Home loan - broker vs bank?

[sunbutter]

We started physically looking at houses, identified a realtor to represent us....thought it would take a year to find what we wanted....
Then we were surprised to find something that hits 90% of our wish list. We are considering making an offer.
Need to move fast on getting loan paperwork in place. The realtor suggested to start with a broker that he knows and then to get estimates from at least two other banks/brokers.
So what are the pros and cons of going with a broker vs a bank?

[sacattack]

Get as many quotes as you can - I didn't even know this was an option when I first bought my house. I just went one place and took what they offered. I would think a broker would have access to more programs than just a bank, but I really don't know. :-)

[k3am]

The broker typically has access to multiple banks and may be able to get you better terms. They are not going to keep or service your loan, so you're typically left with whoever they sell the loan to with no choice in the matter.

If you have an existing relationship with a bank that you enjoy, it can potentially get you a better rate, and you're in control of who holds/services your loan.

We've always worked with brokers. Buying our first house, I worked with a local broker and then remembered we had a friend who's also a broker in a somewhat distant town - he suggested that we let him quote the loan and he'd beat it and we could either go with him or use his proposal as leverage. It was on hugely better terms than the local broker I'd worked with, so we've used him for refinancing and for our new home. I also think our last loan ended up being bundled and sold 4-5 times over 5 years before ending up at Wells. The new mortgage is currently held by United Wholesale Mortgage... who I've never heard of and have no idea how long they'll keep it.

[erinshelley21]

We used a broker and will likely use her again. Like they said, brokers can do the shopping for you. Banks are limited to their bank only.

[traveltheworld]

We have used both. We used a broker for the first few purchases, and she was able to shop around and get us great rates. We used a bank the last time, but that was because we were purchasing a house and re-financing another one at the same time, and we flat out told the bank that we would take both financing elsewhere unless it offered us a great rate, which it did.

[mustardseed2007]

I used a broker and also looked at 3 banks. We ended up going with the loan offered by the broker. The servicing of our note has changed once since we originally took out the loan 5.5 years ago. Ownership of the note might have changed more than that, but I'm not sure.

[sandandsea]

We went with a broker the realtor knew to get the quick turnaround. We weren’t locked in and had time to find a better deal after we put in the offer and didn’t ever find anything better so went with the broker. It worked out well for us and we went from semi seriously looking on Saturday pm to in contract by Tuesday at 8am.

[saraml13]

We used a broker to get a loan. She was recommended by FIL. A broker is able to get multiple quotes versus you comparison shopping.

I also found our broker much more service oriented than working with a bank. While we were house hunting, we got a pre-approval through our large national bank just to have on hand. I thought it would be simple because they handle the majority of our banking and should have all our details on hand. But the guy we worked with was an idiot and used zero common sense or discretion in the zillion forms and records he insisted on.

[awick14]

We have always used a broker. We have had way better experiences with a broker then with the banks. (Even the bank we have all day to say stuff with. 😕)