The Difference Between a Mortgage Broker and Lender

The terms “mortgage broker” and “mortgage lender” are often used interchangeably. While both of these functions can help you obtain a mortgage, they are actually two separate entities that perform different roles.

What Is a Mortgage Lender?

A mortgage lender is an organization that lends homebuyers money to purchase a home, like Choice Mortgage Group. When a homebuyer contacts us, you will work directly with one of our loan originators from the initial application through closing, so you have one person to guide you through the entire process. Our team is all located here in Boca Raton, so if you ask your loan originator a question, she doesn’t have to email underwriting and wait to receive an answer. She can just walk down the hall and ask in person. This close connection helps ensure that your loan application is processed in a timely manner, issues are swiftly resolved, and that your closing occurs on time, with a minimal amount of stress.

What Is a Mortgage Broker?

A mortgage broker is an independent, licensed professional who acts as a matchmaker between homebuyers and lenders. A broker may have relationships with many lending institutions; however, they do not lend money themselves. A mortgage broker will give you a mortgage application to complete that includes questions about your income, assets, credit scores, and debts. Based on how you answer the questions in the application, they will share your application with several lenders who they think will offer you the best rates and terms for a mortgage. 

Brokers make it easy for homebuyers to comparison shop because homebuyers only need to fill out one application and the broker does all the legwork to secure multiple loan offers. While this service sounds very appealing, an important caveat is that once you select your preferred lender, the broker ships your file off to them and you work with the lender directly moving forward. You will have no sense of the customer service quality, care, or responsiveness of your lender until this point. If this is a large, impersonal bank or online discount mortgage lender, their customer service representatives may be located in a different time zone than you are, making it very difficult to receive timely responses. Moreover, their customer service team, underwriting team, and other teams may all be located in different offices across the country, adding time and complexity when you, your appraiser, or your realtor need quick responses to queries. This can lead to delays and missed deadlines, which can add stress and cost to an already stressful situation.

Both working directly with a lender as well as through a mortgage broker are popular options. If you choose to work with a mortgage broker, you can still contact Choice Mortgage Group on your own and experience the Choice Mortgage Group difference for yourself. 

Since 1995, Choice Mortgage Group has been providing homeowners with the best real estate financing programs available. As a licensed lender, we offer a wide variety of services and programs that satisfy the unique needs of each of our clients.

Specializing in residential mortgage lending for over 25 years, our programs include conventional and government lending, purchases, and refinances. We also offer portfolio lending for self-employed borrowers and borrowers with complicated tax situations. South Florida is where Choice Mortgage Group started, and we like to call it home. We are devoted Florida Atlantic University Owls fans and are proud to be the official mortgage lender of FAU Athletics. We also support numerous other local organizations. For more information about Choice Mortgage Group, visit www.choicemortgage.com.

Choice Mortgage Group

40 SE 5^th Street, Suite 502

Boca Raton, FL 33432

(561)362-8441

info@choicemtg.com