when consumers wish to buy or refinance a home often their first step is to contact a loan officer in a local bank or credit union a bank loan officer offers programs and mortgage rates from a single institution 
unlike a loan officer a mortgage broker works on a borrower s behalf to find the lowest available mortgage rates and or the best loan programs available through multiple lenders however the number of lenders a mortgage broker can access is limited by their approval to work with each lender that means that borrowers are generally best served by doing some of their own legwork as well in order to find the best deal a mortgage broker often works with several clients at one time and does not get paid unless a loan closes this encourages mortgage brokers to work with each borrower on a more personal level if a loan originated through the efforts of a mortgage broker is declined the broker applies to another lender a loan officer from a big bank may keep a borrower waiting for an extended period of time because the officer is working with many borrowers at once if a loan originating through a loan officer is declined no further action is taken by the loan officer or bank some lenders work exclusively with mortgage brokers providing borrowers access to loans that would otherwise not be available to them in addition mortgage brokers can get lenders to waive application appraisal origination and other fees big banks work exclusively with loan officers and do not waive fees can i get a home loan without a mortgage broker yes you can however finding a home loan isn t easy and a mortgage broker can do the heavy lifting for you their essential purpose is to match borrowers with lenders 