When you’re buying or refinancing a home and need to get a mortgage, you have a number of options. You can shop around and apply directly to the lender of your choice. Or, you can go to a mortgage broker, who will work with you to find a lender and assist in the application process.

If going to a mortgage broker appeals to you, here is how to find one. 

What Is a Mortgage Broker?

A mortgage broker is a licensed professional who can work with multiple lenders to find, at least in theory, the best possible mortgage for their client. By contrast, a mortgage loan officer works for a particular lender, such as a bank, and can only recommend that lender’s mortgage products. A mortgage broker should not be confused with a mortgage banker, which closes and funds a mortgage with its own funds.

Why Use a Mortgage Broker?

The advantage of using a mortgage broker is that they have relationships with multiple lenders and should be able to match you with the best and/or least expensive lender for your needs. A broker may be particularly helpful if, for example, you’ve had credit difficulties in the past and need a lender that is amenable to working with borrowers in your situation. Mortgage brokers can also help you in collecting the documentation that you need and filling out your mortgage application, which is often a headache, especially for first-time borrowers. 

How to Find a Good Mortgage Broker

Depending on where you live, you are likely to have at least several—perhaps many—mortgage brokers to choose from. Here is how to narrow the field.

Ask Locally

Your real estate agent, if you’re using one, should be able to recommend one or more mortgage brokers in your area. Friends and neighbors who have recently used a broker can also be good sources of referrals.

If you’re new to the area and don’t have any local contacts, you can look for a mortgage broker online. There are any number of websites offering lists of the “best” local brokers, although their criteria for selecting them aren’t always clear. One well-known site is FindAMortgageBroker.com, which cautions, “The listing of a mortgage broker on this site does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation.”1

Online review sites like Yelp also list local mortgage brokers, often accompanied by useful comments from past customers.

Check Them Out

While shady or incompetent mortgage brokers no doubt exist, state and federal law does provide some protection. Mortgage brokers are regulated under the SAFE (Secure and Fair Enforcement for) Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008, which sets standards for the licensing and registration of state-licensed mortgage loan originators. Among other requirements, mortgage brokers must complete certain courses, pass a written test, and submit to an FBI background check. States can also impose stricter requirements than federal law provides for.3

To find out whether a mortgage broker is authorized to conduct business in your state, plug their name into the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System’s free online tool, Consumer Access. It will also tell you whether there have been any disciplinary actions against that broker.

The Better Business Bureau also has a large listing of mortgage brokers that you can search by location, including their BBB letter-grade ratings where applicable.4

Shop Around

Bear in mind that you can shop for a mortgage broker just as you would for a mortgage. If you aren’t comfortable with the first one with whom you interview, try another.

Questions you might want to ask include:

• How many lenders do you work with?
• Have you had clients with similar mortgage needs to mine?
• How much do you believe you might be able to save me?
• What do you charge, and who pays?
• What is your usual process, and how long does it typically take?

Even if you’ve decided to go with a certain mortgage broker, it’s to your advantage to visit a few mortgage websites to make certain that whatever interest rate your broker comes up with is competitive in the current market.

What Do Mortgage Brokers Charge?

Mortgage brokers are paid by either the borrower or the lender. By law, they can’t be paid by both.5 They are also required to disclose their fees up front.6

Typically, the broker will receive about 1% to 2% of the amount of the loan. For example, on a $300,000 mortgage, they might make $3,000 to $6,000. If you’re the one footing the bill, the fee usually will be due at closing or may be rolled into your loan.

The federal Dodd-Frank Act in 2010 imposed a number of new rules on mortgage brokers to attempt to protect consumers from predatory practices. One of them is that lenders can’t tie a broker’s compensation to the interest rate on the loan. That rule was intended to keep mortgage brokers from steering clients into high-interest loans, as sometimes happened in the past.7

The Bottom Line

If you’re shopping for a new mortgage, a mortgage broker may be able to save you time and money. The best way to find one is to ask locally for recommendations. You can also go online to look for a broker and check whether there have been any disciplinary actions against them.