Costs · 3 min read
Do you have to pay a mortgage broker?
The question almost every client opens with — and the honest answer, including the one situation where you do pay.
In most cases, no
This is the single most common reason people don't call a broker at all. They assume there's a bill at the end of it, decide they can't afford advice on top of everything else, and go straight to their own bank instead.
In the great majority of residential mortgages, the lender compensates the broker when the mortgage completes. It doesn't come out of your pocket, and it isn't added to what you borrow.
The exception is private lending
Where a file can only be placed with a private lender, a brokerage fee does apply. That's a genuine cost and you should know about it before anything is signed — not discover it at closing.
Any broker worth using will tell you the moment your file looks like it's heading that way, explain why, and set out what it means. If that conversation doesn't happen unprompted, ask for it.
What to ask before you start
Ask directly: will I be charged anything, and if so, when and how much. A straight answer takes about ten seconds.
Ask what happens if the file has to move to an alternative or private lender. You want to know the fork in the road exists before you reach it.
Cost shouldn't be the reason you don't ask the question. In most cases there isn't one, and where there is, you'll know upfront.