Mortgage Broker or Direct to Bank?

We bought a condo 3 years ago and dealt directly with a loan officer at the bank. We're looking to sell and buy a house soon and through a friend, have been in touch with a mortgage broker. So far he's been helpful but they're always helpful before you sign something.

My dad has bought 2 homes and both times, has been royally screwed over by mortgage brokers (2 different ones). Once the rate was raised at closing by some ridiculous amount and the second time, he had to come up with an extra $5,000 that they didn't tell him about. So I'm skittish.

Our credit is excellent and we're being very conservative on our house hunt so we don't any help getting our application through.

Any advice, recommendations, or personal experiences?

TIA!

Re: Mortgage Broker or Direct to Bank?

I think your best bet is going directly to a mortgage bank (bank that specializes in mortgages only, not a large commercial bank) or a credit union.

I always recommend Steve Simpson, who is a senior loan officer at U.S. Mortgage Corp. He is based in the Levittown office. But Steve, and the entire U.S. Mortgage staff, is very customer-service oriented and they are fast and efficient (can close loans within 30 days). Steve is extremely knowledgeable works closely with the underwriters at his bank (who have final say on any loan) to get things done. There's a lot of transparency with his bank because the whole staff works together.

Some of my customers have had bad experiences with mortgage brokers, because they promise one thing at the outset, but often cannot deliver, because they have no pull with the underwriters at the lender they place your loan with. They are just a middleman, so often, they have no control over what happens with your loan app once it goes to a specific bank. More than once, I've had to have Steve Simpson step in and take over a loan after a mortgage broker couldn't close a loan buyers who were in contract.

Steve's contact info is: (516) 408-4488 (office); (516) 384-8368 (cell); [email protected]

Other mortgage banks include Continental (just had a deal with them, went very smoothly) and Academy Mortgage in Bellmore.