Update: I paid a broker $500 for a mortgage review and it saved me from a bad bank deal

I was about to sign a 6.5% rate with my local bank last month. The broker looked at my whole financial picture and found a credit union option at 5.9%. That half-point difference saves me about $120 a month. I would have never known it was available. Has anyone else had a broker find a better rate after you thought you were done looking?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivia_lewis2mo ago

Did you ask the broker how they get paid for that review? I mean sometimes they get a cut from the lender, so it's good to know if their advice is totally unbiased.

taylorb942mo ago

My buddy got burned by that exact thing last year. He was so sure he had the best rate because his broker said it was a great deal. Turns out the lender was paying a huge bonus for that specific loan product. He found out later from another broker who had no skin in the game. Now he asks about fees and commissions right up front. It completely changed how he looks for a mortgage. Do you always ask about their pay structure before you talk numbers?

grayperez20d ago

Oh man, this is such a good point. I always tell people to straight up ask "who pays you and how much" before they even get into rates. A few years back I was shopping around and one broker was pushing this one lender super hard and I finally asked why. He admitted they gave him a 0.5% referral bonus. That's free money that could have gone to a lower rate for me. Now I just make it a habit to write down who pays what before I sign anything. It saves so much headache.