Finding the best rates on Washington D.C. mortgages certainly can feel like a large undertaking. Factoring for budget, annual interest (APR) and preferred loan type alone can take hours, with even the most thorough house hunters in Washington D.C. still sometimes struggling to find optimal mortgage rates. The surrounding level of detail often leads to confusion, one reason that comparison shoppers in the Washington D.C. area often turn to mortgage brokers.

Essentially, mortgage brokers price out and negotiate loans for customers. By assessing your credit history, assets, income, and other supporting documentation, mortgage brokers take the guesswork out of acquiring a Washington D.C. home loan. Ultimately, though, the approval to lend and the rates at which to do so still depend solely on the lending bank itself.

Washington D.C. Mortgage Brokers or Direct Lenders?

For this reason, direct lenders tend to offer a benefit to many mortgage customers, including both those looking to refinance and those purchasing their first home. Direct lenders do not require the mortgage broker to mediate, so applications can often be streamlined and the approval process virtually instantaneous. Additionally, the absence of a broker means that you can have lower fees instead of exorbitant brokers' fees.

More than half of U.S. loans are negotiated at the hands of mortgage brokers. However, direct loans from lenders are gaining in popularity. While some brokerage loan advertisements for the Washington D.C. area can boast interest rates that rightfully seem too low to be norms, many direct lenders will offer you up-front quotes, or provide an online mortgage calculator to help you accurately and quickly figure the cost of prospective mortgages.