Is A Direct Lender Better Than A Mortgage Broker?

NO!

First, if a couple of lenders were always the cheapest, everyone would eventually know about them, right? Over the last several years, we have seen amazing advances in home mortgages. Today’s homebuyer has the widest variety and the most unusual types of loans ever available. Mortgage brokers have dozens more of these loan programs for customers than any single lender. And most of the time, they can provide better deals. This is because they represent the WHOLESALE rates of these lenders. These are rates and fees not available to the public. For example, ABC Bank might be quoting you 5.5% and 1 point for a loan. A broker representing the very same bank can also quote the same rate and fee. The broker is probably paying NO points for that loan. They add the point back and keep it for themselves. They can also quote ¾ of a point and beat the retail quote of that bank. This is the essence of broker competitiveness. The “best deal” is always changing from lender to lender. A broker has so many sources and receives so much up to date pricing, you are more likely to save money than not. Next time a big national lender tells you that the broker is only a middle man and therefore cannot beat their deal, get it in writing.

The bottom line is that there is no one source that is the cheapest. The only other way most lenders can compete with one another is to somehow convince the public that they have some "secret way" of providing lower than market rates. The market is the market and you pay for it one way or another. Work with a mortgage professional that can explain it all in make sense terms.