In interviews, loan agents themselves have stated that the commission fees they receive are many times the overriding reason they recommend a particular lender to their customers.

You may not realise that loan agents are salespersons who work strictly on a commission basis. They can shop your loan to many lenders. Whichever lender gets hold of your loan pays a commission to the loan agent.

In a perfect world, the loan agent should not bother about the amount of commissions that he or she will receive when the loan closes, but should instead focus on what is the best for you, the client. But, one often finds that this is not what commonly takes place in the real world.

In all industries, we observe that commission-based salespeople always attempt to advocate the deal that will earn them the largest returns ultimately.

Given that the majority of customers do not realise that loan agents work only on a commission basis, they frequently imagine that their agent's job is to suggest the best options for their mortgage loans, and to help them understand the confusing aspects of acquiring a mortgage.

Does this mean that consumers ought to leave loan agents alone? Not necessarily. Mortgage agents may well be able to help consumers find extraordinary deals on mortgage loans. What it does mean is that consumers should not blindly trust their loan agent's suggestions.

It is smart to be an informed consumer when working with a loan agent or any other type of lender. You should do some rate shopping on your own, so that you have some concept of what kinds of deals are currently available in the marketplace. This will help you know whether the deal your loan agent comes up with is better or worse than the current rate in the market.

Be certain that you teach yourself enough about loans to be aware of the type of queries to ask your agent. The only way to be convinced that your loan agent is giving you all the important information concerning your loan is to ask the right questions. There is lots of information that a loan agent is not legitimately obliged to tell you unless you expressly ask about it. You don't want to be hit with any nasty little questions once you are locked in to a mortgage, so get all the answers out in the open.