Mortgage brokers must adapt to their clients' schedules, and a friendly, outgoing personality can help clients a lot. Being a mortgage broker often requires many hours and many days to find a lender willing to work with the prospective borrower, so patience is just as key in this field. Still, there are opportunities for professional, hardworking, and ethical mortgage brokers. The work is extremely flexible, but the downside is that you have to be self-disciplined.
At the end of a busy day, there will still be calls and emails to return. If you can manage these tasks and develop a positive reputation, you may find that being a mortgage broker is a rewarding career. Negotiation skills are also important for mortgage brokers when working with lenders to ensure the best possible deal for their clients. A mortgage broker must be able to understand the market, be up to date on current loan options and interest rates, and have the research skills necessary to complete the process of obtaining a loan for their client.
The certified residential mortgage specialist is a mid-level certificate for those who have at least two years of industry experience and the certified mortgage consultant requires at least five years of experience and professional education. You can also obtain voluntary certification through the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB), which offers three levels. Mortgage brokers often charge fees for their services, which are usually paid by lenders and sometimes by borrowers, depending on how their fee structure is established. New lending regulations have also made being a mortgage broker less lucrative than it was a few years ago.
Attention to detail and the ability to think quickly are also important qualities in a mortgage broker. When people are looking for a new home, a mortgage broker acts as a liaison between the buyer and their potential lenders. Although they are not loan officers, mortgage brokers often play a similar role for buyers as a bank loan officer. The work of a mortgage broker can be very useful for everyone involved in the homebuying process, including the buyer and the lender.
There are opportunities for mortgage brokers to also work as employees, if that's what you prefer. The typical mortgage broker will have 30 to 50 lending institutions to deal with, and should be familiar with each of them. To keep their license current and valid, mortgage brokers must complete annual continuing education courses. A mortgage broker can save borrowers the time and energy needed to get a mortgage loan approved, and then get paid once the loan is secured and the home is closed.
This means that a mortgage broker can be more versatile than a single lender, as it matches customers with the lender and the loan product that best suits their needs.
