The Advantage of Using a Local Lender

Home Blog The Advantage of Using a Local Lender

Posted On: December 22, 2022 by Peoples Bank of Kankakee County in: Home Local Mortgages

When you work with a local mortgage lender, you work face-to-face with an expert. Here are five reasons to consider local when you are ready to make your homeownership dreams come true:

Local lenders provide the most personalized experience possible. Rather than dealing with corporate bureaucracy, you’re working with a small team that responds to your needs quickly and efficiently. They listen first, speak plainly, and offer the best loan solution for your homeownership goals. And that relationship doesn’t end when your loan closes. Local lenders stick around and are available for the life of your loan. 5 years down the road if you have a question about your escrow for example, your local lender is a phone call or branch visit away. Local lenders are always available.
Local lenders build long term relationships. Local lenders want to provide excellent customer service because they understand their reputation is at stake. They live and work in the same community as you and they understand you will tell your friends about your experience-good or bad. They want your glowing referrals for future business.
Local lenders close loans faster. Did you know that the average closing time for a big bank is 60 days, while the average closing time for a local bank is less than 30 days? Wow! That’s a big difference. Local lenders are more flexible and willing to roll up their sleeves to get the job done. They want your loan approved and closed on time.
Local lenders offer specialized products. If you want to buy something different or special, you go someplace small. The same holds true for your loan. Local mortgage lenders offer specialized loans big lenders may not want to bother with. FHA, VA, USDA, Conventional Mortgage Loans, Home Equity Loans, Home Equity Lines of Credit…they are all offered by your local mortgage lenders.
Local lenders understand the local market and have beneficial relationships with realtors. When several home purchase offers are on the table, a local lender at times can help the buyer land the house because sellers and realtors want timely, smooth closings. Local lenders offer just that. Sellers and realtors understand the local lender advantage and now you do too.

There are only two local names you need to know for a home loan with a happy closing: Mimi Barnes (NMLS 3445097) located at Peoples Bank in Bourbonnais, and Darby Sweeney (NMLS #767646) located at Peoples Bank in Kankakee. Mimi and Darby give you the personalized service, local expertise, and responsive care you deserve for the life of your loan. Peoples Bank is always right around the corner and ready to serve you.

5-Star Zillow Review from jbushey1231 from Manteno:

“Mimi was fast, professional, very knowledgeable, and detailed. We are very pleased with the services she provided and recommend her to anyone needing a loan.”

5-Star Zillow Review from mraymond2515 from Bourbonnais:

"Darby was excellent to work with. She responded to questions quickly and kept the process on track to meet a short closing timeframe. Highly recommend."

An overdraft occurs when you do not have enough money in your account to cover a transaction, but we pay it anyway. We can cover your overdrafts in two different ways:

We have standard overdraft practices that are available after your account has been open for 30 days and as long as you maintain your account in good standing.
We also offer an overdraft protection plan, Overdraft Protection Sweep, a link to a savings account. It may be less expensive than our standard overdraft practices. To learn more, ask us about this plan.

This notice explains our standard overdraft practices.

What are the standard overdraft practices that come with my account?

After your account has been open for 30 days and as long as you maintain your account in good standing, we do authorize and pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions:

Checks and other transactions made using your checking account number
Automatic bill payments

We do not authorize and pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions unless you ask us to (see below):

ATM transactions
Everyday debit card transactions

We pay overdrafts at our discretion, which means we do not guarantee that we will always authorize and pay any type of transaction.

If we do not authorize and pay an overdraft, your transaction will be declined.

What fees will I be charged if Peoples Bank of Kankakee County pays my overdraft?

Under our standard overdraft practices:

We will charge you a fee of up to $30 each time we pay an overdraft.
The maximum daily overdraft fee per presentment or item paid using the Overdraft Reserve Program is $150.00 per day.
No per item handling fee will be charged on de minimis overdrafts. De minimis overdraft for this policy means transactions that overdraw your account by $30 or less.
There is an overdraft fee of $5 per day that will be charged beginning the 4th consecutive business day your account is overdrawn.

Nonsufficient funds (NSF) fees - if an item drafted by you (such as a check) or a transaction you set up (such as a preauthorized transfer) is presented for payment in an amount that is more than the amount of money in your account and we decide not to pay the item or transaction, you agree that we can charge you an NSF fee for returning the payment. Be aware that such an item or payment may be presented multiple times by the merchant or other payee until it is paid, and that we do not monitor or control the number of times a transaction is presented for payment. You agree that we may charge you an NSF fee each time a payment is presented if the amount of money in your account is not sufficient to cover the payment, regardless of the number of times the payment is presented.

PAYMENT ORDER OF ITEMS - The law permits us to pay items drawn on your account in any order (for purposes of this section "items" means checks, orders and electronic transactions). To assist you in handling your account with us, we are providing you with the following information regarding how we process those items. When processing checks and orders drawn on your account our policy is to pay lower numbered checks and orders in numerical sequence, but electronic transactions are paid first in the order received. The order in which items are paid is important if there is not enough money in your account to pay all of the items that are presented. There is no policy that is favorable in every instance. If the smallest items are paid first, you may have fewer NSF or overdraft fees, but the largest, and perhaps more important items (such as rent or mortgage payments) might not be paid. However, if the largest items are paid first, your most important items might be paid but it may increase the overdraft or NSF fees if funds are not available to pay all of the items. We think our policy attains a reasonable balance between minimizing additional costs to you and paying your more important items. We encourage you to make careful records and practice good account management. This will help you to avoid creating items without sufficient funds and incurring the resulting fees.

What if I want Peoples Bank of Kankakee County to authorize and pay overdrafts on my ATM and everyday debit card transactions?

If you also want us to authorize and pay overdrafts on ATM and everyday debit card transactions after your account has been open for 30 days, you may opt in.

You have an ongoing right to change this consent at any time. If your overdraft privilege has been revoked for any reason, the opt-in or opt-out selection may not apply. Please contact your nearest office for more information.

Alternate ways to Opt In/Out or make changes:

By Phone. Our Customer Care Representatives can be reached at 815-936-7600.
By Mail. Peoples Bank of Kankakee County, 333 E. Court Street, Kankakee, IL 60901
In Person. Please visit your local office and ask a representative to help you decide which plan is best for you.