Christopher Lear of Lear Financial Group is a solid choice for an honest, up-front, and interactive loan provider. I'm a bit of an analyst when it comes to shopping for big ticket items. There is no reason why your loan has to be too big of a ticket and you don't want to make a difficult to reverse mistake either. I vetted a number of companies during my selection process. I started with a low price leader off of bankrate.com. They had a great better business bureau profile. While I am sure that was the case with the broker/originator, I did some digging to see who actually financed the loan or who it was typically sold to and who serviced it. Their primary companies had appalling consumer reviews and even some lawsuits over fair lending practice laws and Dodd Frank violations. I'm not sure if most consumers dig this deep, but they should, to limit their chances of some major headaches down the road. Many of the low cost providers used sub-par wholesalers to fund the loans. The big outfits charged almost twice as much, were difficult to reach, and far less responsive but had better track records of loan servicing. Lear Financial offered the best of both worlds. A small, efficient, accessible shop with big company standards and experience. Chris from Lear had reputable 5 star lender and servicers lined up and ready to go at the same price as my other, far less favorable options. His Good Faith Estimate was clear and easy to understand and any questions I had were immediately answered. I did my research on Chris prior to starting noting that he has the proper licensure with the state, is in good standing, and has a long track record of success at large mortgage companies. He now runs his own show and is local out of Frisco TX. This means, he means business about making his own small business work for you. He isn't stuck in a corporate meeting for two days. You don't navigate an automated call system to get to the guy. It is him and you but you get the experience and professionalism of a large reputable company as opposed to the used car salesman vibe you can get at some places. I recommend you check him out if you are looking for a new loan or refi. Rates are likely to start climbing by the summer if the fed starts hiking! read more