What's the advantage of using a mortgage broker?

[Blinkyblink]

Trying to decide if worth the £295 fee

Thanks

[Coughingchildren5]

They can access deals that you won't find on the high street banks and they can chase the bank when you are waiting for weeks for a response or decision. They can also handle any complexities in your financial situation, directing you to specialist products.
I have used brokers/financial advisers in the past and also done it ourselves. I have never paid a fee, I have always gone for the free deals!

[VivienneWestwoodsKnickers]

I've never paid a mortgage broker. Their fees are usually recouped from the mortgage company as referral type fee.

They are good for competing across the market, but look for one who doesn't charge an up front fee.

[rosie1959]

£295 sounds a very cheep fee to be honest
Most Independant mortgage brokers charge fees like solicitors and estate agents they don't work for nothing and on a small mortgage the lenders commission is very low not covering their costs and time
Their are free ones apparently like City and County
They can often get deals you can't access also if your situation is not straight forward they will help you see what is possible and 'hold
Your hand ' through the process
They can save you more money in future repayments Probably more than the amount you have paid in fees

[MLM78]

Hey

Brokers do so much more for you than banks and building societies can, i.e. Helping out with solicitors, verifying your ID, local knowledge, life assurance. Ongoing financial needs. Easier to access for communication, banks you usually have to wait ages for an appointment and then not much help once the application has offered, as 80% of mortgages go through brokers the high street have scaled back their offering.

As well as access to exclusive rates and lenders.

Brokers charge as the about of commission earned has reduced even though house prices have increased lenders give less away. The fees for authorisation with the governing body and to generally pay staff etc have increased.

Not many people work for free.

There are the odd free companies around, but there's no such thing as a free lunch!

£295 is also a reasonable fee

[TobleroneBoo]

We used one for a few very similar to that. He sorted pretty much everything and has been recommended to a few family members since.

[Blinkyblink]

Fantastic, thank you

[johnd2]

I think it varies but if you find a good one it's they would save you more than they cost.
Having said that we have a slightly unusual situation and I called 2 (a free one and a paid one) and they both made out it would be a real struggle but they had a couple of ideas. Then I asked in our own bank and they said no problem plus they had an extra 1k cash back (which became 2.5k a month after we completed grrrr) which we wouldn't have got via a broker.
Now on remortgaging we looked again and did it ourselves, you have to read the lending criteria yourself as the broker isn't there to do it for you, but again we can get incentives.I found high street banks are much more likely to lend to more unusual situations, building societies are more strict.
Good luck!
So my advice is talk to a broker but it's worth doing your own research if you have the time.

[m0therofdragons]

Ours is charging £99. We looked at online calculators for our current lender then went for agreement in principle which came back £50k less! I panicked and called a broker who can get what we need.

[Kokusai]

Massive advantages to using a whole-of-market broker.

They have access to rates you won't have, they know what lenders will suit certain circumstances and chase up the mortgage application etc for you and a good point of contact.

I paid £250 and it was worth it.

[tiba]

I have used mortgage broker in the past and felt it was well worth the money

I would definitely recommend using one if you have unusual circumstances or if you're borrowing at the top of the limit as they will know the best providers to suit

[NotCitrus]

Definitely worth it just for them sitting on the phone for you. And telling Santander why they were dickheads and we would be leaving them. Best comedy I'd heard in ages!

He didn't find a better rate than I'd already found that time, but just being able to let him do the admin was worth it, especially with unusual circs where the front-line mortgage staff might have got antsy.

[user1484313858]

Our circumstances are a bit weird regarding our mortgage etc - we used a broker who did a fantastic job. Not only did we get a far better product than i'd even managed to find myself but their level of service was excellent. We did pay £1,500 for the privilege but when you're talking 10's or 100's thousands I think it's all relative.

[redfairy]

We used a broker as we were worried about our particular set of financial circumstances. Turned out he was worth every penny of the £500 fee we paid. Saw the mortgage application through from start to finish and arranged all insurances, progressed the application etc... Not only was he very professional but he was also a top bloke. We saw two brokers beforehand btw before deciding who we felt we had confidence in.

[badgersnotincluded]

Depends on your circumstances. If you're self-employed or your employment isn't straightforward you may struggle to use any of the more recognisable lenders.

[Mum2KSS]

We've always used London and Country and they're absolutely fabulous ....and free!

[TheBakeryQueen]

I'm in the middle of buying a house at the moment and our mortgage broker is amazing. He has explained every part of the process so clearly, given brilliant advice and has just taken the stress out of what has been quite a tricky process so far.
He also got us a really low rate considering my partner on the mortgage has a poor credit rating.

He is called Luke Saints at Mortgage Thoughts. I found him by googling, his reviews are brilliant and I can confirm its all true!

I know it sounds like I'm advertising but I promise I'm not!

[TheBakeryQueen]

Fees vary but for us it's been worth every penny.

[TheBakeryQueen]

Luke Saint, that should read.

[FinallyGotAnIPhone]

I've used a broker each time I've had a mortgage and remortgaged. Absolutely fabulous 1) found me great deals without me needing to look at all 2) when I was refused a mortgage by one lender (after having an offer on a house accepted), he found me another within 24 hours. Took away all the stress.

[EssentialHummus]

When I bought my first home I researched every lender's criteria, found what I thought was the most suitable for the property in question (ex-council, which some lenders make noises about), went to that bank and had an offer.

Since then, I've always used brokers, paid or free. I'm self-employed, with income from a couple of places, and a DH who wanted to rely on a share sale for our last purchase. I think I could have done it myself, but not in the 24 hours our broker did to get the sale through.

[Maggy74653]

Ours was amazing, no fuss mortgage application process whereas when we bought the first time we had a horrendous time calling around banks trying to find the best deals.

When I buy again I will be using our mortgage broker again. I would say to go with one recommended by someone else rather than just google etc.

[QueenMortificado]

We've always used London and Country and they're absolutely fabulous ....and free!

Me too! No idea why you'd pay tbh

[OverOn]

We've always used London and Country and they're absolutely fabulous ....and free!

Me too! No idea why you'd pay tbh

Me three - they've always been good. They have a good idea of which lenders will lend for your particular circumstances.

[TheBakeryQueen]

Because if they're 'free' I presume there will be an element of bias towards lenders that pay them the most for the referral and they won't refer to lenders who won't pay them so I doubt they're a 'whole of market' broker.

[Blinkyblink]

Exactly the mbakery