You’ve always dreamed of owning a home at Lake Tahoe… you’ve worked hard and you’ve found your Tahoe dream home.  Now you need a mortgage loan.

There are several ways that homebuyers typically find mortgage lenders… the real estate agents involved in the transaction will always be happy to recommend someone…  there is the Internet… and newspaper ads… and the yellow Pages…  After all, like gas stations, most mortgage lenders are pretty much the same, right?  Wrong!

In fact, there are two very different types of mortgage lenders that you should know about… mortgage bankers and mortgage brokers.

Mortgage Bankers
Mortgage bankers are in the business of making residential and commercial mortgage loans.  But their distinguishing characteristic is that they each have a discrete set of “financial products” (loans) that they sell and fund.   These loan products are usually unique loan programs that are developed by that mortgage banker to appeal to a specific market segment.  Each of these products has special features and is “priced” by the mortgage banker based on the market and on the banker’s business objectives.  As a result, a Lake Tahoe mortgage banker may offer several different “30-year, conventional” loan programs. 

In addition, another Lake Tahoe mortgage banker may offer several other 30-year, conventional loans.  While, on the surface, all these loans appear to be the same, each lender will include different features and pricing structures, based on the market segments that each lender is trying to capture.

Because of this, each mortgage banker focuses on selling that banker’s loan products… just as it is unlikely that K-Mart will recommend that you buy Wal-Mart’s products, one mortgage banker is not likely to recommend another mortgage banker’s loan product.

This means that the diligent home buyer, seeking the best loan deal available, must shop dozens of lenders and dozens… maybe hundreds of loan programs, attempting to identify, compare, and evaluate complex features in each program.

In summary, the mortgage banker typically:
• Offers unique product features and loan product prices,
• Focuses on selling their own loan products, and
• Represents the interests of the mortgage banker… not the homebuyer.

Mortgage Brokers
There is a second category of mortgage lender available in the Lake Tahoe area… mortgage brokers.

Mortgage brokers are licensed professionals who typically represent a number of different mortgage bankers and mortgage products.  This means that a good mortgage broker offers a number of significant benefits to the homebuyer:

• The mortgage broker usually can offer a much wider selection of loan products… the broker is not restricted to offering only “in house” loan products.
• The mortgage broker is free to find the loan program that best meets the needs of the individual homebuyer.
• The mortgage broker is more likely to represent the interests of the homebuyer rather than the lender.
• The mortgage broker gets paid only if the homebuyer closes on a loan… this means that the broker is highly motivated to help the buyer get the loan they need.
• Brokers can often find loans at significantly lower rates, for two reasons:
        o Because they are not tied to a single set of loan programs, they can search the market for “deals”, and
        o Because they often handle large volumes of loans, they can get loans at “wholesale” rates … at less cost than the borrower could get the same loan from the same mortgage banker.

In summary, when buying your Lake Tahoe home, there are significant advantages to working with an experienced, professional mortgage broker… and the best of these in the Lake Tahoe area is RainTree Financial… just fill out the “Quick Quote” form and you’ll see what we mean…
 

You’ve always dreamed of owning a home at Lake Tahoe… you’ve worked hard and you’ve found your Tahoe dream home.  Now you need a mortgage loan.

There are several ways that homebuyers typically find mortgage lenders… the real estate agents involved in the transaction will always be happy to recommend someone…  there is the Internet… and newspaper ads… and the yellow Pages…  After all, like gas stations, most mortgage lenders are pretty much the same, right?  Wrong!

In fact, there are two very different types of mortgage lenders that you should know about… mortgage bankers and mortgage brokers.

Mortgage Bankers
Mortgage bankers are in the business of making residential and commercial mortgage loans.  But their distinguishing characteristic is that they each have a discrete set of “financial products” (loans) that they sell and fund.   These loan products are usually unique loan programs that are developed by that mortgage banker to appeal to a specific market segment.  Each of these products has special features and is “priced” by the mortgage banker based on the market and on the banker’s business objectives.  As a result, a Lake Tahoe mortgage banker may offer several different “30-year, conventional” loan programs. 

In addition, another Lake Tahoe mortgage banker may offer several other 30-year, conventional loans.  While, on the surface, all these loans appear to be the same, each lender will include different features and pricing structures, based on the market segments that each lender is trying to capture.

Because of this, each mortgage banker focuses on selling that banker’s loan products… just as it is unlikely that K-Mart will recommend that you buy Wal-Mart’s products, one mortgage banker is not likely to recommend another mortgage banker’s loan product.

This means that the diligent home buyer, seeking the best loan deal available, must shop dozens of lenders and dozens… maybe hundreds of loan programs, attempting to identify, compare, and evaluate complex features in each program.

In summary, the mortgage banker typically:
• Offers unique product features and loan product prices,
• Focuses on selling their own loan products, and
• Represents the interests of the mortgage banker… not the homebuyer.

Mortgage Brokers
There is a second category of mortgage lender available in the Lake Tahoe area… mortgage brokers.

Mortgage brokers are licensed professionals who typically represent a number of different mortgage bankers and mortgage products.  This means that a good mortgage broker offers a number of significant benefits to the homebuyer:

• The mortgage broker usually can offer a much wider selection of loan products… the broker is not restricted to offering only “in house” loan products.
• The mortgage broker is free to find the loan program that best meets the needs of the individual homebuyer.
• The mortgage broker is more likely to represent the interests of the homebuyer rather than the lender.
• The mortgage broker gets paid only if the homebuyer closes on a loan… this means that the broker is highly motivated to help the buyer get the loan they need.
• Brokers can often find loans at significantly lower rates, for two reasons:
        o Because they are not tied to a single set of loan programs, they can search the market for “deals”, and
        o Because they often handle large volumes of loans, they can get loans at “wholesale” rates … at less cost than the borrower could get the same loan from the same mortgage banker.

In summary, when buying your Lake Tahoe home, there are significant advantages to working with an experienced, professional mortgage broker… and the best of these in the Lake Tahoe area is RainTree Financial… just fill out the “Quick Quote” form and you’ll see what we mean…