loan steering

i live in austin texas and i am bying a new home from a local builder and they are willing to pay 2 pts + title fee if i use one of their lenders my question is it leagal for them to steer me to a paticular lender and if not what is my recourse to get the same deal with a lender of my choice. thanks in advace

[HomeGuru]

It is perfectly legal for the builder to offer financing.

Make sure you know the terms going in and you are able to compare with other lenders. 2 discount points is a very rich incentive and most lenders would not even try to match it, but you should know what interest rate you are getting along with the 2% discount on price. 2 discount points is eqivalent to .5% in interest rate so if the builders lender is generally .5% above the competition in rate, you are not getting a deal.

If this is a bonafide freeby, take it. It's also possible that the discount you are receiving is built into the price if the home.