Best mortgage lenders in central Florida (Orlando, Bloomingdale: real estate, mortgage broker, credit)

[seion]

I am looking for recommendations on mortgage lenders in central Florida. I would like for the lender to be local and to keep the mortgage local as well (i.e. they don't sell the mortgage to another bank, etc.). It seems there are quite a few credit unions in the area and they may keep the mortgage local. So the question is: based on your experience, who would you recommend as a local mortgage lender? I am very interested in hearing what your experience was/is with local credit unions.

Cheers!

[RonaldusMagnus]

Originally Posted by seion

I am looking for recommendations on mortgage lenders in central Florida. I would like for the lender to be local and to keep the mortgage local as well (i.e. they don't sell the mortgage to another bank, etc.). It seems there are quite a few credit unions in the area and they may keep the mortgage local. So the question is: based on your experience, who would you recommend as a local mortgage lender? I am very interested in hearing what your experience was/is with local credit unions.

Cheers!

It may originate locally but it's tough to get assurances the mortgage will never be sold down the line. Why does that even matter to you?

[bmw335xi]

There is no reason to care if your mortgage is sold, most will be anyways. It makes no difference.

[volk2k]

The thing that annoys me the most about using a broker is that you typically don't know who the servicer is going to be until everything has been locked down.

And there are a lot of crappy service companies out there that you have to deal with especially when getting a competitive rate.

The ones that annoy me the most are the ones that have poor online experiences, and there are some that charge you transaction fees for making payments online unless you go auto-pay or hop through some other hoops.

One of my last investment properties changed servicers twice in the same year and it's been a pain from a taxes perspective because I am used to just going online to get my statements at year end, but no longer have access to the first two... grrr.

[Bette]

Generally, using a mortgage broker will give you a better rate and access to more programs especially if something is not as first perceived, there's another place to get it done.

Think of mortgage brokers like Costco (wholesale; lots of options) and retail like Bloomingdales (their brand only).

You have no guaranty if your loan will be sold. I personally had a loan with Chase for over 15 years and 6 months ago, it was sold. Nothing changed.

If you want the true, personalized service where your calls will be answered and you will be dealing with 1 or 2 people, a mortgage broker may work better for you.

A lot of the large retail banks work on an assembly line type process or teams. You rarely talk to the same person twice.

[bmw335xi]

Mortgage brokers are the way to go in most cases, sometimes you'll see a lender making an aggressive push for a certain loan program, but most of the time mortgage brokers can get you the best deals and also have the most flexibility.

If you go to Wells Fargo, they only have their rates and their programs, if something in your record disqualifies you, it's over. A mortgage broker might work with 50 lenders, so they can shop around for you and if your case in unique, they can usually find a lender with a program that caters to your specific scenario.

(I used to be a MLO in California)

[clearlevel]

If you don't want mortgages to be sold, then pay cash.

Yeah, I know it's tough and I don't really like it either. At the end of the day, you're the one asking for the loan, and owing potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars so you're not in a position of negotiating or saying, "Hey, don't sell my loan."

It will probably get sold multiple times. Yeah, they probably do it to get more money out of you. That's how it is, though. You have to understand that most lenders want to lend more money, therefore they have to sell your mortgage so they can recoup some of that money they lent you and give it to someone else. You're basically telling the mortgage companies not to make more money. They want to make money.

That being said, a credit union might be a good way to get a loan if you qualify for that. I know for car loans they're good. I don't know how their mortgages work, though.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by clearlevel

That being said, a credit union might be a good way to get a loan if you qualify for that. I know for car loans they're good. I don't know how their mortgages work, though.

I would agree as credit unions operate as not-for-profits and as such don't sell off mortgages for better rates and profit. Check out Fairwinds or Grow Financial.

[seion]

As always, I'm very grateful for all your replies. I will investigate the credit unions approach, although it seems that a broker could get me incentives in the form or programs that otherwise wouldn't be available (I'm currently checking out Eric E. Golf at Watson Mortgage). I will start another threat on the feeling for where the real state market in Orlando is going (up, down, etc); the website Mortgage News Daily - Mortgage And Real Estate News seems to be one source to keep an eye on to see what's affecting the market.

[OTownKnight]

The market in Orlando is on the upswing and shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. Prices are rising and rising fast.