Mortgage brokers can make money from both the up-front fees they collect from customers as well as fees which they sometimes receive from the wholesale mortgage lenders who actually provide the money for the loans. The up-front fees are revealed to the customer and the other fees are not. They can be in the thousands of dollars.
I did some database work for several retail mortgage providers several years ago; it's possible this has changed now but I rather doubt it. At that time, as I learned how the system worked, I was a bit shocked and thought the whole mortgage business seemed very dodgy though everyone assured me that's just how the industry worked.
I wonder if Cringely's service is making this "money on the backside" (that's what they call it) or if the $10/month subscription is really all they get?
They deny this "backside" money pretty emphatically on their home page. However, the mortgage industry's reputation is so shredded at this point that I scarcely believe them for no other reason than they're in the mortgage business.
I did some database work for several retail mortgage providers several years ago; it's possible this has changed now but I rather doubt it. At that time, as I learned how the system worked, I was a bit shocked and thought the whole mortgage business seemed very dodgy though everyone assured me that's just how the industry worked.
I wonder if Cringely's service is making this "money on the backside" (that's what they call it) or if the $10/month subscription is really all they get?