“Dare to Compare” is Duane Buziak’s challenge to put any mortgage offer you already hold next to a free, side-by-side comparison of offers a broker can source from many wholesale lenders. You see the real rate, APR, and costs before you commit to anything. The comparison runs on a NoTouch Credit Pull, a soft-pull comparison, so the shopping stage does not add a hard inquiry to your report.
Duane Buziak has been helping buyers find the right mortgage since 2014, and the idea behind the challenge is simple. A single quote tells you what one company will charge. It does not tell you whether that price is competitive.
How a Dare to Compare Request Works From Your Side
The starting point is any offer you already have. It might be a Loan Estimate from your bank, a national direct lender, a credit union, or a builder’s preferred lender. You bring that document, and the free search tool at Free Mortgage Search by Duane Buziak shows how it stacks up against offers sourced through a broker. You are not asked to switch, and nothing about the request obligates you to anything.
The mechanics take a few minutes:
- Share basic scenario details. This means the purchase price or current balance, down payment or equity, property type, and a rough credit range.
- A NoTouch Credit Pull runs. It is a soft pull, so no hard inquiry is placed on your credit report.
- Offers come back. They are sourced from wholesale lenders Duane Buziak works with as a broker, and you can set them next to the quote you brought.
- You decide. If your existing offer holds up, keep it. If a comparison offer is cheaper over the time you expect to hold the loan, you have the numbers to act on.
Many first-time buyers do not realize they have a choice about who originates their loan. They assume the process starts and ends at one bank, often the one where they already have a checking account. A broker is a different structure: one application, one scenario, and pricing from several sources instead of one.
That is why this works as a low-risk first step. You can test the broker-versus-bank question using a quote you already hold, without paying anything or committing to a lender. If you are an active rate-shopper, it also gives you a fast way to check whether a quote you like is as strong as it looks.
Loan Estimate Items That Make Two Offers Comparable
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Loan Estimate explainer describes the standardized three-page form lenders must provide after you apply. Because every lender uses the same layout, you can compare line by line. These are the lines that matter most:
- Interest rate: sets your monthly principal and interest.
- APR: folds certain fees and costs into a yearly rate, which makes offers easier to compare.
- Section A, origination charges: the lender and broker fees, plus any discount points.
- Points or credits: you can pay points to lower the rate, or take a credit toward costs in exchange for a higher rate.
- Estimated cash to close: the total you bring to the table.
- Rate lock period: how many days the quoted pricing is held while your loan is processed.
The mistake that costs the most
Comparing only the interest rate is the most common error. A lower rate often comes with points, and a higher rate may come with a credit. APR helps because it blends those costs in, but it assumes you keep the loan for the full term. If you expect to sell or refinance in a few years, a loan with a lower APR can still cost you more out of pocket during the time you actually hold it. That is why the next section works through break-even.
Making the comparison fair
Offers are only comparable when they share the same loan amount, loan type, term, credit tier, and lock length. Loan size matters too. FHFA’s 2026 announcement set the baseline conforming loan limit at $832,750, with a ceiling of $1,249,125 in high-cost areas, and limits vary by county. A loan above the limit is priced differently, so check that every offer sits in the same category.
The table below shows how to line up two quotes. The figures are illustrative, not current market rates, and are explained in the next section.
| Item | Offer A | Offer B | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interest rate | 6.50% | 6.25% | Drives the monthly payment, but not the whole cost |
| Discount points | 0 | 1 point ($4,000) | Upfront money paid to buy the lower rate |
| APR (illustrative) | About 6.57% | About 6.42% | Blends fees into a yearly rate and assumes a full 30-year hold |
| Estimated cash to close (illustrative) | $12,000 | $16,000 | What you actually bring at closing |
| Rate lock period | 45 days | 45 days | Must match, or pricing is not like for like |
| Monthly principal and interest | $2,528 | $2,463 | The recurring payment, before taxes and insurance |
The APR figures assume $3,000 in other lender fees on both offers and are rounded. A real Loan Estimate will show its own APR, which depends on the actual fees quoted.
Two Offers on the Same $400,000 Loan: The Math
Suppose you are comparing two offers on a 30-year fixed-rate loan of $400,000. These figures are hypothetical and chosen to show the arithmetic, not to reflect today’s market.
- Offer A: 6.50% with 0 points.
- Offer B: 6.25% with 1 point, which costs $4,000 (1% of $400,000).
Using the standard payment formula, the monthly principal and interest comes to:
- Offer A: about $2,528.27 per month.
- Offer B: about $2,462.87 per month.
The difference is about $65.40 per month. To find the break-even point, divide the upfront cost of the point by the monthly savings: $4,000 divided by $65.40 is about 61 months, or just over five years.
Until month 61, Offer B has cost you more than Offer A. After that, it pulls ahead. If you keep the loan for 10 years, the savings are roughly $65.40 times 120 months, or about $7,850, minus the $4,000 you paid upfront, leaving around $3,850 in your favor. If you sell or refinance in three years, you would have paid $4,000 to save about $2,354, a net loss of roughly $1,650.
