lender partners, Kim has remained a constant — helping us identify and transition to a new partner when necessary. You will not find a loan officer more committed to serving Koelbel homebuyers and delivering the absolute best customer experience than Kim Viner.

Differences Between Lenders

Direct lenders (banks and mortgage companies) are financial institutions that originate, process, and fund the loans themselves. In other words, the company handling your loan process is the one lending the money. Direct lenders include big banks, credit unions, and mortgage companies that specialize in home loans.

A Mortgage broker is a middleman that helps match you with the best mortgage lender for your needs. Brokers work with multiple wholesale mortgage companies so they can act as a single point person to help you compare multiple loan options.

The key difference between the two? Mortgage bankers directly loan you the money for a home. A mortgage broker serve as an intermediary, meaning they don’t approve your loan or directly provide the money for your mortgage — instead, they coordinate with the lender or bank on your behalf.

Pros of A Mortgage Broker

Each mortgage broker operates a little differently but, in general, here are some of the benefits you can expect if you decide to work with a mortgage broker:

Support with Paperwork

A broker can help guide you by specifying exactly what documentation you need to provide. Because they work one-on-one with you, they’re less likely to request the same document twice, which may happen with a larger mortgage banker where multiple departments or employees are involved.

Loan Variety

Brokers may have more access to a variety of loans (since they’re not working with only one bank or lender), which could ultimately give you more options.

Challenging Situations

A mortgage broker may have more options if you have a less-than-favorable circumstance (for example, other lenders won’t qualify you for a loan because of a low credit score, lack of down payment, etc.).

Pros of A Mortgage Banker

A mortgage banker also offers unique benefits, such as:

No “Middleman”

Since you’re working directly with the lender, they are more likely to be 100% familiar with their loan products and can address any issues or challenges immediately.

In-House Operations

Mortgage bankers often have an in-house operations team. In most cases, this will streamline the loan process, since there isn’t an intermediary or outside source that needs to weigh in on paperwork, decisions, etc.

Potential to Save Money

In many situations, working with a banker will save you some cash, since mortgage brokers charge a fee for their services; although, in some cases, the lender will pay this fee (this is something you’ll want to check on upfront if you consider going with a broker).

Obtain Loan Approval Faster

Compared to a broker, a mortgage banker will often close your loan more quickly (sometimes, even earlier than you anticipated), since they are working with their own loan products and their own in-house staff — and no intermediaries are involved.

Benefits of Working With A Mortgage Company

Mortgage companies offer the best of both worlds. They have the security and financial backing of a mortgage banker. However, they operate independently, so they also have a wide variety of loan programs that typical banks don’t offer.

Koelbel homebuyers will benefit from The Federal Savings Bank offerings that include:

  • In-house operations team (which streamlines communication and often creates a speedier loan process)
  • Loan programs for challenging situations
  • Strong history
  • Innovative technology that makes the mortgage process quicker and more transparent, and is something that no other lender offers

So, although they are technically a mortgage banker, The Federal Savings Bank offers many of the beneficial characteristics of both mortgage bankers and brokers.

Contact Kim Viner

Questions for our Loan Officer? Reach out to her with questions through the channels below.

Email: kviner@thefederalsavingsbank.com
Phone: 970.692.8004
Text: 970.980.9107

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