mortgage broker/lender

a lot of times they have access to wholesale rates that are lower than retail rates. say wells fargo. i got mine through a broker at 6.125%, 0 points, and yet a direct Wells Fargo quote was like 6.25%, 1 point. also, WF directly compensated the broker, so i didn't have to pay any broker commission either. and my broker is pretty honest - the final lender-related closing costs are nearly identical to the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) they've quoted me initially.

try and stay away from brokers if you can.

my short experience was having one lie to me outright, get everything in writing, everything, everything

no matter what you will be paying them more than going to a bank,
if you have alright credit you should not have a problem

brokers should only be for the desperate

Actually, the one good thing about a broker is their ability to get an appraisal done QUICKLY. Which, if you're being pushed to get rid of the financing contingency, is a VERY good thing.