The main purpose of a mortgage broker is to give consumers options by shopping mortgage rates and programs to keep the larger banks and mortgage lenders competitive.  So why is it that the government wants to blame these same mortgage brokers for the mortgage meltdown?

The reason why mortgage brokers are receiving most of the blame is because mortgage lenders gave more incentive to mortgage brokers to sell the ever so popular "option arm mortgage" and other adjustable rate and interest only mortgages.  Those types of mortgages were popular with consumers because now they could buy the home of their dreams for less than their car payments.

The only problem with this scenario is that the consumer did not really understand how the mortgage program that they bought works and the mortgage broker didn't want to take the time to explain how the mortgage program works in fear that they would lose a good chunk of their commission.  At the time this scenario worked out great for the consumer and the mortgage broker but now we are facing a mortgage meltdown of epic proportions.

If mortgage lenders didn't give such incentive to sell the mortgage programs that have led to this meltdown, would we still be facing the same problem?  I think not, when the market was hot there was a need for mortgage companies to hire as many mortgage brokers as possible to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue.  With the mortgage industry being as fast paced as it was most mortgage companies hired anybody that could sell and pass a background check.

Most of the mortgage brokers that were hired by mortgage companies during the boom had no formal education on how a mortgage really affects a family's financial stability over the long haul.  These new mortgage brokers were basically given a desk, a phone and a list of name and numbers to call and were promised riches for their hard work.  If mortgage lenders would have given mortgage brokers more incentive to sell a conventional fixed rate mortgage, naturally a mortgage broker would tend to sell a product that gives them a bigger commission check.

You can blame who you want but mortgage lenders made these products available to mortgage companies who hired individual mortgage brokers with no formal education to sell the mortgage product that made the mortgage lender, the mortgage company and the mortgage broker the most money with total disregard to the consumer.

If you have a "predatory mortgage" I challenge you to see if you can find the mortgage broker that sold it to you.  When you can't find that individual, visit The Official Mortgage Website where only the most reputable mortgage brokers throughout the country have been pre-screened to help assist you in any of your future mortgage endeavors.