Shopping Lenders

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Topic Author
gone_forever
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:02 pm

Shopping Lenders

Post by gone_forever »

For the last couple years we have interacted a lot with a mortgage broker (asking questions, phone calls, getting advice, pre-approval letters for properties etc...) and we finally settled on a house and have an accepted offer.

I'm curious if when people shop rates they are doing so prior to building a relationship with a mortgage broker or if they do so at the point I'm at now.

On the one hand I want to move forward with this person, but potentially paying a lot of extra $$ / mo seems silly. Is it legal to just send a thank you gift to make up for their lost commission?
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anon_investor
Posts: 15122
Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 1:43 pm

Re: Shopping Lenders

Post by anon_investor »

gone_forever wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 1:50 pm For the last couple years we have interacted a lot with a mortgage broker (asking questions, phone calls, getting advice, pre-approval letters for properties etc...) and we finally settled on a house and have an accepted offer.

I'm curious if when people shop rates they are doing so prior to building a relationship with a mortgage broker or if they do so at the point I'm at now.

On the one hand I want to move forward with this person, but potentially paying a lot of extra $$ / mo seems silly. Is it legal to just send a thank you gift to make up for their lost commission?
Is this a mortgage broker affiliated with a single lender or an independent one that will pull multiple offers from lenders for you to compare?
Topic Author
gone_forever
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:02 pm

Re: Shopping Lenders

Post by gone_forever »

They are able to pull rates from many different lenders.
Topic Author
gone_forever
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:02 pm

Re: Shopping Lenders

Post by gone_forever »

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Balance
Posts: 294
Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2010 1:27 am
Location: San Diego, CA

Re: Shopping Lenders

Post by Balance »

Congratulations on getting your offer accepted. Have you talked with your Realtor about switching lenders? If you switch lenders during escrow, then your agent, the listing agent, and title/escrow would need to be informed about it. You will also need to keep in mind how many days are left in your close of escrow and if you have any contingencies. If you are in escrow now your current lender is probably working hard to get all of your docs in. Normally, it's best to shop lenders before an offer is accepted otherwise your current lender will have put in a lot of work on your loan file.

What I would do is be completely transparent with everyone on your team (agent, lender, escrow/title). Tell your lender that there is another lender offering XXX for the loan. That may give your current lender something to work with and they can bring it to their higher-ups to see if they can match that other quote. If they cannot match it then at least they will be more understanding if you decide to part ways.
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