Why a broker
One bank has one menu. We have a network.
This is the whole argument, and it takes about two minutes to understand. Once you do, it is difficult to go back to asking one institution for one answer.
The difference
A loan officer at a bank works for the bank.
That is not a criticism, it is a job description. They can offer you that bank's programs at that bank's pricing under that bank's guidelines. If your file does not fit, the answer is no, and the conversation ends there.
A brokerage takes the same file to a network of wholesale lenders. Different guidelines, different pricing, different appetites. We are free to recommend whichever one actually serves you, because we are not paid to steer you toward one.
The difference shows up most on the files banks find awkward: self-employed income, credit that is recovering, a rural address, a jumbo amount, a VA benefit nobody explained properly.
Same borrower, two routes
| At a bank | One set of guidelines |
|---|---|
| One pricing sheet | |
| One answer, and it is final | |
| Through a broker | A network of lenders |
| Competing pricing on your file | |
| Options side by side, and you choose |
Availability and pricing depend on your credit, income, the property and current market conditions. Not a commitment to lend.
What it means in practice
Four things that change.
You get told no less often
A decline at one lender is a data point, not a verdict. We already know which lenders are comfortable with which files.
Pricing is competed for
Wholesale lenders want the file. That competition happens on your behalf and you never have to run it yourself.
We can say do nothing
If refinancing will not pay for itself before you move, we lose the deal by telling you. We would still rather tell you.
One file, not five applications
You do not shop lenders yourself, and you do not collect five hard credit pulls doing it.
Fair questions
Including the skeptical ones
Does using a broker cost me more?
No. Brokers are compensated as part of the transaction in the same way a bank's retail channel is, and broker pricing is frequently better because wholesale lenders compete for the file. Your loan estimate shows every cost in writing, and you should compare it against anyone else's.
Is my loan sold afterwards either way?
Almost certainly. Most mortgages get sold on the secondary market regardless of who originated them, including loans from big-name banks. Where you got it does not determine who ends up servicing it.
Why would a bank say no when a broker says yes?
Because the bank has one set of guidelines and a broker has many. Self-employed income, a thin credit file, a rural address, a jumbo amount — one lender declines it and another writes it every week.
What is the catch?
A broker cannot help if the right answer is a portfolio product only your own bank offers, and we will tell you when that is the case. We also cannot make an underwriter say yes.
Let's find out where you stand.
A short conversation, a straight answer either way, and no hard credit pull to begin.
Not a commitment to lend. Subject to credit approval and underwriting.