Best Rates for a Mortgage (loan, pre-approval, loan, bank)

[armenh]

We would like to get pre-approval for a mortgage on a home, but before deciding on either a bank, mortgage broker or even a mortgage banker I wanted to know which one of them would generally offer the lower rate? The loan will be a conventional one. What are the advantages of dealing with a mortgage broker vs a local bank?

[VictorBurek]

You will probably get the best deal from a broker or banker. The advantages of the broker/banker is they can shop you with multiple lenders to find you the best deal. Additionally, broker/bankers get wholesale rates but when a consumer calls a direct bank they get retail rates.