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Jose Said:

Which is better for VA loan, a mortgage broker or a mortgage lender?

We Answered:

You will hear many different opinions on this. Here's what I do know. Most of your larger lending institutions, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, HSBC, etc all have VA programs. Now you could try a smaller regional bank, I assume that they would have a VA program, but I'm not absolutely positive about that. You should be able to walk into any of the larger lenders and discuss their va programs. The typical turn time can be between 30 and 60 days. The problem here is if you go to large bank a, and they upset you, you don't click with them, whatever and you go to bank b, you start all over with the lending process and you'll get your credit pulled again. If you go to a broker (depending on the state, I might now an ethical broker or you may know some through your networks) the broker does the shopping for you, you supply them with all the information, w-2's, ss number, paystubs, etc and they go to work. Now, broker's claim that your credit only gets pulled once, this is not necessairly true, some lenders will pull credit again for their protection (meaning the broker didnt fudge the credit report) so there may not be an advantage there, it depends on the lender they use. The processing time for broker's can be less, I've seen files close in 2 weeks, and broker's can get better pricing through the wholesale channels, but some sometimes won't as they may not get paid as much. Whatever you do, get a good faith estimate and shop around, some lenders and brokers will do what they can to be another's offer. Good Luck

Gene Said:

If we get an FHA loan through a mortgage lender, does it matter what lender we go to?

We Answered:

doesnt matter which lender you use....The rates and fees can vary ...shop around...