[Lipiew]

Is it better to go to a broker or to get a 30 year mortgage through the bank? If one is better then why?

[Eric J]

go through the bank. always the bank.

[Corey1023]

I'm afraid I disagree with Eric J.

The answer I would give is it depends on a few factors. How long are you planning to be in the home?

If shorter than 5 years, it could be better to go through the bank depending on what your banking relationship is with them. The reason is because Banks tend to absorb some of the closing costs, thus appearing cheaper on fee's. However, they make up for those fee's by being slightly higher in rate. I have never had a Bank or Credit Union be able to compete with me on rate, but they often have lower fee's (not by much).

Really, the biggest reason someone might use a bank in my opinion is convenience. They often have a lot of your financial information such as deposits and balances, and if you have an existing relationship with them it can sometimes benefit a borrower by having some leniency on underwriting guidelines.

On the other hand if there is anything out of the ordinary, or it is in any way not a prime loan, often banks will not look at these loans or they will offer rates and fee's that make it unattractive to work with them. "tougher" files often get overly scrutinized by banks and credit unions.

A broker on the other hand, especially one who is an Upfront Mortgage Broker (UMB) To view links in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. Your post count is 0 momentarily. can provide two points of value that stand out against a bank or a traditional mortgage broker.

First, they can help 'pre-underwrite' more difficult files and help present the story to an underwriter to help them get past issues that they might have simply used to deny a loan. This is invaluable if you have any issues at all with difficult to document income, credit issues, job history gaps, or any other items that need an explanation to help get an approval for an otherwise good loan.

Second, UMB's are open and transparent in their pricing. They do not utilize some of the tactics that traditional brokers often employ to make larger pay checks...to the detriment of their borrower. In the simplest sense UMB's are changing the dynamic of the borrower/broker relationship from one of conflicting interests to aligned interests where both parties are working for the same goal. Which should be the best loan for the borrowers situation with the best possible rate available. It's introducing the principle of fiduciary responsibility so that the relationship becomes truly win win, rather than win at the expense of the borrower.

Having said all of this, I am not yet a member of the UMBA. I am in process of it, but I only recently found them when I was searching for some information and was pleased to see an organization that stands for the principles that I have integrated into my business.

Hope this helps a little!