Why not call banks and find out your own rates? You can compare with the ones from broker.
Ask HN: Buying house – any disruptors I can use?
11–20 of 24 posts
Re: Ask HN: Buying house – any disruptors I can use?
#12We are disrupting the housing market! https://better.com/
We don't charge any mortgage broker commission (eww, it's gross) we'll give you transparency into the mortgage process so you can configure loans to your hearts content to optimize for what you want on your own terms.
We also have a fleet of real estate Agents that can help you find your new home and currently we'll cut 1% of the purchase price off of your eventual mortgage at closing if you use one of our Agents https://better.com/realestate
You're in SF so I don't think we're live there yet with our cash offer program, but in case anyone else see this from other markets, we can make you a cash buyer https://welcome.better.com/cash-offer/
We are actively working to make the homeownership journey less painful and there's a lot more we'll do in the future but as is we're one of the main disruptors in the space
Happy to answer any questions since I do work for Better!
Re: Ask HN: Buying house – any disruptors I can use?
#13Not an alternative idea - just want to mention that don’t trust inspector picked by the bank. Pay for extra independent inspector - it will save you thousands especially if it’s an older home with potential hidden issues.
Re: Ask HN: Buying house – any disruptors I can use?
#14We are disrupting the housing market! https://better.com/ We don't charge any mortgage broker commission (eww, it's gross) we'll give you transparency into the mortgage process so you can configure loans to your hearts content to optimize for what you want on your own terms. We also have a fleet of real estate Agents that can help you find your new home and currently we'll cut 1% of the purchase price off of your eve…
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Re: Ask HN: Buying house – any disruptors I can use?
#15I don’t remember paying a mortgage broker commission. Do they hide that fee somehow? The mortgage closing costs did seem high.
Re: Ask HN: Buying house – any disruptors I can use?
#16Any commissioned agent - buyer's or seller's are incentivized for transaction to occur.
No one is acting in your (or seller's) best interest.
However either seller's agent keeps all the commission or split it with buyer's agent. Which essentially you paying anyways, unless you find FSBO house.
So i don't think you're losing anything by having buyer's agent. Just use this person for what he/she is good at, make them work harder to give you information to help you to make an informed decision.
If your current buyers agent is lousy - call another one. You're not married to an agent. However seller is.
We used mortgage broker few years back because we had issues with credit. They do have connections that maybe beneficial.
Re: Ask HN: Buying house – any disruptors I can use?
#17I've never heard of the buyer having to pay a mortgage broker a fee. When I bought my house I didn't have to pay them. The guy used gets a commission from the bank when he sales a mortgage. However when I refinanced I didn't use a mortgage broker. I just went through my credit union.
The commission paid by the bank is recouped by the bank by raising the interest rate slightly. One way or the other it's paid.
This isn't true in Australia at least. Banks wear the cost their side for the new business and enjoy when people go direct to them for the lack of fee paid.
The broker issue is stems from they wont look at loans that dont offer commission, these are often cheaper. And potentially an unethical one will push you to a worse loan that pays them more.
IMO brokers have a much more limited benefit these days with easy to use comparison sites but still serve a purpose for more complex transitions and people that are low in financial literacy.
Re: Ask HN: Buying house – any disruptors I can use?
#18We are disrupting the housing market! https://better.com/ We don't charge any mortgage broker commission (eww, it's gross) we'll give you transparency into the mortgage process so you can configure loans to your hearts content to optimize for what you want on your own terms. We also have a fleet of real estate Agents that can help you find your new home and currently we'll cut 1% of the purchase price off of your eve…
I used better for my first refinance, super easy to work with! I did have to use a different lender for a second refi since there seems to be a 6-month cooldown period (rates kept going down...)
My only recommendation for buyers is to do some cross-shopping, since it is pretty easy to compare different loan options. Lenderfi is good alternative. I have heard most lenders can generally match each other. Your credit will only take 1 hit when shopping for different mortgage lenders, at least for a certain time window.
You can shop around for various services (helpfully listed on the loan estimate as You can shop for..), but the most you can save is a few hundred $ there.
Lastly, you can ask to have no escrow for insurance and property tax! As long as you have discipline to pay the tax bill and home insurance once a year this makes it a lot easier, especially when you sell or refinance, since you don't have to wait weeks for the escrow to pay you back.
Re: Ask HN: Buying house – any disruptors I can use?
#19Most of the paperwork for offers etc are standard forms that are used in the state. You can put in an offer and get a mortgage on your own. There is some overhead of learning it, but it's not difficult. If you do run into anything tricky (covenants, etc), most agents just tell you to talk to a real estate lawyer anyways. You should be able to save the 3% that a buyer agent typically charges.
Thanks. Because it involves such a large investment and affects are life, I want to understand and learn it - so problem with overhead of learning. Will research into the paperwork.
Ask around for a real estate attorney recommendation. You can pay a flat hourly fee which should in total be $500-$1500 for their services.
It sounds expensive, but remember you are paying realtors 3-6% of the sale price, it is actually a bargain! If you are not using a buying agent you may be able to knock off a few % on your offer by saying there is no buying agent fee.
Re: Ask HN: Buying house – any disruptors I can use?
#20I don’t remember paying a mortgage broker commission. Do they hide that fee somehow? The mortgage closing costs did seem high.
They will hide it in either closing costs or a slightly higher interest rate.