Mortgage broker - a necessity?

The_Organiser

Evening,

I'll shortly be in the process of hunting for a mortgage and I just wondered whether people think a broker is a necessity, or worthwhile or value for money even?

I'll be a first-time buyer and consider myself pretty switched on with finances (personal and general) and am someone who spends a lot of time researching any product or service and consider myself to have a reasonable knowledge of mortgages etc.

I know what LTV I'll be looking for, over what length and the extras like the fees applicable and terms attached (overpayments etc.), and I'm well on top of my own finances (a geeky accountant who uses spread sheets for everything in life!), so is there any need for me to pay for a broker?

Most lenders seem to have their products online and on comparison websites, but can a broker offer me something extra here? Could I be missing out on a materially better deal by not enlisting their services?

Any advice appreciated.

Cheers.

Rob7Lee

Brokers do sometimes have special deals with some lenders that you can't otherwise get, so no harm in trying them, shouldn't charge you if you don't go with them to take out the product.

The_Organiser

Hi Rob7Lee,
I didn't realise that you only pay if you end up taking out the product. Does suggest it's worth using one if that is the case, just in case they have access to a better product.

MrOneLung

Only thing is not sure if all the deals are on the price comparison sites. A broker has a larger database I should think.


Looking forward to the 'does anyone need a house in Maidstone' thread, 'I forgot to cancel a holding deposit on a new build'

lancashire lad

We are currently in the middle of a move and have just organised our mortgage thru a broker. I also think of myself as being financially savvy but the broker got me a deal that couldn't be matched. Also a broker will have a special relationship with some leanders which will save you a lot of angst.

SWEnglandAddick

I'm a first time buyer and I went straight to the banks and got a pretty decent deal, but then my mortgage advisor pissed off to another bank and left us in the dark about it all. So I visited a mortgage broker who was local to me and they've sorted me a better deal and I'm getting 75% of the fee I'm paying them back as cash back a couple months after the house sale goes through. It's a no brainier really as like others have said they don't charge if you don't take their product.

North Lower Neil

I think it's worth it personally, a decent one will save you more than it costs.

McBobbin

I believe the broker gets paid a set fee by the mortgage provider, so you don't shell out (directly) and there is no incentive to sell you anything other than the best product for you in order to cash in themselves. Expect to be offered a ton of insurance. The ine we use is a it old fashioned but has always delivered an excellent mortgage

Er_Be_Ab_Pl_Wo_Wo_Ch

Strongly recommend using a broker. No fee, save you traipsing to bank branches, can access better rates, can access underwriters and push your case if you need to push LTV or salary multiple being borrowed. And they deal with most of the paperwork. I was well read on the best rates etc but having a broker made things much simpler. Can recommend Mike at Summit Capital Mortgages EC2 - small firm so you get a personal service.

Beardface

Rob7Lee said:

Brokers do sometimes have special deals with some lenders that you can't otherwise get, so no harm in trying them, shouldn't charge you if you don't go with them to take out the product.

Spot on. Compare their deals to what you can get on your own.

I thoroughly recommend London & Country. They've always been brilliant and don't charge any fee - well worth a look.

jamescafc

I used golfaddick on here for my mortgages and found him really good to deal with

The_Organiser

Thanks for the advice - sounds like a bit of a no brainer then. Glad I asked.

LoOkOuT

jamescafc said:

I used golfaddick on here for my mortgages and found him really good to deal with

You didn't introduce him to your missus did you?

Sparrows Lane Lion

We used a broker and I got better deal direct with a lender than he did. Nationwide for instance can drop product fees and give cashback/free survey if you switch bank account.

Worth seeing what a broker can find, but I reckon most of the time you can do better - unless you have a poor credit score or something like that.

robroy

I have had three mortgages and used a broker twice, I did get some decent rates with some pretty obscure companies (Accord Mortgages and some Northern bank).

My current mortgage is with HSBC and you have to go direct, they offer the best rates and brokers are unable to use them. It was all pretty straightforward if you know what you are doing and read up.

Worth watching out for early repayment penalties and also what the over payments limits are.

I have always gone for fixed, but I think the trackers are great at the moment.

Good luck with the new house.

