By Duane Buziak, NMLS #1110647. This guide gives you a repeatable method to compare wholesale mortgage lenders on price, program fit, and service, so you end with a short list matched to your loan scenario instead of a list of famous names. Before you start, have these ready: your credit score range, estimated down payment or equity, property type and occupancy, and how you document income (W-2, self-employed, or investor). Duane Buziak has worked with wholesale lenders as an independent broker since 2014, and the six steps below are the order he uses to narrow the field.
Step 1: Define Your Loan Scenario Before You Look at Any Lender
A wholesale lender is one that funds loans only through independent brokers. A broker submits one application and can price it across many of these lenders, which is the core advantage over calling a single lender direct. That only works if you know what you are shopping for.
Write down the five inputs that decide which lenders qualify at all:
- Credit score range: a band such as 660 to 699, not a single hopeful number.
- Loan-to-value (LTV): the loan amount divided by the property value.
- Occupancy: primary residence, second home, or investment property.
- Property type: single-family, condo, 2-4 unit, or mixed-use.
- Income documentation: W-2 pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements, or rental income.
Next, pick the loan category: Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, Non-QM, DSCR, Jumbo, 203k renovation, Physician Loan, or a down payment assistance (DPA) program. Lenders specialize by category, so comparing a conventional quote to a Non-QM quote is the most common mistake borrowers make. Those loans answer different questions.
Limits narrow the field early. Conventional cash-out refinances top out at 90% LTV, while VA cash-out can reach 100% LTV. If you want to pull equity from a home worth $500,000, that single difference changes which loan category you should price first.
For VA scenarios, the Certificate of Eligibility (COE) can be pulled electronically with your Social Security number and date of birth. Bonus (second-tier) entitlement works like this: take the county loan limit, multiply by 25% for the maximum guarantee, subtract any entitlement already used, then multiply the remainder by 4 to find the zero-down purchase limit.
Step 2: Sort Lenders by Specialty and Market Position, Not by Name Recognition
Duane Buziak groups the wholesale lenders he works with into three rough tiers. The tiers describe market position, not quality, and they help you decide where to start.
- Tier 1, volume players: UWM, PennyMac, and Newrez.
- Tier 2, institutional lenders: Freedom Mortgage (TPO channel), Plaza Home Mortgage, Kind Lending, CMG Financial, PRMG, Carrington Mortgage Services, and Mega Capital Funding.
- Tier 3, specialized lenders: the shops built around a particular borrower profile or product.
Match the specialty to your scenario:
- Non-QM and alternative documentation: A&D Mortgage, Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, Arc Home, Acra Lending, Change Lending, and Champions Funding (ChampsTPO).
- Self-employed and flexible manual underwriting: Deephaven Mortgage and First National Bank of America (FNBA), the latter for files other Non-QM shops decline.
- DPA and grant programs: Orion Lending.
- Jumbo and institutional-backed pricing: NexBank.
- Lean agency-product pricing: The Loan Store and LoanUnited.
- Broad one-stop specialty shops: LoanStream Mortgage and Mega Capital Funding.
A specialty is a starting point, not a promise. Whether a given lender will approve your file, and at what price, depends on your scenario and current guidelines, so treat each match as a candidate to price rather than a conclusion.
This is where independent access matters. A borrower who calls one lender direct sees one lender’s menu. Duane Buziak, as an independent broker with wholesale relationships (not as a division of or affiliate of any lender named here), can price the same file across several of them side by side and move to whichever fits.
Step 3: Compare Rate and Price on an Apples-to-Apples Basis
A rate quote means little until you know what it costs to get. Every quote you compare should share the same lock period, loan amount, LTV, and mix of points and credits. A lower rate paired with more discount points is not cheaper; it is a prepaid trade, and Step 4 shows how to measure it.
Use the Loan Estimate as your comparison sheet. The CFPB’s Loan Estimate explainer walks through the form, and three places matter most when you line up two lenders:
- Section A (Origination Charges): includes discount points and lender or broker fees.
- Section B (Services You Cannot Shop For): costs the lender selects, such as the appraisal.
- Section J (Total Closing Costs): shows lender credits as a deduction, so you see the net upfront cost.
Put the interest rate, APR, Section A total, and Section J total for each lender in one list, all on the same date and lock term. If one lender locked for 30 days and another for 60, the quotes are not comparable.
