Why I am glad I had a mortgage broker.

First thanks for all the home buying help from everyone. ItNeverRains, you have consistently replied back to everything.

I want to post this for everyone else that may be in my shoes currently or in the future. This kind of story would have changed my approach from the beginning.

Background:
I had a signed purchase agreement to buy my first house a couple weeks ago and set the closing at the end of July. I figured I could shop around mortgages on my own since I saw within a time frame all of the inquiries would only impact my credit score a little. The seller suggested that I talk to her mortgage broker, too. I knew this would add a little bit on the closing, but decided it wouldn't hurt if I decided not to use him. He has been very helpful in teaching the details I did not know.

Reason:
I met with the broker the other day to start underwriting, and we talked about where I wanted to be on out of pocket at closing and my monthly note. We decided to float the rate, and he would monitor to lock it when it would swing down a little. He made the decision to lock it (without checking with me) right before Bernanke spoke yesterday. As most of you know, the rate jumped right after he spoke. The broker explained that he locked it to make it a worst case rate. He also said that we would just delay the appraisal to allow us the ability to switch lenders in case the rate does swing back down over the next week or two.

Basically, the broker was able to anticipate the jump well enough that he saved me more than what it cost me to use him. This is why I recommend that even if you think you know what is going on to suck it up and pay the extra money to have this kind of insurance and knowledge.