Bank or morgtage broker?

We went with an online BOA mortgage officer, which in retrospect was a bad idea as it took nearly 2.5 months to get the clear to close.

If I could do it again I would go to one of the local branches. It's much easier to lie to someone on the phone or through email, at least in my opinion.

we went with a mortgage broker -- you might end up paying more (it's almost impossible to tell) but you at least have someone you can chase around and yell at who steers you into the harbor of closing.

ali r.
"Ask the Agent" on moneywatch.com

front_porch - do you think going with a mortgage broker shortened the time to close or just gave some satisfaction of having someone to chase? we finally got a close date after lots of lags through wells fargo. i'm have the impression that this kind of slow-down is pretty typical of most lenders because of the increased controls in place to (in theory) manage credit risk.

I posted this on another thread;

"Depending on financing climates, there are timeframes when it is probably more advantageous to have one.
This past year a prime example. It's easier to get a mortgage from a broker who wants to see a transaction complete for their commission vs a bank manager who doesn't want to lose their job over a questionable loan."

And with so many variables in a closing, there are no sure fire ways to control the speed of a closing but you can install speedier elements that you have control over.
And a mortgage broker "generally" is more an asset than a bank in the speed dept. in my humble opinion.

highend - im not sure who you spoke to at BOA but we can absolutely pre-approve you without a purchase contract. But why not try the bank and a broker. The more options you have the better.
And going with a loan officer through the 800 number is probably not the best choice. Most likely they wont even be from the NY area. sunny.hong@bankofamerica.com

Pre-approval is done everyday without a sales contract. I work for a direct lender. My email is stalebli@lyonsonline.com. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

You need to check out both mortgage brokers and banks. Many of the large banks no longer use mortgage brokers, so you may not be getting the best rates if you only use a mortgage broker. The rates I got from Citi and BoA directly were 50 to 100 bps better than any rates I could get through my mortgage broker.

What REMom says is true, but much depends on your own qualifications as a buyer. I recommend my buyers check rates with both banks and mortgage brokers. But if a buyer has any chance of being denied by a bank (which happens regularly, often at the 11th hour), I generally trust a mortgage broker to see the deal through. I know a mortgage broker who obtained a great loan for a self-employed buyer with spotty credit. For a co-op purchase. In early 2009.

So I think much depends. And even a bank that pre-qualifies or pre-approves you may find a reason not to fund the loan. I like my chances with a mortgage broker in that case, as they have to try try again or lose their commission entirely. Enlightened self-interest still counts for something!

Tina
(Brooklyn broker)

Wells usually has some of the top, if not the best rates.

Jim, I think using a mortgage broker shortened our time to close, but good point, I'm not sure.

Our mortgage broker put us with Citi, the holders of the mortgage on our old place -- and I didn't feel a time lag at all, though I remember them being slow the first time. It seems like, in the current environment, Wells is the one everyone complains about -- though BofA ain't moving all that swiftly on a current deal I'm working on.

ali r.

Consider a Mortgage Banker, they should be able to turn around much faster than the banks do, many in as little as two weeks.

highend..simple..try both and try alot of them. Personally, I've done btter going directly to the bank.

Front_porch.. what would be a better lender then? i thought you said BofA was among the best

Eurocash,

I was very pro-B of A until they made me wait for a commitment letter on a current deal! The buyers were preapproved, and the building was preapproved, and we're still running past our 35-day clock.

I think the larger point is that you can't really know what you're getting when you shop for a loan. Personally,I had nothing but good things to say about Citi for my first mortgage, which I got using a broker, and then I went direct to them for a refi on a different property, and they did a great job, and then I went direct to them again for a HELOC and they did a terrible job.

We used a mortgage broker this time, and things went relatively swiftly with Citi again. There really seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. Part of the problem is that you can't compare apples to apples, because you can't shop the same deal direct to the bank and with a mortgage broker at the same time.

ali r.

I personally think its more important who you work with as opposed to which bank you work with. You can probably work with 2 different people at the same bank and get completely different results. Unfortunately, not all loan officers are treated the same even though they work for the same lender. The more valuable you are to the bank the more support youre likely to get. Meaning faster processing and commitments. Also, if youre working with a lender where they have centralized processing hundreds of miles away as opposed to local processing where you can actually walk into your underwriter's office, the difference is night and day. sunny.hong@bankofamerica.com