Jasmine and her partner have saved for four years and were pre-approved last month. She researches at night on a laptop with twelve tabs open, screenshots everything, and runs decisions past her aunt, who bought a house in 1998. She wants to understand every number before she signs, and she has noticed that the people who benefit from her speed are not her.

• Compare three lenders on the same terms, not three different sales pitches
• Know the full cash-to-close before the inspection, not the week of closing
• Keep every document in one place she will still have in five years

• Rate quotes that change by the time she calls back
• Jargon that is explained with more jargon
• Portals that require a login for each of the lender, the title company and the agent

• A lender emails a loan estimate as a PDF; she wants to lay it next to another one, line by line
• The inspection turns up a roof problem; she needs to know what it does to her numbers that night
• Closing is Friday; she needs a checklist of what to bring and what she already sent

Illustrative composite. Drawn from published first-time buyer surveys and consumer finance research on mortgage shopping. Not a research persona: no buyers were interviewed for this profile.