Saturday 19 May 2012

What is a Mortgage Broker and why use one?

The decision to buy a new home is a big decision indeed. You may have functional needs to consider, such as the need to have more living space for a growing family. You also have budget considerations in mind, such as how the mortgage payment of a new home will affect your budget. When considering your new budget after your home purchase is complete, the monthly payment of your new home loan is typically the most significant change to consider. If you are like many home buyers, this payment will likely be your largest monthly expenditure throughout the time you own your home. It makes sense that you would want to find the best loan terms possible. When shopping for a new home loan, you can either shop for loans on your own, or you can choose to work with a mortgage broker.

What Is a Broker?

A broker is a highly trained expert in home loans, and he or she can be engaged to work on your behalf to find the best loan possible for your needs. When you contact a broker, he or she will first sit down with you to identify your needs. Through this initial process, he or she can help you to learn the maximum sales price you may qualify for and why. In addition to working with you to help you to identify a maximum loan amount you may qualify for, a broker also assists you with the entire loan process and will guide you through the process until your new loan closes.

Finding the Best Loan

One of the most significant services a broker can offer to you is the service of shopping your loan request to different lenders. A broker has a thorough understanding of the loan requirements different lenders have in place. This knowledge will be utilized on your behalf to find you the best loan terms possible. Depending on your specific needs and desires with regards to your loan request, it may mean working with a lender who will approve you for the highest loan amount, who will be agreeable to lending to you despite certain unique situations with your loan request, who are able to work with lower credit scores and more. Each borrower has a unique loan request, and a broker is able to review the specific details of your own loan request to help you find the best loan possible.

The Affordability of the Loan

Many of the most skilled brokers will also go a step beyond to help ensure your new loan payment and even your new home in general are affordable for you. Many people have heard of others who have bought more house than was affordable to them, and they ended up having their home foreclosed on. An expert broker can review your finances and help you to analyze the true cost of a specific home. This may include analyzing the loan payment, the property taxes and the homeowners insurance premium. While one lender may offer you a loan with a different monthly payment than another, one lender may also have different homeowners insurance requirements in place. The true cost of working with a specific lender can be analyzed by a top broker.

If you choose to work with a mortgage broker, you will be required to pay a broker fee at closing. However, the benefits you can enjoy by working with a broker typically far outweigh the fee charged.