Zach Brown

I got quoted 6.500% from my bank and 7.000% from another lender. Should I be comparing anything besides the rate?

Yes, and the rate is often the least useful number for comparison. Two quotes showing different rates can carry very different discount points in Section A of the Loan Estimate, which means one lender is charging you upfront to buy the rate down and the other isn't. Ask both for a no-points quote, which strips that variable out and shows you their actual baseline. Then compare total lender fees and the APR, not just the rate box on page one. That's the only apples-to-apples read.

What actually determines the rate I'm quoted?

Your mortgage rate is built from your credit score, loan-to-value ratio, loan program, property type, occupancy, and loan amount, layered on top of the day's market pricing. Two borrowers buying identical houses on the same day can be quoted meaningfully different rates based on those inputs alone. This is also why an advertised rate you see online rarely matches what you'd actually be offered, since those are usually built on ideal-scenario assumptions. The only way to know your number is a real quote on your real file.

Since you work on the broker side, does that mean you're just a middleman referring my transaction?

No. I originate the loan, take your application, structure the file, order the appraisal, work the conditions, and stay on it through closing. What's different from a bank is where the money comes from at the end. The wholesale lender funds it, but the file work is mine start to finish. The reason brokers exist is that no single lender's guidelines fit every borrower, so having 280+ options means a file that gets declined at one place often closes somewhere else without starting over.

Are you a mortgage lender or a mortgage broker, and what's the difference?

I'm a Mortgage Loan Officer- neither, but am contracted under NEXA Lending, LLC NMLS #1660690 who contracts my business: DreamLux Home Loans, NMLS #2156538 to originate mortgage Loans across my licensed states of Missouri and Kansas in both their non-delegated mortgage lending and wholesale mortgage brokering sectors a mortgage sector platforms. On the lending side, the lender (NEXA) operates at setting more rates and margins, and funds loans with its own money. A broker submits your file to multiple wholesale lenders and places it with whichever one fits your scenario best. The practical difference is the size of the menu. A single-lender loan officer has one set of guidelines and one pricing sheet. Under NEXA, we have access to 280+ lenders and banks across the country either way we shop on our applicants and buyers behalf, which matters most when a file has something non-standard about it, like self-employment income, a recent credit event, or a property type one lender or bank can't offer.

How much of a down payment do you require? Do you require 20% or 10% down like my bank does?

No, 20% is not required, and that's one of the most persistent myths in home buying. Conventional loans go as low as 3% down for qualified buyers, FHA is 3.5% down with a 580 credit score, and VA and USDA both allow 0% down for eligible borrowers. What 20% down does is eliminate mortgage insurance, which is why some lenders present it as the standard. It's a way to lower your payment, not a requirement to get approved.

Do you offer conventional loan programs?

Yes. Conventional loans are one of the most common programs I place, and they're often the better fit for buyers with credit scores in the 700s or those who want to avoid FHA's mortgage insurance structure. Unlike FHA, where mortgage insurance lasts the life of the loan on most files with less than 10% down, conventional PMI can be removed once you reach 20% equity. Conventional also allows higher loan amounts than FHA in both Missouri and Kansas.

Do you offer USDA loan programs?

Yes. USDA loans allow 100% financing with no down payment in eligible rural areas, and the eligibility map covers more of Missouri and Kansas than most buyers expect, including areas well inside commuting distance of Columbia, Jefferson City, and the outer Kansas City suburbs. Eligibility depends on both the property location and household income limits for the county. I check the USDA map for a specific address before a buyer writes an offer, since the boundaries aren't intuitive.

Do you offer VA loans, IRRRL refinances, or other streamline programs?

Yes to all three. VA purchase loans allow eligible veterans and service members to buy with no down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance. The VA IRRRL (Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan) lets existing VA borrowers refinance without a new appraisal or full income documentation in most cases. FHA has its own streamline refinance with similar reduced documentation. Working as a wholesale broker matters on VA files specifically, because I'm not locked into one lender's VA overlays, which is the layer of extra requirements individual lenders add on top of the VA's own guidelines.

Do you offer down payment assistance like MHDC or similar programs?

Yes, in both states. Missouri's MHDC programs and Kansas's KHRC programs both provide assistance toward down payment and closing costs, but they're structured differently. Missouri's is often forgivable if you stay in the home for the full retention period, while Kansas typically runs as a deferred second that's owed whenever you sell or refinance. That structural difference matters more than the assistance percentage, especially if you might move within a few years. I walk clients through the assistance option side by side against a no-assistance scenario, because the "free money" framing skips the tradeoff.

Do you offer DSCR / investment loan programs?

Yes. DSCR loans qualify the property, not your personal income, which is why investors use them when tax returns don't reflect actual cash flow. The lender looks at whether the property's rental income covers the mortgage payment, typically measured as a ratio at or above 1.0, rather than pulling W-2s or two years of returns. As a wholesale broker, I place these across multiple lenders because DSCR guidelines vary widely between them, and the ratio requirements, reserve requirements, and minimum credit scores are rarely identical.

I'm a first-time homebuyer. Do you have programs that benefit someone buying their first home?

Yes, and there are more of them than most first-time buyers realize. On the Missouri side, MHDC runs first-place and down payment assistance programs with income and purchase-price limits. In Kansas, KHRC offers assistance with its own separate eligibility rules. Beyond state programs, FHA allows 3.5% down with a 580 credit score, and several conventional programs go as low as 3% down for qualified first-time buyers. The right one depends on your credit, income, and how long you plan to stay in the home, since some assistance carries a multi-year retention requirement.

How much can I get pre-approved for purchasing a new home?

Your pre-approval amount comes down to four inputs: gross monthly income, existing monthly debt payments, credit score, and down payment. Most loan programs work backward from a debt-to-income ceiling, so a borrower with $6,000 monthly income and $500 in car and student loan payments lands in a very different place than someone with the same income and $1,800 in debt. I run the actual numbers before quoting a range, because online calculators skip property taxes and insurance, which vary a lot between, say, Boone County and Johnson County. A full pre-approval usually us about an hour or two but can range up to 24-48 hours once your mortgage documents are in.