Getting a mortgage Broker vs getting it from a local credit union? (real estate)

[Alfiehurt]

Our realtor recommends to get a mortgage broker instead of going though a local credit union because of:

-Credit Union doesn't have a condo review team and requires realtor to do additional paperwork
-Credit Union asks for more paperwork than a larger financial institution does
-Realtor is concerned with ability/expertise to handle on own

Realtor mentioned mortgage broker can complete questionnaires, also manage paperwork request/delivery such as condo budget, master deed, balance sheet, master certificate, HOA meeting minutes, for a fee. .that I believe gets rolled over with the closing costs

Back NE, i believe it would've bee the real estate lawyer who would've handled this, am I wrong?

I was still planning to get a real estate lawyer to represent me with the purchase

Has anyone hired a mortgage broker to do this?
How much was their fee?
Was it worth it?

Thank you

[City Guy997S]

Your realtor is likely getting a kickback from the referral to the mortgage broker........they won't get one from the credit union

[Alfiehurt]

In that case, can he refuse to do what the credit union is asking for, if I decide I still want to stay with the credit union?

[wizrap]

I used Space Coast and my realtor was familiar with them, but she really didn’t need to interact with them much, if at all, that I can recall. We got our mortgage 8 years ago.

I did have to provide lots of documents though. I am self-employed so I know they wanted tax returns, bank statements, credit card statements, investment statements and probably some other stuff that I’m not remembering. I know the requests continued and continued. But I was able to handle every one, although I thought that being in the finance field helped me because I knew what they wanted and knew where to get it—quickly. I think a lot of people would’ve become frustrated.

My responsibility was to keep my realtor in the loop and just let her know what was going on. I remember her saying they sure were asking for a lot, and making us go through hoops to get that great interest rate of 2.75%. But it got done.

Maybe your realtor is afraid you’ll lean on him to help you through the process, and if they’re not getting a referral fee, they don’t want to spend the extra time with this? It would be nice if your realtor felt that by using a mortgage broker, you’d get a better rate but none of the reasons your realtor gave you listed mention this. Sounds like your realtor is looking out for himself first.

I used a mortgage broker for the first two homes I bought and I don’t recall paying a fee directly to the broker. I believe it was one several fees listed at closing and was paid by the lender (although really, you pay for it anyway since it’s rolled into the cost of the loan).

I had a good experience using a mortgage broker buying my first home, a condo, and I was glad to have someone shop for a loan for me. I don’t remember having to do much. She took care of all paperwork and issues. I was so happy that when I sold my condo and bought my second home, I used her again, and again, I don’t remember having to deal with any issues at all. She took care of everything related to the loan.

Sadly, she later passed away and when we sold that home and bought this one, we just dealt with Space Coast directly. It was far more work, but worth it due to the low rate they offered.

[Alfiehurt]

Originally Posted by wizrap

Maybe your realtor is afraid you’ll lean on him to help you through the process, and if they’re not getting a referral fee, they don’t want to spend the extra time with this? It would be nice if your realtor felt that by using a mortgage broker, you’d get a better rate but none of the reasons your realtor gave you listed mention this. Sounds like your realtor is looking out for himself first.

.

Realtor actually mentioned that the mortgage broker might be able to get me a comparable or better deal and then the mortgagee broker would then handle/manage all the paperwork with the lender which would increase a bit the closing costs. I guess i felt right there that the realtor did not want to handle the paperwork or considered did know much about it. That bothered me..it sounded like main motivation was mostly not to have to deal with paperwork

By the way, I am already pre-approved with the lender.. they mentioned something like I was over 90% approved and the fact that I was putting 75% down made it easier, event if the condo hadn't passed all the certifications. Lender said paperwork could be handled between both realtor and myself

[wizrap]

We put 70% down and were also pre-approved by Space Coast, but what could have been my problem is that I am self-employed and my husband had just retired and they wanted records records records, documents documents documents. Like I wrote, it’s been awhile, but I don’t remember my realtor having to deal with them very much at all.

[Alfiehurt]

Do you know if there is a penalty if you try paying the mortgage earlier than anticipated?

[wizrap]

Originally Posted by Alfiehurt

Do you know if there is a penalty if you try paying the mortgage earlier than anticipated?

The credit union or mortgage broker (whoever you decide to use) can answer that. I think we had a penalty, but only for the first couple of years of the loan. We chose a 15 year fixed.

[Lincolnian]

Applying for a mortgage from a credit union is a pretty standard process. They usually give you a checklist with the application package. The documents come from you and and many are related to your bank accounts, retirement accounts, other assets, etc. The realtor isn't going to be able to assist you with any part of that process. The realtor's responsibility is making sure that the documents related to the sale are done according to the timeline established in the contract.

Often, but not always, the credit union has less (or lower) fees involved with the loan than using a mortgage broker. Additionally, the credit union may be able to offer a lower rate because they are willing to write the loan with a lower spread than the broker is willing to accept or they may even be holding the loan in house making the loan process less complicated.

[Alfiehurt]

We moved forward with the credit union. so far everything is good except for the volume of paperwork I already provided all financial docs but it's been hectic so far with the credit union trying to get seller disclosure, questionnaires, budget, 90 days past balance sheet, master deed or declaration of condominium, 6 months HOA meeting minutes. Just trying to figure out what to get and from whom is quite hectic.

Back in NYC 12/13 years ago, our realtor handled/managed along with real estate lawyer who did what and when. Back then my mortgage was with Wells Fargo who had a co-op/condo review team and I believed they were ones who liaised with all parties