re: I'm struggling to figure out if refinancing makes sense for my situation.

quote:

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Is it usually the case that smaller, more local lenders will have better rates than big(ger) banks?

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From doing my own shopping earlier in the summer, it seems that national, regional, or multi-state online mortgage companies/brokers have better rates than the traditional big banks, like Chase, Wells Fargo, etc. I basically just checked rates on various sites daily until I got one I liked.