Understanding who you’re working with and how they work, can save you thousands. Here’s how Milestone stacks up.
When it comes to your mortgage, who you work with is just as important as the rate you get. Here’s how the options stack up.
| Banks, Credit Unions & Retail Lenders |
Traditional Brokers |
Milestone★ Best | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access to multiple lenders | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Competitive wholesale rates | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Works for borrower, not a bank | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Can fund & close in own name | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| More flexible loan options | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Faster closing in select states | Sometimes | Depends | ✓ |
| Local, relationship-driven service | Rarely | Varies | ✓ |
In select states, Milestone operates as a correspondent lender — meaning we can fund and close loans directly in our own name. That’s a capability most brokers simply don’t have, and it allows us to ensure loan files close on time.
When we fund the loan ourselves, we control the timeline — no waiting on a third-party lender to move.
Between brokering and correspondent lending, we have access to a wider range of products than almost anyone else.
Wholesale broker rates plus the ability to offer correspondent products means we can shop aggressively for your rate.
Whether we broker or fund your loan, you're always working with the same Milestone team from application to closing.
We combine the buying power of a large institution with the personal attention of a local team.
Access to an extensive network of wholesale lenders and correspondent products.
Licensed in 48 states plus the US Virgin Islands — with local expertise wherever you are.
We work for the borrower. Every recommendation we make is in the borrower's best interest, not a bank's.
For most borrowers, yes. A bank can only offer its own in-house loan products — one set of rates and guidelines, take it or leave it. A mortgage broker shops your loan across many wholesale lenders and works for you, not the institution, which typically means more options and more competitive pricing. The trade-off with a traditional broker is that they can’t fund the loan themselves — which is exactly the gap Milestone closes.
A correspondent lender funds and closes loans in its own name, using its own resources, and typically sells the loan to an investor after closing. That means the correspondent — not a third-party bank — controls the underwriting timeline and the closing date. Milestone operates as both a mortgage broker and a correspondent lender in select states, so we can shop the wholesale market for your best rate or fund the loan ourselves when that’s the stronger play.
Brokers buy at wholesale. Lenders offer brokers discounted “wholesale” pricing because the broker delivers them ready-to-close borrowers without the lender paying for marketing, branches, or loan officers. A bank’s retail rate has all of those costs built in. Because brokers compare wholesale offers from many lenders at once, lenders also have to compete for your loan — at a bank, there’s no competition at all.
Milestone combines broker and correspondent lending in one team. We shop 200+ loan products across a wide network of wholesale lenders like any great broker — but in select states we can also fund and close the loan in our own name, controlling the timeline instead of waiting on a third party. You get wholesale pricing, more loan options, faster closings, and one team from application to closing, licensed in 48 states plus the US Virgin Islands.
Let’s find the right loan for your situation — whether we broker it or fund it ourselves, you’ll get the best we can offer.
