When you’re buying or refinancing a home and need to get a mortgage, you have a number of options. You can shop around and apply directly to the lender of your choice. Or, you can go tཧo a mortgage broker, who will work with you to find a lender and assist in the application process. You can search for mortgage brokers online or ask for broker recommendations from your realtor, family, or friends.

What Is a Mortgage Broker?

A 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:mortgage broker is a licensed professional who can work with multiple lenders to find, at least in theory, the best possible mortgage for their client. By contrast, a mortgage 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:loan officer works for a particular lender, such as a bank, and can only recommend that lender’s mortgage products. A mortgage broker should not be confused with a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:mortgage banker, wh𒅌o closes and funds a mortgage with its own funds.

Why Use a Mortgage Broker?

The advantage of using a mortgage broker is that they have relationships with multiple lenders and should be able to match you with the best and/or least expensive lender for your needs. A broker may be particularly helpful if, for example, you’ve had credit difficulties in the past and need a lender that is amenable to working with borrowers in your situation. Mortgage brokers can also help you collect the documentation that you need and fill out your 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:mortgage application, which is often a headache, especially for f🗹irst-time borrowers. 

How to Find a Good Mortgage Broker

D𝄹epending on where you live, you may have several mortgage brokers to choose from in your local area. Here is ho🌼w to narrow the field.

Ask Locally

If you’re using one, your real estate agent should be able to recommend one or more mortgage brokers in your area. Frien🉐ds and neighbors who have recently used a broker can also be good sources of referrals.

Search Online

If you’re new to the area and don’t have any local contacts, you can look for a mortgage broker online. There are many websites offering lists of the “best” local brokers, although their criteria for selecting them aren’t always clear. One well-known site is FindAMortgageBroker.com, which cautions, “The listing of a mortgage broker on this site does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation.”

Online review sites like Yelp also list local mortgage brokers, often accompanied by uღseful comments from past customers.

Check Them Out

While shady or incompetent mortgage brokers no doubt exist, state and federal law does provide some protection. Mortgage brokers are regulated under the SAFE (Secure and Fair Enforcement for) Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008, which sets standards for the licensing and registration of state-licensed mortgage loan originators. Among other requirements, mortgage brokers must complete certain courses, pass a written test, and submit to an FBI background check. States can also impose stricter requirements than federal law provides for.

To find out whether a mortgage broker is authorized to conduct business in your state, plug their name into 🎀the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System’s free online tool, . It will also tell you whether there have been any dis💮ciplinary actions against that broker.

The Better Business Bureau also has a large listing of mortgage brokers you can search by location, including their BBB letter-grade ratings where applicable.

Shop Around

Bear in mind that you can shop f💜or a mortgage broker just as yoꦓu would for a mortgage. If you aren’t comfortable with the first one with whom you interview, try another.

Questions you might want to ask include:

• How many lenders do you work with?
• Have you had clients with similar mortgage needs to mine?
• How much do you believe you might be able to save me?
• What do you charge, and who pays?
• What is your usual process, and how long does it typically take?

Even if you’ve decided to go with a certain mortgage broker, it’s to your advantage to visit a few mortgage websites to make certain that whatever interest rate your broker comes up with is competi꧒tive in the current market.

What Do Mortgage Brokers Charge?

Mortgage brokers are paid by either the borrower or the lender. By law, they can’t be paid by both. They are also required to disclose their fees upfront.

Typically, the broker will 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:receive about 1% to 2% of the amoജu🤪nt of the loan. For ⛄example, on a $300,000 mortgage, they might make $3,000 to $6,000. If you’re the one footing the bill, the fee usually will be due at ꦿclosing or may be rolled into your loan.

The federal 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Dodd-Frank Act in 2010 imposed a number of new rules on mortgage brokers to attempt to protect consumers from predatory practices. One of them is that lenders can’t tie a broker’s compensation to the interest rate on the loan. That rule was intended to keep mortgage brokers from steering clients into high-interest loans, as sometimes happened in the past.

The Bottom Line

If you’re shopping for a new mortgage, a mortgage broker may be able to save you time and money. The best way to find one is to ask locally for recommendatio🐠ns. You can also go online to look for a broker and check whether there have been any disciplinary actions against them.