If you're in the market for a mortgage, there are several ways to go about securing one. One way is to deal directly with lenders, contacting some banks, for example, and asking what rates and terms they'd offer you, given your credit rating. Another way is to go through a mortgage broker, who should sift through the many options available to you and find you the best possible deal.
So which route should you take? Well, conventional wisdom suggests that if your credit score is high, dealing directly with a lender can be fine. But if you've got a checkered credit history, a mortgage broker might serve you best. A recent J.D. Power satisfaction survey has just weighed in on the side of mortgage brokers.
It found that:
- 29% of home mortgage securers used a broker, rating them 7.1 (out of 10, with 10 being highest) on a satisfaction index.
- 72% got their mortgages directly from a lender and rated them a 7.0 for satisfaction.
- Those who were most satisfied (7.2) first used a mortgage broker to shop around and then went directly to a lender.
These may not be huge differences, but they are differences, and some other figures are starker. When face-to-face interactions were rated, brokers scored nearly 7.6, while lenders rated 7.3.
The study also ranked major lenders, with the top 10 being:
- USAA
- World Savings [part of Golden West Financial]
- Branch Banking & Trust (NYSE:BBT)
- Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)
- Cendant (NYSE:CD)
- SunTrust (NYSE:STI)
- Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC)
- First Horizon (NYSE:FHN)
- Wachovia (NYSE:WB)
- Countrywide
Learn more about mortgages in these articles:
- Beware of Mortgage-Servicing Scams
- Buy a Home, Not a Deduction
- Save Money on Your Mortgage
- Get Extra-Low Mortgage Rates
Learn more about buying, selling and maintaining a home in our Home Center, which also features special mortgage rates. Also, visit our Buying or Selling a Home and Building/Maintaining a Home discussion boards, to get some great insights and tips from fellow Fools.
Longtime Fool contributor Selena Maranjian does not own shares of any companies mentioned in this article.
