As you may know, we at Benson Mortgages are on a mission to make the mortgage industry more accessible than ever before. Over the years, we have seen just how confused some people become at the sheer amount of options and the terminology used so we are trying to reduce the barriers that currently exist. Today, we have a guide for you discussing the differences between a mortgage lender and a mortgage broker. In recent times, these two terms have been used interchangeably but this shouldn’t be the case and here’s why!
Mortgage Lender
For a body to be considered a mortgage ‘lender’, they must offer their own mortgage products so this includes commercial banks. When you choose to go down this route, you will have to apply to each and every bank in order to compare the market and really assess what’s on offer. Ultimately, this means a time-consuming process of filling out many different application forms just for one quote at a time.
At first, people consider going with the first quote they receive because they think rates can’t vary too much. On the one hand, you would be right because terms and rates are very similar. However, just 1% when it comes to mortgages can mean thousands of dollars over the course of your mortgage which perhaps highlights the importance of your decision moving forward.
Benefit
So far, we have been a little critical of going directly to a lender but there are some benefits including the fact you can contact them directly and have questions answered in a short time. When going through a broker (we will see how this works in a moment), the process is slightly longer because you have to ask questions through a middleman. If they don’t know the answers, you must wait for them to ask and return to you which makes the whole process rather inefficient.
Mortgage Broker
If you choose the right broker though, they will have all the information ready and won’t have to run back and forth between you and the lender; if this sounds good for you, Benson Mortgages has years of experience in the market and we still have the thirst for knowledge we first discovered at the very beginning.
As you may have guessed, a mortgage broker is a company who has access to multiple lenders and, in the case of Benson Mortgages, these will be banks as well as private lenders. Of course, the main advantage to this is that you have your very own price comparison service and you will have a much higher chance of finding the right mortgage for you and your family. As long as you choose a broker with no responsibility towards a particular company, you have yourself a professional impartial service who knows the industry inside-out.
Conclusion
Ultimately, making this decision can be hard but we believe mortgage brokers to be the more beneficial option because you relieve much of the stress from your shoulders. After meeting with Benson Mortgages experts, we will know your needs and will work hard to find the right mortgage to match these. Even after you’ve chosen a company, we will advise you on the next steps so you don’t make the classic mistakes that lead many people array each year!