Super Brokers Don’t Mark Up Your Rates

Retail Pricing Isn’t Just Uncompetitive — It’s Outdated

In today’s ultra-competitive mortgage market, pricing is everything. Yet many loan officers working in traditional retail environments don’t realize they’re offering inflated rates — not because of the market, but because of their platform’s structure.

Here’s the truth: retail lenders build excess operational costs into your rate. That can include office rent, middle management, layers of staff, sign on bonuses and other overhead you don’t control or even use — and your borrower ends up paying for.

At ARBOR, we’re a Super Broker and we take a different approach. We believe loan officers deserve transparency — and full control over their margins. If you’ve ever felt like you’re losing deals over pricing that you can’t explain, pay attention this breakdown is for you.

The Hidden Cost of Retail Overhead

Let’s say your borrower qualifies for a competitive FHA rate based on market pricing. By the time that rate hits your retail rate sheet, it’s already been marked up to cover:

All of those hidden margins add up — and they land in your client’s rate.

At this point, your only options are to eat into your own comp or ask your manager for an exception. Neither of which is sustainable if you’re trying to scale your business.

🔍 Watch the full breakdown in our webinar below to see how retail pricing really stacks up against raw pricing models or get in touch today to learn more about the Super Broker model at ARBOR.

What Is Raw Pricing — and Why Does It Matter?

Raw pricing is what you would see on a wholesale rate sheet — before any margin, comp, or overhead gets added in. It’s the clean, unaltered base rate from the investor.

At ARBOR, we believe you deserve that kind of transparency and so we give you visibility into:

• The real cost of the loan
  
• Your exact comp and margin
  
• The ability to adjust margins deal by deal
  
• Transparent investor pricing across 150+ lenders
  

This means you can confidently quote, win deals without excuses, and still protect your income.

Rate Exceptions Shouldn’t Be a Way of Life

In retail, asking for pricing exceptions is just an expected part of the grind. But what if you didn’t have to?

Loan officers on our Super Broker platform can:

• Offer competitive rates upfront
  
• Eliminate exception requests entirely
  
• Avoid awkward price matching conversations
  
• Give borrowers a better deal — without sacrificing their own comp
  

More often than not, switching to raw pricing eliminates the very problems LOs were taught they had to “just deal with” in retail.

You Deserve Pricing Power

The most successful originators don’t just sell rate — they sell confidence. That confidence starts with knowing exactly what’s in your pricing and being able to adjust when needed and without have to ask permission.

ARBOR’s Super Broker model puts you in control:

• No hidden overlays or markups
  
• Full rate transparency
  
• Ability to adjust margins by scenario
  
• Access to wholesale pricing across multiple lenders
  

This isn’t just a pricing advantage — it’s a business advantage.

If You’re Losing Deals Over Rate, It’s Time to Investigate Why

You might be working harder than ever — and still losing business. The issue might not be your skills, your follow-up, or your referral network.

It might just be your rate sheet.

Once you understand how rate structures really work, you’ll never look at retail pricing the same way again.

⚡ You shouldn’t have to give up margin just to stay competitive. Join ARBOR Financial Group and take control of your pricing — and your future today.