Lenders The two most common routes to a mortgage are though mortgage bankers and mortgage brokers. A mortgage banker works for a bank.   Many banks offer many, very creative types of mortgages and there may be one that is absolutely perfect for you. This is a growing strength of many banks as they try to remain competitive for your business. The downfall of using a mortgage banker is that they can only offer shat their bank or affiliated lenders offer. If you have a high credit score,  good employment history and a record of responsible debt management, there is no reason a mortgage banker can not offer you a terrific loan. A mortgage broker is usually an independent agent with access to many lenders and many types of loan programs. A broker can many times get loans approved that a banker cannot. The down side of using a broker is that fees are usually higher than a bank would charge. The advantage is in the ability of a broker to find loans for  buyers that may have some credit issues. The choice of lender is absolutely and undisputably that of the buyer.   You are free to use any loan officer or funding source with which you are comfortable. If you do not have anyone in mind, I am happy to refer you to local lenders.