How many of you got your mortgage through a broker rather than a bank or credit union?
Teri
Posted:
Member since
How many of you got your mortgage through a broker rather than a bank or credit union?
Mortgage brokers scare me....mainly because I think they're all out to make money and would hide it by playing around with all the numbers! This is all confusing enough (don't take any offense - I have no basis for my opinion!)
I'm a member of BFCU and we were planning to get our mortgage through there, since they have pretty competitive rates on LI.
But I wonder if we should go through a broker?
We plan to put down 20% and want to try and keep our monthly payments reasonable....so I wonder if a broker can even help us? I always thought a broker would be better for someone in the opposite category - with not enough down payment in the beginning.
Thoughts?
LIPrincess00
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Member since
Re: How many of you got your mortgage through a broker rather than a bank or credit union?
I just got approved from BFCU without having 20% down and they are great. I say either go thru them or my friend loves Washington Mutual. I went with a broker for my pre-approval and when I got my good faith estimate there were things on there that I didnt like and was never told about. Definately, go with a bank. JMO.
Edited to say: When I am proven wrong I will admit it. I am going thru a broker my lawyer recommended because we couldnt come up with the additional cash that BFCU wanted. Although its a little higher than BFCU she came in with a great rate and is doing everything for us.
Charly
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Re: How many of you got your mortgage through a broker rather than a bank or credit union?
We used a broker and I think we did really well. I found it easier since they did the shopping around for us. You just need to know what your needs/wants are and make sure the broker understands that. Ask a LOT of questions!!!
Re: How many of you got your mortgage through a broker rather than a bank or credit union?
if you get a competitive rate from a CU - I would go through them...
our CU wouldn't approve us for enough - b/c I wasn't working at the time...so we went through a broker...but a broker who came highly recommended.
where we benefited with the broker was she had a few different places approve us and then she would lock us into one place when she saw a good interest rate...then if one of the other places came down lower she would grab that one for us. we ended up saving .3% I don't know if that will make up the fee we paid her ($900) but I know I haven't touched a piece of paper work and its worth getting rid of the agita...
just make sure you do your research...know the different loans...30 year fixed vs. 1/1 3/1 5/1 ARM vs interest only...and then discuss the options with the CU
Teri
Posted:
Member since
Re: How many of you got your mortgage through a broker rather than a bank or credit union?
Oct - that's exactly what I'm afraid of!!
Erica - you're so knowledgeable with all of this!
I still feel more comfortable going through the CU I think....but wanted to see what others have done.
Re: How many of you got your mortgage through a broker rather than a bank or credit union?
Posted by Teri
Erica - you're so knowledgeable with all of this!
only b/c its fresh in my mind having just gone through it
shelzyp
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Re: How many of you got your mortgage through a broker rather than a bank or credit union?
Teri - I wanted to go thru BFCU, because they have great rates, but they do not do construction loans. I also think they give you a break if you do direct deposit, and direct payments into the mortgage acct. If you want to go to a mortgage broker, a friend of mine is, and you can use him to compare, if you want.
luvsun27
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Re: How many of you got your mortgage through a broker rather than a bank or credit union?
I used a broker...and I probably would not do so the next time. The difference between going through the bank and going through the broker...is who does the work. If you use a broker...they shop different places and they do all the paperwork for you...When you use the bank...you have to do the paperwork (title search, etc.) that the attorney does not do.
However...I think that although I paid the $350 application fee to the broker...there were other fees on my good faith estimate that I didn't agree with. They wouldn't budge on removing them...but by that time, I was so deep into it...I couldn't find someone else, so I had to suck it up.
Next time...I'm going through a bank!
ETA: I did not like my mortgage broker...I thought he was a big scammer...but I'm sure there are more reputable brokers out there. I just didn't happen to find one! JMO.
HappyEverAfter
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Re: How many of you got your mortgage through a broker rather than a bank or credit union?
We used a mortgage broker, and he got us a great rate. He was a pain in the as$ with not asking for everything upfront though, he blamed that on the lenders so I dont know who was at fault. I liked that we had a 'middle man' with the bank, and that he did the legwork to get us a good rate. I would use a broker again.
