Yes, of course. If you have already found a home but need someone you can trust to help score you a wholesale rate and a loan that best suits your situation now and down the road, count on us.

We certainly can. We’re not in the business of stealing clients from other lenders. If you’re happy with your lender and the terms of their loan, stick with them! We’ll still do an amazing job helping you find and buy the home of your choice.

It is perfectly legal to be dually licensed as a real estate agent and a loan officer, although there are specific rules that must be followed. Is there a conflict of interest? We don’t think so. Working for a flat-fee saves our clients a small fortune and eliminates any concerns one may have about price gouging. With 28 years in the real estate business, originating mortgages is a natural extension of our service offerings. But if you’re not comfortable with it, you won’t hurt our feelings. You can hire us as your Exclusive Buyer’s Agent, your loan officer, or both. We’re going to do an outstanding job for you regardless.

Mortgage lenders are the financiers of the home-buying process. When someone decides to purchase a home or refinance a mortgage they already have, the mortgage lender makes it possible by loaning the money needed to complete the transaction. Each lender has criteria you’ll need to meet to qualify for the loan, with FICO score and financial resources playing a major role. Beyond determining eligibility, overall creditworthiness often dictates the interest rates and loan types offered.

Mortgage brokers are the matchmakers of the home-buying process. They work on the homebuyer’s behalf and shop multiple lenders to find the rates and terms that meet their clients’ needs. Mortgage brokers usually rely on their relationships with wholesale lenders who offer discounted rates that aren’t available directly.

Most American adults are at least loosely familiar with the retail lending process. Retail lenders handle the loan in-house, and work directly with prospective homebuyers to complete the transaction. Wells Fargo and Chase are examples of retail lenders. They also only offer products available from their own institution. The standard process includes: submitting an application with the lender (often a bank or credit union), and if the homebuyer is approved, the lender cuts a check and the buyer begins paying the same lender back.

Wholesale lenders are different in that they don’t work directly with homebuyers. Instead, they offer their home loans through third-party clients like mortgage brokers and correspondent lenders.  The broker shops around to find the best mortgage terms ad rates for their clients — the homebuyers. The wholesale lender then underwrites and funds the loan. It is usually far less expensive to get a Wells Fargo loan, for example, from a wholesale lender like HelpUBuy Mortgage vs going directly to Wells Fargo!

Closing Costs – This includes fees for applications, credit reports, appraisals, processing, underwriting, document preparation, etc. These fees are sometimes referred to as “junk fees.”

Discount Points – Points are prepaid interest.  If you are quoted an interest rate of 7.25% with 0 points, but you have your heart set on an interest rate of 7%, you could pay 1 point and buy the interest rate down to this amount.

Yield Spread Premiums – YSPs are rebates paid by wholesale lenders to mortgage brokers for writing loans that are above market interest rates. If the market rate is 8%, but your mortgage broker can get you to pay 8.5%, the wholesale lender will pay your broker an extra commission called a YSP.

Origination Fees – Origination fees are usually 1% of the loan amount. This is simply a fee the broker charges for writing the loan.

Closing Costs – Some closing costs are legitimate fees for services performed by a third party. Your credit report and appraisal are examples of legitimate fees – some of these fees are collected upfront. Some legitimate fees, like fees for processing, are collected at closing. Are all other fees junk fees? It is impossible to say. There are an endless number of ways that predatory lenders can manipulate closing costs. They can waive most of your closing costs and charge you a higher interest rate (you still pay, of course, just not upfront). They can charge you for services that are never performed. They can charge you $400 for an appraisal that costs $250.This includes fees for applications, credit reports, appraisals, processing, underwriting, document preparation, etc. These fees are sometimes referred to as “junk fees.”

Discount Points –  Points paid for their stated purpose – to reduce the consumer’s interest rate – are fine. But, a dishonest lender can quote you a certain rate at the time of loan application and produce something quite different at the closing table. For example, you may be told that because of a past credit problem you don’t qualify for the best rate. You are “forced” to either buy down the interest rate by paying additional discount points, or you agree to a higher rate, in which case the broker receives a rebate in the form of a Yield Spread.

Yield Spread Premiums – If your loan officer can get you to pay a higher than market interest rate, they get a “rebate” called a Yield Spread Premium. Here’s what happens. You agree to a 30-year loan at 6.5%. Since interest rates change daily, your loan officer won’t lock in your interest rate right away. They will “float” your loan until there is a little dip in rates and then they will lock in your loan – let’s say at 6.25%. Since your loan officer has you committed to pay 6.5%, he/she will get an extra commission for selling you a loan at a higher than market interest rate. These commissions are often in the multiple thousands! An upfront and ethical loan officer would have rebated YOU the YSP or given you the 6.25% interest rate. Since the lender is not required to disclose this extra profit to you until closing, you are none the wiser until it is too late to do anything about it. YSPs provide a useful option to some borrowers. For those with little cash, YSPs make no-cost mortgages possible, one where settlement costs are paid by the lender. For those who expect to be in their house only a few years, YSPs permit a favorable exchange of higher rate for lower fees. But, in the hands of unscrupulous lenders, they can cost the borrower thousands and thousands of dollars.

Origination Fees – There are legitimate costs associated with loan origination and your lender is entitled to make a fair profit. To charge a 1% origination is fine, BUT to charge a 1% origination fee in conjunction with inflated or fabricated closing costs and premium interest rates could be considered excessive.