The big three will snatch it up after sure, but the right lender absolutely does matter a whole lot in terms of the rate and relationship and you are asking the right question. We went to three lenders, one of them had a rate much lower than the others, and also offered much lower terms on mortgage insurance. They also were local, knew our realtor and their way around things. We were ready to close in no-time.

The other people we went to were rude, gave much worse rates (think 10% higher), and also accidentally emailed sensitive documents to randos they used to work with (these people were with FirstHome, which I see is getting a lot of positive reviews below...so the individual really does matter).

Anyway, my wife and I can recommend this guy: https://www.primeres.com/chadpiunti