Revealing the need to keep the salt shaker nearby when studies roll out, a new survey says consumers get a better deal from mortgage brokers than lenders, but the study's either-or proposition overlooks a third technique that is even more satisfying.

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers was in a hearty back slapping mood earlier this month when the Georgetown University Credit Research Center unveiled "Mortgage Brokers And The Subprime Mortgage Market," a study of 40 percent of the subprime market's loans. The study found the APR (annual percentage rate) on broker-originated first mortgages were 1.13 percentage points less than loans originated by lenders, and 1.98 percentage points lower on second mortgages.

Conducted by scholar Dr. Gregory Elliehausen and co-authors Amany El Anshasy of George Washington University and Yoshiaki Shimazaki of Oklahoma State University, the study was presented at a Federal Reserve Board conference in Washington on April 7. It examined more than 500,000 "subprime" first mortgages and 590,000 second mortgages from 10 of the nation's largest subprime lenders.

"We have always believed that the customer who works with mortgage brokers, especially NAMB-affiliated mortgage brokers, receives some of the most favorable terms possible for mortgages. The findings of this report simply prove what NAMB has known for years," said National Association of Mortgage Brokers president Bob Armbruster.

Not so fast.

The study isn't a mandate for borrowers to shop only mortgage brokers.

In fact, borrowers who shop both brokers and lenders are the most satisfied borrowers and satisfaction almost always includes savings.

Market researcher and consumer satisfaction rater, J.D. Power and Associates says consumers who shop solely with mortgage brokers were more satisfied with the mortgage acquisition process than those who shopped solely with a direct lender.

However, consumers were most satisfied with the mortgage acquisition process when they contacted a broker, but also went on to apply for their loan directly with a lender, according to Power's 2005 Home Mortgage Study.

"Those direct-to-lender customers who comparison shopped with at least one broker, rate both the lender personnel and the loan application and approval process higher than do customers who never contacted a broker in their shopping process," said Jeremy Bowler, director of finance and insurance practices at the Westlake Village, CA-based firm.

Shopping around gives consumers more insight into the lending process, and time to compare rates and terms and that can add up to savings.

Powers study included 11,000 home mortgage customers. Twenty-nine percent shopped brokers, but the majority shopped only lenders.

San Jose, CA-based "nonprime" lender First Franklin told Washington, DC-based real estate writer Kenneth Harney its customers pay ''about the same'' in terms of annual percentage rates whether their loans are brokered or originated direct.

Harney reported "At least in First Franklin's case, in other words, the one-point-plus cost savings Elliehausen's research attributed to brokers does not appear to be accurate."

The moral of the story?

Shop around.

Published: April 21, 2005

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Broderick Perkins parlayed a career in old-school journalism into a contemporary digital news service that really hits home. The award-winning consumer journalist, originally from Wilmington, DE, is founder, publisher and executive editor of the bootstrap DeadlineNews Group, a Silicon Valley-based editorial content and consulting service specializing in residential real estate, consumer news and related editorial consulting services. The DeadlineNews Group includes the website, DeadlineNews.com, offering real estate editorial content and consulting services, and its back shop, the Deadline Newsroom, an open house on news that really hits home. Perkins obtained his formal journalism education from University of Delaware and a journalism boot camp, the Institute of Journalism Education at the University of California-Berkeley. He went on to 20 years of service as a daily newspaper journalist at the Wilmington, DE News Journal and San Jose, CA Mercury News. Perkins covered housing on the San Jose Mercury News reporting team which earned a General News Reporting Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. He has also produced real estate, consumer and small business content for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, RealtyTimes.com, Nolo.com, Better Homes and Gardens, the National Association of Realtors, Homestore/Move and Intuit/Quicken among more than three dozen publications. In addition to managing the DeadlineNews Group, Perkins most recently served as chief editorial consultant for Nolo's Essential Guide To Buying Your First Home, Nolo, and writes real estate television scripts for RealtyTimes.com.