How lenders compare
Broker, bank, big retail, or a micro mortgage banker.
Four ways people get a home loan. Only some of them can fund the loan in their own name. Egan Financial Group LLC is a micro Independent Mortgage Banker (IMB): we take the application, underwrite the file, and fund it.
The picture
How many desks usually touch the file before the money shows up
This is a picture of the model, not a stopwatch on your file. A bank and a big retail lender can fund. A broker cannot. A micro IMB funds too, without a chain of departments.
Typical handoffs: Egan Financial Group LLC 1, bank 3, big retail 4, broker 3 (the broker plus the real lender). Not a timed study and not a quote.
Side by side
What each model actually does
Read our column first if you only remember one thing: we fund the loan. A broker does not.
| Question | Egan Financial Group LLC | Bank | Big retail lender | Mortgage broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who funds the loan? | We do. The loan is funded in our company’s name. | The bank, after several departments. | The retail lender, often after a national queue. | Not the broker. An outside lender funds it. |
| Who underwrites (says yes or no)? | We underwrite here, to investor guidelines. | The bank’s underwriting group. | Usually a central underwriting desk you never meet. | The wholesale lender the broker sent the file to. |
| Extra company in the middle? | No. We take the application, approve the file, and fund it. | No third lender. Plenty of internal handoffs. | No third lender. Plenty of internal handoffs. | Yes. The broker cannot fund the loan without that middleman. |
| What you pay for in the rate | A small shop. No stadium ads. No venture capital to pay back. | Branches, ads, and a large staff. | Stadium ads, layers of managers, and marketing. | The wholesale lender’s price plus the broker’s compensation. |
| Who you call when something breaks | The same shop that has to fund it. | A call center or a new person each time. | Your loan officer, then whoever has the file in the queue. | The broker, who then has to chase the real lender. |
Before you pick a lender
Questions first-time buyers actually ask
If you have never closed a loan, start here. These are the same questions people ask: who funds the money, what a broker really is, and whether a smaller shop can still get the loan done. Written by Bill Egan, NMLS 7342.
- Who is Bill Egan and what is Egan Financial Group LLC?
- Bill Egan (NMLS 7342) founded Egan Financial Group LLC (NMLS 2647764), a licensed Independent Mortgage Banker, or IMB. The company takes your application, underwrites the file, and funds the loan in its own name. It is a micro mortgage banker: the same lending power as a large shop, without stadium ads and a floor of managers.
- What is a micro mortgage banker?
- A micro mortgage banker is an Independent Mortgage Banker run as a small shop. It still originates, underwrites, and funds the loan. The difference is overhead. There is no stadium advertising, no venture capital, and no long chain of departments. Egan Financial Group LLC is that model.
- What is the difference between Egan Financial Group LLC and a mortgage broker?
- A mortgage broker does not fund the loan. The broker sends your file to an outside wholesale lender, and that company underwrites and funds it. Egan Financial Group LLC is a mortgage banker. We underwrite and fund in our own name, so you are not waiting on a middleman to send the money.
- How is a micro IMB different from a big retail lender or a bank?
- A bank and a big retail lender can also fund the loan. The file often still moves through several departments and a national queue. A micro IMB funds too, but the originator, underwriter, closer, and funder are the same small shop. You get the authority of a banker without paying for a giant company’s overhead in the rate.
- Does using a micro mortgage banker mean I get a lower interest rate?
- Not automatically. Your rate still depends on credit, the property, the lock, and the investor. What we can control is cost inside the shop. Stadium ads, extra managers, and an extra company in the middle of the loan all have to be paid for. Cutting that cost is how we work to keep the rate from being higher than it needs to be.
- Who actually funds my loan at the closing table?
- If you close with Egan Financial Group LLC, we fund the loan. The money is not waiting on a broker’s wholesale lender or a funding desk you have never spoken to. Ask any shop one question in writing: whose name is on the money at the table?