Mortgage brokers have plenty of choices when it comes to running their business, and one of those choices is whether to work for an institution such as a bank, a retail lender, or a credit union, or to become an independent mortgage advisor.

Myth 1: Mortgage advisors have less control of the process

Advisors actually have more control than big banks and retail lenders because they have options. Rather than working with a limited set of products, they can choose from a variety of lenders based on the needs of their clients. They also have more control over turn times, and other parts of the process from start to finish. If a particular lender is lagging in their turn times, for example, or otherwise isn’t up to snuff, brokers can take their business elsewhere. The advisors, and therefore the clients, are in control.

Myth 2: It’s more expensive to go through the middleman

In theory, yes, it does get more expensive the more people are added to a transaction. In the case of working with a mortgage advisor, however, it’s radiantly not true. Independent mortgage professionals offer consumers a lower rate and cheaper fees almost every single time because they have access to multiple lenders.

Wholesale lenders must offer competitive pricing to compete. They don’t have a captive loan like big banks and retail lenders do. Retail lenders know that if a loan comes to their system, they are getting that loan whether their price is 4.5% or 4.625%, it doesn’t matter. In wholesale, if their rate is 4.625% instead of 4.5%, they don’t have a chance to compete. The loan will go somewhere else. So thinking that it’s more expensive to go to a middleman is just not true.

Rate is a hard thing to get consumers to overcome, especially as it’s common practice for them to rate shop large lending institutions as the first step in their mortgage journey. Once they are open to having a conversation, however, mortgage brokers can expand the conversation about rate to not just interest, but what that actually looks like on a monthly and weekly basis, and what price looks like for them in the long run.

Myth 3: Advisors have fewer product options

For anyone who actually knows what mortgage professionals do, this myth, that advisors have fewer product options is a pretty easy one to dismiss, although it does still need to be acknowledged.

Brokers have more products than any retail lender or big bank because they have access to multiple lenders. So if UWM has a unique product, brokers have access to that, just as they have access to Flagstar or Caliber’s unique products. So being an advisor gives you more product options, not less, because advisors have access to all lenders.

The truth of the matter is, mortgage professionals are gaining in market share because the word is getting out, but many people who are familiar with a bank or retail model of business may truly not know that there is another option.

It all comes down to options, and when working with an mortgage advisor, clients have more options overall. Dispelling myths is a hard job, but for independent mortgage professionals operating nationwide, knowing how to strike down common myths is just another part of the job.