In the past 20 years, independent mortgage brokers have had a significant positive impact on the lending industry. The mortgage broker's job is to counsel you on different lenders, take your application, and process your loan. A lender has only a small number of loan programs, which may exclude many borrowers. Mortgage brokers may deal with dozens or even hundreds of lenders. They deal with lenders who specialize in various market niches that many other lenders avoid, such as loans to applicants with poor credit ratings, loans to borrowers who do not intend to occupy the property, loans with minimal or no down payment, and so on. Some lenders have better rates for conventional loans, while others have better rates for government loans. Some have better programs for fixed rates, and some are better for ARM's.

Unless you are a very astute shopper who is willing to contact hundreds of lenders and enjoys dedicating a lot of time to the task of evaluating different mortgage programs, you will probably do better dealing with a mortgage broker. The mortgage broker also acts as a liaison between the borrower and the title company, escrow company, lender, appraiser and any other services which may effect your transaction.