Mortgage broker or bank?

[MomtoGKC]

Looks like there are a lot of mortgage threads out there right ow so I thought I would add my question. Where do you think is the best place to go for your first mortgage? We have OK credit- a few problems with a weird student loan a few years ago but we have paid it off now. We have very good debt to income ratio (from what I've read the guidelines are - below a 36?) and we have a good income and will most likely have 20% to put down.

We are members of a credit union (haven't used them for anything in years, but we still get a statement from them so I think we are still members.)

The first time we applied for a mortgage (the sale fell through due to low appraisal) we went to one bank. The lady was kind of a pain and I felt like I probably should have been shopping around more. She did get us approved though which according to her was harder then normal because it was an FHA loan. This time it will be a regular loan.


What about mortgage brokers - are they worth it? Do you have to pay them? I have heard that they sometimes don't get you the best rates but are the easiest since you don't have to do as much work on your own.

Any advice is appreciated. We have found a house we love but it is not on the market yet. We talked to the owner and she and her husband are trying to decide what they are going to ask for it so we are waiting to hear if it will be a possibility or not!

 

[jgreco]

I used a broker and thought it went well. You give him all the paperwork one time and he shops around for you and makes it happen. He got a commission from the bank, I don't know/remember how much.
I would just compare whatever rates I was offered to the bank website to make sure they were in-line. He also had people he worked with on a regular basis at the banks and knew what the requirements were without me having to go to several banks and have my reports run a bunch of times.

 

[Pesky]

I had a great experience with my broker and he did our original plus a few refis. I think they vary though so best to shop around. Doesn't hurt to ask your CU as well.

 

[MissBritt]

Ditto both previous posts exactly!

 

[CluelessDisFan]

I prefer quicken loans. Fast good service no non sense. Also good thing you didn't go with the FHA, if you can afford a 20% down traditional loan it's the way to go. Otherwise you'd pay PMI. Your interest rate will depend on your credit, the better your score the less you'll pay. At or above 700 and you should be looking at some pretty good rates.

 

[MomtoGKC]

Thanks, I got a referral for a mortgage broker so I guess I will start there. I will also call the credit union and see what they can offer. In the meantime I'm getting all of our paperwork together so we'll be ready if this house works out.

Oh, the reason we applied for the FHA loan the first time was that we didn't have the 20% down payment, now that we do we are looking at traditional loans. They've also changed the rules down here in FL about how much you can borrow for an FHA so we couldn't use one now anyway.