Oh_Yoni_Boy

I'd get a quote from a mortgage broker and then go looking around to see if you can beat it yourself. I tried playing a couple of mortgage brokers off against each other but they both came back with the exact same thing so I'm not sure there's much point.

It's definitely not too hard to do it all yourself if you know what you're doing, or take the time to read up on what you're supposed to do. But the £300-£500 fee they charge is likely to be less than the amount they'll save you in the long-run.

Leeds_Addick

Bumping an old thread.

I'm hopefully going to be in the position to look for a mortgage this year but as a first time buyer I'm not really sure what we'll be able to afford yet. If it comes about that we haven't saved enough yet then we'll hold off until we have.

So was thinking visiting a broker might be the best option to gauge what we kind of places we can be looking at? Is that the right way to be going about it?

Will have a look at London & County for it unless there are any other options.

Robbo on the wing

Are there no good northern ones?

Siv_in_Norfolk

That sounds like a good starting point for you to guage what you can afford. It’s free to sit and talk with them, after all.

Leeds_Addick

Siv_in_Norfolk said:

That sounds like a good starting point for you to guage what you can afford. It’s free to sit and talk with them, after all.

Great cheers, I wasn’t sure if that was the done thing or if, by going to speak to them, they’d expect me to be ready to proceed

Siv_in_Norfolk

Absolutely not. You can and should talk to a few to see who can offer you what. Different brokers can be limited to a pool of lenders while others have a different pool.

McBobbin

Don't bother with the ones in the estate agent

Leeds_Addick

Thanks very much.

Any that you can vouch for?

McBobbin

A guy in Essex if you want his number, but unlikely to be any better than @golfaddick from what I've heard. You want someone properly independent who can look at the whole market. The ones in estate agents can often only look at a portion of the market. And they mainly just want to have a poke into your business. And wear slip ons with tassles on them

golfaddick

PM me.

I am a IFA & a regulated mortgage broker. I don't charge fees & will usually take my commission from the fee paid by the lender. I have access to the whole market.

cantersaddick

The_Organiser said:

Evening, I'll shortly be in the process of hunting for a mortgage and I just wondered whether people think a broker is a necessity, or worthwhile or value for money even? I'll be a first-time buyer and consider myself pretty switched on with finances (personal and general) and am someone who spends a lot of time researching any product or service and consider myself to have a reasonable knowledge of mortgages etc. I know what LTV I'll be looking for, over what length and the extras like the fees applicable and terms attached (overpayments etc.), and I'm well on top of my own finances (a geeky accountant who uses spread sheets for everything in life!), so is there any need for me to pay for a broker? Most lenders seem to have their products online and on comparison websites, but can a broker offer me something extra here? Could I be missing out on a materially better deal by not enlisting their services? Any advice appreciated. Cheers.

In basically this position. Had an offer (almost) accepted on a house this morning. Can anyone recommend someone decent and preferably local to SE London - not that location means too much at the moment tbh.

golfaddick

golfaddick said:

PM me. I am a IFA & a regulated mortgage broker. I don't charge fees & will usually take my commission from the fee paid by the lender. I have access to the whole market.

I'm in Swanley if that helps......although currently working from home & doing most things by telephone & email.

PM me if interested.

Addickted

golfaddick said:

PM me. I am a IFA & a regulated mortgage broker. I don't charge fees & will usually take my commission from the fee paid by the lender. I have access to the whole market.

Looking to buy a couple of plots of land in the South East.

Have a £1 deposit and need to borrow £50m over five years, but would require quite a long mortgage 'holiday' until I'm back from Manchester looking for additional investors.

cantersaddick

golfaddick said:

golfaddick said:

PM me. I am a IFA & a regulated mortgage broker. I don't charge fees & will usually take my commission from the fee paid by the lender. I have access to the whole market.

I'm in Swanley if that helps......although currently working from home & doing most things by telephone & email.

PM me if interested.

I'm gonna want quite a discount given some comments you made about our choice of area on this thread!

 https://forum.charltonlife.com/discussion/comment/3891053#Comment_3891053

Fumbluff

Don’t buy a flat, or anything with “service charges”

clb74

Fumbluff said:

Don’t buy a flat, or anything with “service charges”

Whats your advice if all i can afford is a flat?