Whats the benefit of using a mortgage broker.....

How do they get paid? TIA

Re: Whats the benefit of using a mortgage broker.....

their costs are added to your closing costs.

as for the benefits- i have my pros and cons list of how i feel about them in general, BUT i havent officially bought a house yet, so i dont think my feelings are beneficial in this case-- its probably better for the people that Have used one to comment

Re: Whats the benefit of using a mortgage broker.....

i couldnt imagine not using one... he found the right bank for us so we could get the type of mortgage we needed... going to each individual bank applying for mortgages would have been a nightmere, plus added stress that we did not need... buying a house is stressful enough as is!

Re: Whats the benefit of using a mortgage broker.....

I think that if you buy 'points' they get that money, and also that banks pay them a 'referral' fee for bringing the person that needs the loan to them.

I think thats the case, I could be wrong.

Re: Whats the benefit of using a mortgage broker.....

We used a mortgage broker when we bought our coop. Then when we went to refinance last year we did it on our own....we contacted the mortgage broker as soon as we decided to look for a house. No way are we doing it without her again. In my opinion it was well worth it. She did all the leg work for us and came back with the lowest interest rate on the mortgage.

Re: Whats the benefit of using a mortgage broker.....

Plain and simple... brokers tend to have access to "special wholesale interest rates" that the general public does not have access to.

So usually you will get a lower interest rate if you go with a broker... but it all depends on the broker of course and their fees.

Re: Whats the benefit of using a mortgage broker.....

We just visited our broker this afternoon. For a small fee, he suggested some things on Friday for DH to look at over the weekend, then today he spent nearly 2 hours meeting with us, researched all different mortgages for us (we're doing some improvements pretty soon after our purchase is complete, so he researched the different terms and rates of adding the costs into our mortgage, getting a 100% mortgage and then doing just a straightforward mortgage, looking at rates for fixed and variable for each), then he sat with us and filled out all of the forms.

He now will liase with our solicitor and then bank. He explained everything to us very clearly, answered all of our questions. His involvement adds clout to our buying process (we're working with a seller who wants to move quickly and we're terrified she'll pull out because we're not moving quickly enough - having the broker is one more sign that we're totally serious about this sale) and, as he deals with the banks all of the time, he's more likely than we would be to be able to iron out any problems (my immigration status might be an issue).

I was skeptical at first especially since we have a friend who is a mortgage broker and he gave us some advice...but after having met with him today and when you're laying out so much moeny as it is, I think a few hundred dollars is worth it to make sure you get the procedure right. It's very complicated.

Actually, he also gave us a heads up about a rate change that will go into effect by the end of the week and is messengering our application over to his contact. Definitely saves A LOT of legwork!

Re: Whats the benefit of using a mortgage broker.....

Before you book with anybody... check on Bankrate for their advertised rates.

http://www.bankrate.com

I found my broker through there. Some brokers may "say" they have the lowest rates... but when you end up comparing them to other people... their rates kinda suk.