Austin Mortgage Companies

explain the three channels by who sets the price and who funds the loan: retail lenders and banks price and fund their own, brokers shop wholesale lenders' pricing, correspondents fund and sell upstream -- and that all loan originators carry an NMLS number either way

it is the unique identifier every licensed originator and company carries, and consumers can search it in the NMLS Consumer Access system -- tell them to check the license status and any disciplinary history themselves

the note rate sets the payment; APR folds in prepaid finance charges to make offers comparable -- explain that APR can mislead when comparing loans the borrower will not hold to term, which is most of them

explain front-end and back-end ratios, that the housing figure includes taxes, insurance, HOA and mortgage insurance, and that the qualifying limits come from the program and the automated underwriting decision, not a single universal number

loan-to-value drives risk-based pricing adjustments and whether mortgage insurance is required -- explain the mechanism without quoting adjustment amounts, since those come off a current rate sheet

a lock fixes the price for a period and a float-down lets the borrower capture an improvement once, usually for a fee -- explain that extensions cost money and that the lock is tied to a specific loan and property

distinguish conventional PMI, which can be cancelled at defined equity thresholds under the Homeowners Protection Act, from FHA MIP, which for most current loans lasts the life of the loan -- the exact cancellation path depends on the program and origination date

escrow collects taxes and insurance monthly and reconciles annually, so a payment change usually means the tax bill or the premium moved -- explain the shortage-spread mechanics, because a surprise escrow reset is a reputation event for the originator

loans outside the Qualified Mortgage safe harbor -- bank statement, P&L, asset depletion, DSCR -- for borrowers whose income is real but does not document conventionally; explain that non-QM is not subprime, it is different documentation

an investor loan qualified on the property's rent against its debt service rather than the borrower's personal income -- explain the ratio and that occupancy, reserves and experience still matter

a seller, builder or lender funds an escrow that subsidizes the payment for the first year or two, then it reverts to the note rate -- be explicit that the borrower is qualified at the note rate, not the bought-down rate

explain points as prepaid interest that permanently lowers the rate, and give the break-even method -- cost divided by monthly savings -- then say the answer depends on how long they will actually keep the loan

explain the disclosure timeline, the fee tolerance categories, and the three-day rule before closing -- and that a tolerance violation gets cured with a lender credit, which is why fee accuracy matters

explain that credit bureaus have historically sold notification of a mortgage inquiry, and that the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, signed 5 September 2025 as Public Law 119-36, restricts furnishing those reports unless there is a firm offer plus consent or an existing relationship

be even-handed: brokers shop multiple wholesale lenders and compete well on files needing structure, retail lenders compete on speed and process -- and note that borrowers now hear both pitches because the channels market against each other explicitly

compare rate, points, lender fees in Section A, and the cash to close on the same lock term -- and check whether one quote assumes a buydown, a different escrow setup or a different property tax estimate