AI can write a convincing answer to almost anything. That's exactly the problem. I've been in the mortgage industry for years. I've sat across the table with hundreds of buyers, refinancers, and people just trying to figure out their next move. And lately, I keep hearing the same thing: "I asked ChatGPT and it said..."
But before we even get to AI, I want to tell you about something that happened to a client of mine. Because it illustrates a bigger problem.
When "Your Servicer" Becomes a Sales Trap
A client reached out to me recently. He and his wife had refinanced through a lender affiliated with their mortgage servicer. Before closing, they were verbally quoted around $1,600 in closing costs plus an appraisal. Reasonable. Sounds straightforward, right?
They ended up paying just shy of $9,000 to close.
After the transaction, he couldn't reach anyone at the company. No returned calls, no responses to emails. Just silence. The same company that had sent them dozens of mailers, emails, and phone calls promising great savings on a lower rate suddenly had nothing to say. He's now planning to contact his congressional representative, his personal banker, and his financial advisor. He's considering an attorney.
This is what happens when you work with someone who has an agenda that isn't yours.
Servicer-affiliated lenders have a built-in advantage: they already have your mortgage. They know your balance, your rate, your equity. And they will use that information to reach you first, speak to you often, and earn your trust before you ever think to shop around. That's not guidance. That's a pipeline strategy. Servicers aren't bad, but my recommendation would be to always have a trusted mortgage professional on your side. Someone who knows your goals, your unique scenario, and who can walk you through major decisions like this.
So What Does This Have to Do With AI?
Everything. Because the core issue is the same: you're getting information from a source that doesn't actually know you, isn't accountable to you, and has no obligation to get it right.
AI doesn't know your file. It doesn't know your credit profile, your debt-to-income ratio, your employment history, or the specific property you're looking at. It's pulling from generalized training data and giving you an average answer. You are not average. Your situation isn't either.
AI also can't be held accountable. I'm a licensed mortgage broker operating under federal and state regulations. I have real obligations to you. If I give you bad advice, there are consequences. A chatbot has no license, no liability, and no skin in the game.
And AI doesn't know what the market is doing right now. Rates shift. Guidelines change. Lender overlays come and go. I'm in this market daily. I know which lenders are moving fast, which programs just opened up, and where the real opportunity is for your specific situation.
Use AI to Learn. Use a Broker to Decide.
There's nothing wrong with using AI to research terminology or generate questions to ask your lender. That's smart. But when it comes to actual strategy — loan type, timing, lender selection, rate lock — that's where experience, relationships, and real-time knowledge matter.
That's where I come in.
Planted Local Lending was built on honest, relationship-first guidance. No pressure tactics. No bait-and-switch. No going dark after the transaction closes. Just real answers from someone who knows this market and is accountable to you long after the closing table.
If you're making a mortgage decision this year, let's talk. Human to human.
Schedule a conversation with Trish →
By Trish Reedy, Licensed Mortgage Broker | Planted Local Lending
Trish Reedy is the founder of Planted Local Lending, a referral-based mortgage brokerage serving the Kansas City metro and Colorado Front Range markets.
