Your time is priceless. Spend it wisely.
That’s the message from DTS Mortgage Company, a longtime local business. They do the legwork and provide you with competitive pricing for your loan, freeing up your time and energy for other pursuits.
Mortgage Banker vs Mortgage Broker
Mortgage bankers/lenders and mortgage brokers both can help secure a home loan. But there are significant differences between the two.
While a mortgage banker works for a bank or other lending institution that provides the money for the loan, a mortgage broker works with many different lenders. The banker is a direct lender. The broker is a middleman between you and the lender.
One mortgage application. One credit pull. Multiple loan options.
“We work with multiple wholesale lenders,” said Laura Powell, a mortgage loan originator/broker at DTS. “We are able to do the shopping for the client and find the best interest rate for the best price across our different lenders that we work with.”
Lenders—not clients—pay the mortgage loan originators' fees at DTS Mortgage. It’s a setup similar to a traditional travel agency.
Who’s the Boss?
The brokers at DTS don’t work for CEOs or banks. They work only for their clients.
“We always like to tell people that we work for them, not our CEO because we don’t have that,” Laura said. “We work strictly for our borrowers. They are our boss.”
Here’s how it works. A client calls. One of the five people in the office answers the phone. You chat with a mortgage broker about your income, credit, monthly debts and other information for 20-30 minutes. Then, the broker prices out loan scenarios with different lenders. Simple.
“If the borrower were to do that on their own and call a bunch of different brokers and banks or credit unions or 1-800 numbers online and give them their information and get multiple quotes back from different companies, that would take them hours,” Laura said.
What About the Rates?
“Our rates are typically much less than a bank,” said Tiffany Singleton, managing broker and mortgage loan originator.
DTS often beats bank interest rates by ¼ to ½ a percentage point, depending on the bond market, Singleton said.
But it’s about more than the money. Independent mortgage brokers often do more than just help find the right loan with the right lender and the lowest payment. DTS brokers pride themselves on guiding borrowers through the entire mortgage process.
What Makes DTS Different?
This is a small operation—three brokers and two loan support staff. And they are 100 percent local. Sometimes, that translates into added trust among real estate agents, who know DTS will do “more digging” to make sure their borrowers are qualified, Tiffany said.
They suggest prospective home buyers contact them before they even start looking for a property or real estate agent. That’s because while they are not credit counselors, they can look at a borrower’s financial snapshot and determine whether taking some simple steps might help better prepare them for a purchase.
“Our goal is to help them and be sure we are setting them up for the best purchasing situation for their financial situation,” Laura said.
That way, when they find the home they love, they already have a pre-qualification or pre-approval letter ready.
Round-the-Clock Service
Home buying doesn’t pause on evenings, weekends or holidays. Neither does DTS. Employees make themselves available 24-7 to their clients.
“We are one team,” Tiffany said. “We all work on everyone’s files. … Anyone here can pick up the phone.”
Their ultimate goal? Laura said when they’re sitting at the closing table, they want clients to say, “Wow! … That was so easy.”
Website: https://www.dtsmortgageinc.com/
Facebook + Instagram: @DTSMortgage