Absolutely not.
I work for a broker and I’m brutally honest with my clients. I have a couple people every month that choose not to use but they refer me to their friends because I was honest.

I personally know a few brokers that would rather do what it takes to get a loan even if it means being being unethical. Because they’re more concerned about today.

Every business has crooked people looking out for themselves today. Priests, lawyers, ceo’s, and yes sales people all have bad apples. But no its not all of them.

Mortgage lending is just like any other profession, you have good people and bad people but he bad people get all the PR (and rightfully so).

I’ve been a mortgage lender for more than 20 years and I have been able to make a good living in this industry by being ethical, honest, and a client advocate.

Yes there are loan sharks out there, a lot of them. But there are also honest hard working people who do this job because they like helping people make their dreams come true.

I’ve worked as a broker and as a mortgage banker and I can say that I’ve seen more unethical behavior in the broker ranks than in the banking ranks. In an industry that is as loosely regulated as most brokers are, it is inevitable that you are going to find people preying on the unsophisticated borrower.

Your best protection is to become as informed as possible. Get a HUD booklet and learn the terminology. Ask lots of questions. Get any promises in writing. Choose your mortgage lender with the same care and attention to detail as you would your doctor or child care provider.

Not all, just most.
I do know an honest one. email me if you want contact info (state of CA)

My cousin was in that business (and basically honest) and he showed me his sales staff roster and told me who married whom and who is now in JAIL!

Does that provide some insight?

Understand the business. It’s a hot potato game. You write paper (a loan) above the rate at which you borrow money (from a bank or Fannie Mae) and hold on to it (making some profit off the difference between what you pay and what you get in payments) and hope you can sell that paper (usually in a package) to someone else (like a bank) before the person on the paper (home owner) defaults!

You sell that paper for 1/2 a point.

That’s how you make your money!

After yu sell the paper it’s someone else’s headache or problem!

Expect that paper (loan or loan package) to change hands 5 times in 7 years. It’s musical chairs. When the music stops the person holding the paper loses (default, bankruptcy, foreclosed property you must dispose of without taking a bath)!

Now you have even more insight!

Unfortunately many of them are crooked. There are good and honest ones out there, but they are like guppies swimming with sharks. If you are asking because you are or are about to be shopping for a mortgage, ask around and get three “good faith estimates”. Best resources to find good loan officers is a trusted real estate agent and/or financial planner for referrals.

Not all but a great majority. I worked for a nationwide subprime lender and well lets just say i dont want to work on the broker side. I have encountered the occasional ethical broker who truly does their clientele a great service. Ask questions if your thinking about buying a home. Take the time to find out about your broker. It’s worth it in the end.

Yes. My experiences had been not so pleasant, even with my excellent credit score and history, i can’t seem to get the power check., if i could describe my experiences with a few words i would say Loan officers are like the famous Hollywood casting couch. And believe me, some of them actually suggested that!

mostly

Absolutely not! You have to deal with reputable companies. Try your local bank or credit union.