Any broker is an intermediary — a person who puts together a buyer and a seller for a specific product and takes a fee off the top for his trouble. Mortgage brokers, a profession created by banking deregulation in the 1970s, put borrowers in contact with sources of mortgage financing that fits their needs.

Unlike mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers don't have money to lend. They deal with their own sources of mortgage money in the marketplace and then match them to prospective borrowers and charge a specific fee for that purpose.

While mortgage brokers frequently help people who have a tough time getting a loan, they also represent people with excellent credit who just want a wider range of choices than they can find at their local bank. People who are self-employed and can't verify their income beyond past tax returns may be better customers for a mortgage broker since the best ones have a wider view of products in the marketplace that fit their needs.

Yet mortgage brokers make their entire earnings off the transaction. Mortgage bankers tend to make their money off various stages of the funding process that mortgage brokers don't have, so their cost structure is a bit different. If you qualify for a loan at a bank, you could end up paying significantly less for what you borrow. It's up to you to weigh the type of service a mortgage broker can give you against what you'll have to pay for it.