The difficulty for most people in shopping for their own loans is that they don’t know all the right questions to ask and most lenders and banks offer only two or three programs.

A mortgage broker on the other hand, can submit your loan to many different lenders, have access to many different types of loan programs, can shop around for the best and most competitive mortgage rates and terms available tailored to meet your particular needs. Some charge fees or origination fees; some do not.

If you feel confident doing the leg-work and navigating the maze that banks put up to find the best rate, get the least points, and minimize fees, then by all means have at it. Calling all the lenders alone will take a ridiculous amount of time while they make you jump through hoops. The question you have to ask yourself is: how much is my time worth? It’s important to ask yourself that at the beginning, so you know how much your efforts will cost you, versus letting a professional that already has those doors opened up handle the situation.

Now, if you do not have the time to do a thorough job (and who does, these days?) or don’t know all the in and outs of a mortgage or loan, then a mortgage broker, either one nearby or one of the variety of online brokers, is an excellent resource to cut down on the amount of work you need to do. That’s not to say that you have to take a completely hands-off approach to finding your perfect loan! A broker can provide a wide variety of services, including calling lenders and getting all the necessary paperwork filed, that will simply cut down on all the legwork and provide you with the finished results to look at. A good, experienced broker will do all the necessary negotiations for you so you go in with a fully armed professional.

It’s in a broker’s interest for you to take the loan, so he’ll work hard to provide you with exactly what you want to see, but only as long as you know what it is you want to see. That’s why it’s important to use a broker that you trust, and have plenty of information and resources on hand to do it right. Our own brokerage, FMFG, can provide you with all these services, and you’ll be going in armed with all the latest information straight from the horse’s mouth! You simply can’t beat that. I’m here to help, so any questions you have, whether from FMFG or any other broker, just ask… I’ll even take a look at your paperwork and see if there’s anything that can be improved on. Any improvement means more money for you, so I expect people to take me up on this offer!

Doing it all yourself is by no means impossible, but it can be very, very difficult. It’s not made any easier by the overcomplicated processes that lenders and banks put forth in order to qualify the potential client, not to mention the negotiations needed in order to attempt to lock in the lowest rates. Remember, too - the people you’ll talk to are professional negotiators. Pitting yourself against them without any background can be disastrous to your efforts and very frustrating. As long as you know what you’re looking for, I recommend that you let a qualified broker handle all the grunt-work for you, and just present you with the options. By tuning into this site, you’ll learn what you need to find to make absolutely sure that you’re getting the best possible loan from a broker, and not getting shafted in the process.