Mortgage Banker v. Mortgage Broker

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

What's the difference?

:shrug:

[mondo joe]

1. I would think a mortgage banker represents a particular lender.

A mortgage broker is more of a matchmaker between the individual and a number of lenders.

[Blue-Jay]

2. Right. The broker is the "middle man".

He shops around for the best deal from a variety of bankers and charges a commission, thus negating the savings that you may have made by shopping around yourself. On the plus side, you won't need to take the time to do it yourself.

[Left Is Write]

3. We used a mortgage broker for our first house.

His commission was paid by the lender, not by us.

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

4. Thanks guys!

I swear DU is better than Wikipedia!

:patriot:

[mondo joe]

5. BTW, I used a broker for my house AND for the 2 refinances that followed.

I had friends who were refinancing at the same time, and they got the exact same rate I did in the end, but for a lot more trouble. They went from bank to bank and filled out all the paperwork. Meanwhile alll I had to do was update some data in my broker's records, and - BAM - done!

I would absolutely go with a broker if you can get a good personal recommendation.