I'm often asked "Why should I use a broker rather than going straight to the bank for my loan". The short answer is you should use a broker because it costs less and you get more... But let me give you a long answer...

The majority of the monies used to fund a loan trickle down from a handful of major banks. Wells Fargo, BofA, CitiBank, Chase... These lenders have a Retail division and a Wholesale division. The retail division is when you call them asking for a mortgage or you walk into a branch. You, at that point, are just another retail customer... they might tell you they're giving you this special deal because you're a current customer, however that's just a sales pitch and in reality, your just another Retail customer. The loan you get and all the costs associated with that loan are set with minimums that the bank requires their Loan officer to propose. By dealing with a broker, he has the flexibility to adjust how much he is willing to make to satisfy the borrower. He's not locked in. He also has a much wider variety of options available to him then the bank. When you walk into a bank and ask for a loan, your loan scenario has to fit within the small constraints of their particular lending guidelines and overlays. If you don't fit in, you don't get approved.. That simple... but with a broker, he can look at your particular scenario and decide which lender of the vast many to submit your loan to which will give you the best chance of closing. Another reason to use a broker rather than a bank is your loan officer at the bank is not licensed. WHAT??? You say... That's right.. Under the current laws, loan officers working for a bank are not required to carry a license. There is no mandatory education, they don't have to know the laws, and there is no test to pass... The broker on the other hand is fully licensed, and has to pass an FBI background check, as well as numerous testing and mandatory education requirements. All loan officers are listed in the National Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS). This is a national database maintained by the federal government which displays all the information on the loan officer you are dealing with. You can access this consumer site by clicking this link...

www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/

By dealing with a broker, you likely to only have to talk to him. He will walk your loan from beginning to end, however with the bank that's not the case. The guy who takes your application is the loan officer. Once he has your app and submits it into the system, you no longer deal with him... you're dealing with several other people within the large inefficient chain of CSR's within the bank, and you will often have to repeat your scenario several times before someone get's it.. If you call your bank and talk to them about a mortgage, you're probably dealing with someone not even in your state.

Think of using a broker this way... if your shopping for an airline ticket, you can log onto American Airlines, give them your itinerary, and get a quote, then you go to Southwest Airlines, type in your itinerary and get another quote... etc, etc, etc until you get 5 or 6 quotes for your itinerary, shopping for the flight that fits your desired departure and arrival as well as the best price... That's a lot of time and effort ... or you could just log onto one of those sites that searches all the major airlines at one time and gives you the list of companies offering a flight that fits into your itinerary. The prices are displayed as well at departure and arrival times.. Which way do you think would be a much more efficient way to shop?? Using a broker is like this more efficient way, especially if you have any type of glitch or mar on your credit. By having the broker look at your scenario, with his expertise, he can decipher which lender would be the best match for your scenario. But let's say that you have zero issues with your loan... 100% squeaky clean.. 800 credit scores, $300K annual income, Debt to income ratio's in the basement... You've been dealing with XYZ Bank for 20 years and they love you over there and would give you the absolute best deal anywhere... Right?? Wrong!!.. You will more than likely to pay the same as the guy who just signed up with that bank for a Christmas savings fund with a starting deposit of $25. Both you and the Christmas fund guy are nothing but another number to the big banks, plain and simple...

The long answer is this... Dealing with a Mortgage broker is much more efficient. He is licensed, trained, and verified by the FBI. He is more competent then the loan officer at the bank. He's the only one you will have to deal with, so you won't have to repeat your story numerous times. He can offer you better, more flexible pricing than the bank. He's local, with a local office you can walk into.. Dealing with a mortgage broker is absolutely the better way to go in today's lending environment. WilliamAcres.com