10/10   Anyone know where I might be able to find out approximately how much
        real estate LOAN agents make per transaction versus real estate in the
        East and South Bay?  From what I know, most real estate agents make 50%
        to 80% of 1.5% of the total transaction.  How about real estate LOAN
        agents?  I know they get about 0.25% to 2% of the total loan amount.  I
        am interested in knowing if the real estate LOAN agents also add other
        bogus charges, jack up the interest rates, etc. to make more money.
        And, how much of that total amount do they get from their bosses.
        \_ I do know that they make most of their money from buying loans
           at "wholesale" and reselling them at "retail." The loan disclosure
           docs tell you what they paid for the loan. In my first home
           purchase, they bought the loan at 5.9% and resold it at 6.0%
           to me, which meant that they made about 1.4% on my loan. It
           was an owner operated business, so I assume they got all of it.
           On my refi, I was not in such a rush, so I was able to negotiate
           it down to 3/4 of a point, or .75%. In this case, the guy worked
           for a big company, so I have no idea how much of it he made. And
           yes, they will try and charge you more if you let them. In my
           first loan, they tried to charge me 6.5%, claiming various bogus
           reasons for such a high rate. So make sure you know what the
           market rate is for you loan before you go in to negotiate. They
           are called mortgage brokers, btw, not loan agents. Calling them
           by the wrong name is confusing.