For general market context, check Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which publishes a weekly national average. Read the current figure there rather than relying on any article, since it changes weekly. Use it only as a benchmark. It is not a quote, and it does not predict what any lender will offer you. For the same reason, never trust a lender’s advertised rate as a comparison point. Advertised rates assume a specific, usually ideal, scenario.
If you are cash-constrained, ask for no-out-of-pocket closing options. These work by trading a higher rate for lender credits that offset closing costs. That is a legitimate choice, but it is a tradeoff you should price, not a free lunch.
Step 4: Run a Worked Dollar Example Across Two Pricing Options
The following is a hypothetical illustration using round numbers. It does not reflect any lender’s actual pricing.
Suppose you are borrowing $400,000 on a 30-year fixed loan and compare two options:
- Option A: 6.00% rate with 1 discount point ($4,000 paid at closing).
- Option B: 6.25% rate with a $2,000 lender credit.
Monthly principal and interest comes from the standard formula, M = L × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−n), where r is the monthly rate and n is 360 payments.
- Option A: r = 0.06 ÷ 12 = 0.005. (1.005)360 ≈ 6.0226, so 1 − 1 ÷ 6.0226 ≈ 0.83396. Then 0.005 ÷ 0.83396 ≈ 0.0059955, and $400,000 × 0.0059955 ≈ $2,398.20.
- Option B: r = 0.0625 ÷ 12 ≈ 0.0052083. (1.0052083)360 ≈ 6.4897, so 1 − 1 ÷ 6.4897 ≈ 0.84591. Then 0.0052083 ÷ 0.84591 ≈ 0.0061572, and $400,000 × 0.0061572 ≈ $2,462.87.
| Item | Option A | Option B |
|---|---|---|
| Rate | 6.00% | 6.25% |
| Points or credit | 1 point (cost $4,000) | $2,000 credit |
| Monthly P&I | $2,398.20 | $2,462.87 |
| Monthly difference | $64.67 in favor of Option A | |
| Upfront difference | $6,000 more cash with Option A ($4,000 + $2,000 credit forgone) | |
| Break-even | $6,000 ÷ $64.67 ≈ 93 months (about 7.7 years) | |
Option A only wins if you keep the loan beyond roughly month 93. If you expect to sell or refinance in five years, Option B costs less overall. If you plan to hold for a decade or more, the lower rate pays off. Ask every lender or broker for the same two-option comparison on your own numbers, and decide with your realistic holding period in mind.
Step 5: Evaluate Program Fit, Overlays, and Service Beyond the Rate
An overlay is a lender requirement stricter than the agency baseline, such as a higher minimum credit score, a lower debt-to-income (DTI) cap, or larger reserves. Two lenders offering the same conventional loan can approve different borrowers because of overlays. Check the agency baseline in the Fannie Mae Selling Guide, then ask each lender where its own rules go beyond it.
Loan size matters too. Conforming limits are set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) each year. As of 2026, the baseline one-unit limit is $832,750, higher in designated high-cost areas; confirm your county’s figure on FHFA’s site. Loans above your county’s limit move into jumbo territory, where NexBank is one of the lenders worth pricing.
Also compare service, which matters most when a realtor has a firm closing date:
- Typical turn times from submission to clear-to-close.
- Automated versus manual underwriting, since manual review suits complex files.
- Lock policies, extension fees, and relock rules.
The table below shows how to compare lenders within one category. It uses only the specialties Duane Buziak works with them for. Confirm current products, minimums, and documentation rules with each lender’s guidelines before relying on any of it.
| Lender | Specialty | Scenario it suits | Confirm in writing |
|---|---|---|---|
| A&D Mortgage | Non-QM, alternative documentation | Borrowers who do not fit agency income rules | Current products, minimum score, max LTV |
| Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions | Non-QM, alternative documentation | Self-employed or non-traditional income | Documentation options, reserves |
| Arc Home | Non-QM, alternative documentation | Files outside agency guidelines | Eligible property types, occupancy rules |
| Deephaven Mortgage | Self-employed, flexible manual underwriting | Income that is hard to document | Underwriting style, turn times |
| First National Bank of America | Flexible manual underwriting | Scenarios other Non-QM shops decline | Eligibility, pricing adjustments |
Finally, ask what happens if a file stalls. With a broker, the loan can move to another lender instead of restarting from scratch, a flexibility a direct lender cannot offer.
Step 6: Verify Credentials and Choose Your Broker Path
Before you hand over documents, check who you are dealing with. The NMLS Consumer Access site lets you search any broker or company by name or NMLS number, confirm their licenses, and see their state authorizations. Duane Buziak (NMLS #1110647) is licensed in VA, FL, TN, GA, DC, NC, SC, and MD. In South Carolina, he operates as a broker only.
