Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer

Either a mortgage broker or a loan officer may assist you when you're looking to get a mortgage loan. Since both a mortgage broker and mortgage banker can help you purchase your new home, it's common to confuse the two. However, knowing the ways they differ will be valuable to the mortgage process.

About Mortgage Brokers

During the mortgage loan process, an individual or firm who is an independent agent for both mortgage loan borrower and lender is a mortgage broker. A mortgage broker facilitates things for you and your lender, which can be one of the following: a credit union, bank, trust company, finance company, mortgage corporation or even an individual investor. Acting as a facilitator between you and your lender, your mortgage broker can match you with a bank, trust company, credit union, mortgage corporation, finance company or even an individual investor. Which lender has the loan programs that fits your needs? A mortgage broker will help you find the right fit. You give your mortgage loan application to your broker, who offers it to various lenders. Your mortgage broker then helps you work with the lender of choice until closing. The broker is given a commission from the borrower at closing.

Mortgage Bankers

Mortgage Bankers work for a specific lending institution (such as a bank) who promote and process mortgages and other loans on behalf of their employer alone. There can be a wide variety of loans types to draw from, but all are programs of that specific lending institution.

Also called a "loan representative" or "account executive," a mortgage banker represents the borrower to the lender. From finding a loan to closing, a mortgage banker can help a borrower through the process. Either a salary or commission is paid to loan officers by their employers.