A mortgage broker is a licensed real estate professional that can quote rates from various lenders, discuss the many different loan options that best suit the consumer, and take applications to submit to an originating lender. A mortgage broker will almost always offer lower rates than banks based on their agreed upon commission structure from the loan originating company. Banks need to pay for staffing, advertising, brick and mortar establishments, shareholder profits and loan officer commission. A mortgage broker gets paid a commission in one of two ways. They either receive an origination fee from the lender (called Lender Paid Compensation) or they charge a consumer an origination fee (called Borrower Paid Compensation). Based on the new regulations regarding “Qualified Mortgages”, brokers can not be compensated more than 3.5% of the loan amount. While most mortgage brokers and direct lenders have negotiated lender compensation agreements between 2% and 3.5%, LowerMortgage.net has kept the commission to 1.5% with a minimum of $3,000. These compensation agreements affect the rate that the consumer will be offered. The lower the commission received by the broker, the lower the rate and fee’s a consumer will receive. An experienced mortgage broker will be able to assist and navigate a borrower successfully through the underwriting process. Most refinances and purchases can be completed in 3 weeks.