The APRs in the table above point the opposite way from the short-term math. Offer B’s APR is lower because APR spreads the point over the full 30 years. A lower APR does not guarantee a cheaper loan for a borrower who leaves in year four.
The lowest rate is not automatically the lowest cost. Which offer wins depends on how long you will hold the loan and how much cash you want to bring to closing. A side-by-side comparison puts those variables on the page, and a single quote cannot do that.
Why a Broker’s Comparison Differs From Shopping One Lender’s Shelf
A lender can quote only its own products at its own pricing. A broker is independent. Duane Buziak is a broker, not a banker, and can submit one scenario to many wholesale lenders and see how each prices it. That is the structural difference: one shelf versus many.
| Dimension | Broker comparison | Single lender’s shelf |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing sources | Hundreds of wholesale lenders | One company’s own pricing |
| Loan programs | Varies by wholesale lender, so niche scenarios have more places to fit | Limited to that company’s product menu |
| Who you work with | An independent broker who shops your scenario | The lender’s own loan officer |
| Underwriting | Done by the wholesale lender that wins your loan | Done in-house by the single lender |
| Cost to compare | Free through the search tool, using a soft pull | Free to request, but you see only one set of terms |
None of this makes a direct lender a poor choice. Companies such as Rocket Mortgage and Guild Mortgage are legitimate options, and their quotes belong in your comparison. A quote from one of them is a useful benchmark. It tells you what that company offers, and it is not a verdict on what the market offers.
A broker’s access does not guarantee a lower rate on every loan. On some scenarios a direct lender will price as well or better, and that is exactly why the comparison is the point. If the quote you brought wins, you will know it for certain.
Duane Buziak is licensed in VA, FL, TN, GA, DC, NC, SC, and MD, and the free search tool serves buyers in any of those states.
Does Dare to Compare Affect Your Credit? How NoTouch Credit Pull Works
A hard inquiry happens when you formally apply for credit and a lender pulls your full report to make a lending decision. It can lower a score slightly. A soft inquiry is a lighter look at your credit, used for things like pre-screening or checking your own report, and it does not affect your score. NoTouch Credit Pull uses the soft approach, so you can see comparison offers without a hard inquiry attached to the browsing.
Shopping around is also something regulators encourage. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s home-buying resources advise getting Loan Estimates from multiple lenders and comparing them, and they note that doing so can save you money over the life of the loan. Credit scoring models also tend to treat several mortgage inquiries made in a short window as a single inquiry. The length of that window varies by scoring model and version, so as of 2026 check which one applies to you before relying on a specific number of days.
Be clear on what the soft pull does and does not do. When you formally apply and move forward with a loan, a hard pull will eventually occur, because the lender that underwrites your file needs a full credit report. The soft pull does not remove that step. It lets you do the comparing first, so the hard pull happens once you have picked an offer you actually want to pursue.
Dare to Compare FAQ: Eight Common Questions
Does it cost anything?
No. The comparison through the free search tool costs nothing to run. You pay for a loan only if you choose one and close on it.
Will it hurt my credit?
No hard inquiry is placed during the comparison, because it uses a NoTouch Credit Pull, which is a soft pull. A hard pull comes later, if you formally apply and proceed.
Am I obligated to choose a loan?
No. Requesting a comparison does not commit you to a lender, a rate, or a loan. You can walk away with the information.
Can I bring a quote from another lender?
Yes, and that is the heart of the challenge. Bring a Loan Estimate from a bank, a direct lender, or anyone else, and compare it against what comes back.
Are the quotes exact?
No. Comparison offers are estimates until your file goes through underwriting and you receive a Loan Estimate. Any rate shown carries an APR, and the APR depends on the fees and assumptions behind that quote.
Does this work for refinancing as well as purchases?
Yes. A refinance offer can be lined up the same way, using the same items: rate, APR, points, fees, cash to close, and lock period. Break-even matters even more on a refinance, because you are paying costs to change a loan you already have.
How long do I have before rates or lock terms change?
Rates can change daily, so treat any comparison as a snapshot, not a standing offer. A rate lock holds pricing for a set period, commonly 30 to 60 days as of 2026, but the options and costs vary by lender.
Which states are covered?
Duane Buziak is licensed in VA, FL, TN, GA, DC, NC, SC, and MD. The tool is national in design but serves buyers in those licensed states.
Take the Dare: Test Your Current Offer Before You Commit
The rule is straightforward: do not sign on one quote without testing it against a comparison that costs you nothing and does not touch your credit with a hard pull. Whether your current offer wins or loses, you will know where it stands.
Your dream home is within reach. Start comparing personalized mortgage rates from trusted lenders today and discover the loan solution that fits your budget and goals. Compare rates now and take the first step toward securing your home with expert guidance every step of the way. Start a NoTouch Credit Pull comparison with Free Mortgage Search by Duane Buziak, with no pressure and no obligation.
