There are four main sources from which you can obtain a home loan:

  • Savings and loan associations
  • Commercial banks
  • Mortgage bankers
  • Mortgage brokers

Savings and loan associations (S & Ls)
Historically, Savings and Loan organizations have concentrated on home loans. However, with deregulation, the U.S. government has opened the door for S & Ls to provide checking accounts, savings accounts, personal and business loans, etc. Nevertheless, their primary lending focus still is on home loans.

Commercial banks
The largest and most diverse of all finance institutions, commercial banks offer a wide variety of services including savings accounts, investments, charge cards, as well as commercial, personal, residential and business loans, among others.

Mortgage bankers
Mortgage bankers typically use their own money to fund mortgages; however, they ultimately sell the loans to another entity such as a bank, a savings and loan, pension or retirement funds, private investors or government agencies such as FNMA (“Fannie Mae”) or GNMA (“Ginnie Mae”), which purchase residential mortgages. When mortgage bankers sell a block of mortgages, they often will continue to service the loan and will be responsible for the collection of your payments. The mortgage banker is paid a small percentage of the interest (usually 1/4 % to 1/2 %) for this servicing agreement.

Mortgage brokers
Unlike mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers do not loan their own money. Mortgage brokers will arrange financing for a borrower from a lender, which could be a bank, savings and loan, a private individual or a credit union or pension fund. As the liaison between borrowers and lenders, they are paid a commission or a fee, which is paid by the borrower, the seller or even the lender.