Suppose you were in the market to buy a new car. Would you go to a single dealership and expect to find the perfect car at the perfect price simply because you're buying directly from the dealer? Of course not. It is very similar with mortgages.

The fact is that there are countless mortgage programs based on countless 'guidelines' for determining acceptance. The variety of programs and rates varies greatly from lender to lender. Because of this the odds are very much stacked against you finding the 'perfect' mortgage from a single direct lender. Direct Lenders have one group of programs. That's it.

The advantage of a broker is that they can choose from the thousands of lenders to select the program that offers the lowest rate for your specific loan. Some people fear higher costs by using a broker as opposed to a Direct Lender. This is sometimes the case. What must be kept in mind, though, is that Direct Lenders make their money off of the interest you pay on the loan---not the Closing Costs...and over a 5 year period the amount you pay in interest will likely be over 50 Times the amount of your closing costs. In other words, Closing Costs must be viewed in relation to your Interest Rate. In fact, Interest Rates are more important than closing costs (especially since there are laws in place that prevent excessive loan charges). So sure, sometimes a Direct Lender offers lower closing costs. The interest rate, however, is rarely lower and that is what will affect you the most over the coming years.