How do mortgage brokers and realtor's take advantage of home buyers? Are they similar to car salesmen or are they on your side?

Mortgage brokers and Realtors are in business to make a profit, but as with most things in life - there's a spectrum.

For instance, a Mortgage Broker is "allowed" by law to charge up to 5% in fees for an FHA mortgage loan. This may come from the front end (the borrower's side of the deal) or the back end (the lender's side).

Some mortgage brokers will take the "hoggish" approach and shoot for the full 5%. Others will realize (rightly so) that if they take say, a point up front and get what they can off the back end - they're more likely to see repeat or referral business from their borrower client. Hmm... what a concept!

As with any business that requires a portion of trust from one party to another, you have a tendency to end up with some bad fruit in the basket. I believe that this is true in the housing industry today and... keep reading →

You should regard your realtor (I'm an Aussie, so I call him a real estate agent) the same way you regard a used car salesman. Yes, I know there are honest realtors out there - but... keep reading →

They both have a vested interest in selling to you but there is a fundamental difference between the two. The realtor is working on behalf of the seller and the higher the price he or she can extract from you... keep reading →