Did she say she was? Anyway, the promises sound very much like the ones of an upfront broker and the easiest way to find out how much truth there is to them is to go to the official site of The Upfront Mortgage Brokers Association (UMBA), use the search tool and see if your broker’s name is listed for the area. If it is not, your broker may exercise certain principles of the upfront concept in her work, but there is no guarantee as to how consistent she will be in sticking to all the rules. The fact that in spite of all the implied similarity in ways she is not a member of the UMBA suggests that there are certain requirements that she prefers not to bind herself with or the Association were not happy enough with her performance to admit her, if she ever applied. Upfront price disclosure and wholesale prices are not everything that makes a real UMB. There is a lot of ethics involved (read my article); moral guarantees that ultimately lead to financial satisfaction.

The claims she made may also happen to be just empty claims used to attract a customer. To make sure she does as she says, it is recommended to sign an agreement based on The UpFront Mortgage Broker Commitment (page 3 of the document) before you commit yourself.

The concept of mortgage brokers disclosing the real wholesale mortgage prices to their customers has caught my eye again recently, as it is being promoted by some most respectful mortgage experts and advisors. Some of them sound very enthusiastic about it; some see the panacea for predatory lending in it. Well, there seems to be quite some good common sense in it, but somehow certain aspects of the deal keep me puzzled and wondering.

When one wants to borrow some money to, say, buy a home, he can either shop for a retail lender with the best offer himself or hire a broker to find the best deal on the market. The advantages of having a broker are obvious – a broker being constantly in the business has a far better knowledge and understanding of the mortgage market and procedures, he can provide his customer with a better deal. Well, at least in theory. The disadvantages are also obvious – the costs of the service. Moreover, a conventional broker tends to work for a commission, which s/he does not tell the customer in advance, which, in its turn, leaves a lot of room for tricks and speculations. Read the rest of this article »