Then ask the broker direct questions:
- Which lenders do you hold active approvals with today?
- Can you show me the Loan Estimate from at least two of them on my exact scenario?
- How is your compensation structured and where does it appear on the Loan Estimate?
Be wary of anyone who implies they are the lender, a division of the lender, or endorsed by it. A legitimate broker states plainly that they have a wholesale relationship with a lender and are independent. Pre-qualification without a credit impact is available through Duane Buziak at Wholesale Mortgage Rates by Duane Buziak, so you can see where you stand before any hard pull happens.
One more mistake to avoid is spreading hard credit pulls across several weeks. The CFPB has said that mortgage inquiries made while rate shopping within a short window are generally treated as a single inquiry for scoring purposes, though the length of that window varies by scoring model. Check the CFPB’s current wording and ask your broker how many pulls your plan requires. A broker who compares multiple lenders from one credit pull often avoids the problem entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions About Comparing Wholesale Mortgage Lenders
What does wholesale mean in mortgage lending?
A wholesale mortgage lender funds loans only through independent brokers, not directly to the public. The broker collects your application, shops it across several wholesale lenders, and submits it to the one that fits. You get access to multiple lenders’ programs through a single point of contact.
How do I compare wholesale mortgage lenders?
Define your scenario first: credit range, LTV, occupancy, property type, and income documentation. Then match lenders by specialty, compare Loan Estimates at the same lock period, calculate break-even on points, check overlays and turn times, and verify your broker’s credentials on NMLS Consumer Access.
Can I get UWM‘s or PennyMac’s wholesale pricing through a broker?
Yes, if the broker holds an approval with that lender. UWM and PennyMac are among the wholesale lenders Duane Buziak has access to as an independent broker. Pricing depends on your scenario, and nothing here is a rate quote or approval guarantee.
Which wholesale lenders offer Non-QM loans?
A&D Mortgage, Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, Arc Home, Acra Lending, Change Lending, and Champions Funding (ChampsTPO) all focus on Non-QM and alternative-document lending. Deephaven Mortgage and First National Bank of America also handle flexible, manually underwritten files. Products and guidelines change, so confirm current terms per scenario.
Is wholesale cheaper than retail?
Not automatically. Wholesale access can produce competitive pricing because a broker can compare many lenders, but your final cost depends on your scenario, points, credits, and fees. Compare Loan Estimates on identical terms rather than assuming either channel wins.
Do mortgage brokers charge fees?
Broker compensation is disclosed on your Loan Estimate, typically within the origination charges in Section A. It can be paid by the borrower or built into the lender-paid pricing. Ask your broker to show exactly how and where it appears before you commit.
Can a broker move my loan to another lender?
Yes. If a file hits a guideline problem or a lender cannot meet your closing date, an independent broker can often resubmit it to another wholesale lender that fits. That flexibility is a major difference from working with one lender direct, though a switch can affect timing and pricing.
Are DSCR loans available through wholesale lenders?
Yes, DSCR loans for investors are offered by Non-QM lenders, qualifying on the property’s rental income instead of personal income. Which lenders offer them, and on what terms, varies by scenario. Duane Buziak can price a DSCR file across multiple wholesale options.
Are Physician Loans and DPA programs available?
Yes. Physician Loans are an active program that Duane Buziak offers to qualified medical professionals. DPA and grant programs are available through lenders such as Orion Lending. Eligibility, income limits, and property rules apply, so request a scenario review to see what fits.
Will comparing several lenders hurt my credit score?
Not necessarily. The CFPB has noted that mortgage inquiries within a short rate-shopping window are generally treated together for scoring, though the window varies by model. Pre-qualification through Duane Buziak does not affect your credit, which lets you compare before any hard pull.
Compare Lenders With Duane Buziak
Run the six steps against your own scenario: define it, sort lenders by specialty, line up Loan Estimates, test the break-even, check overlays and service, and verify your broker. Then ask Duane Buziak to price the same file across multiple wholesale lenders so you can compare real numbers instead of estimates.
Your dream home is within reach. Discover how wholesale mortgage rates can put more money back in your pocket while you secure the financing you need. Get your personalized rate estimate today with no credit impact and see exactly what you qualify for with the Mortgage Maestro’s expert guidance. You can also call 804-212-8663 to start with Wholesale Mortgage Rates by Duane Buziak.
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