Choose your lender wisely.

I have been a Wells Fargo customer for over 25 years. I have checking and saving accounts there, do online banking with them, get car loans there. I have even visited their Clydesdale draft horses at Sacramento (or was it San Diego) Fair. I am as loyal customer as they can get. 
But when it was time for me to purchase a home, I went with a local lender. I do not recommend them or Bank of America or any of the big banks for a home loan. I have been in many many transactions representing both, buyers and sellers. Neither I nor any other experienced real estate agent recommends working with them. They just dont do a good job and almost never close on time. You as a buyer might buy a handful of homes in your lifetime. We are involved in tens of transactions every year. Trust us when we say go with our preferred lender. Maybe your last home purchase with them went smooth. The same with your friend's home purchase who is swearing that so & so with such & such lender is awesome. But your next purchase can be the transaction from hell. I know because I am dealing with one right now. My buyer insisted on using BofA on the recommendation of a friend. We are late in closing and sellers are furious. They should be. They were counting on closing on time. They got things to do and places to be. And now they cant. Everyone involved in the transaction has done their jobs in a timely manner: buyers, sellers, agents involved and escrow. Except: the lender. Nothing new for us agents.That's the reason we recommend to our buyers to use our preferred lenders. Mine is Karen Dunn with Big Valley Mortgage. If you are thinking of buying a house, please listen to my advice: it comes from experience. Trust me: Receiving a "Demand to Close Escrow" form from the seller is not fun. Only if my buyer had listened to me.