To not pay a mortgage advisor for this?!

[NeverOwnAHouse]

So we have been talking to a mortgage advisor as first time buyers - one that another estate agents recommended, not the ones we’re actually buying a house through.

Anyway she wanted a TON of stuff from us which we have quickly got together for her so she can apply for a mortgage.

Then she sent us her recommended mortgage with a well known high street bank at 1.99% fixed rate for 2 years. I already bank with these guys so had looked at their mortgage products before and knew they had a better deal. I sent it back to her and she was like “yeah, you can get that one but you’ll have to pay the valuation fee on application.”
Okay, fine, could lose that £248 but we’ve put an offer in quite a lot below the asking price and it’s been accepted as they just want to get rid of it (it’s their late mother’s home) and my DH works in the construction industry and has said there’s not a HUGE amount of work to be done so it’s unlikely to be valued at less than what we’re getting it for.

Basically, I’ve done her job for her and I can’t work out why we would now pay £549 for her to fill in the application form - plus she gets commission from the bank, of course.

We haven’t said for her to go ahead yet so she won’t charge us until we do. Am I missing something else that mortgage brokers/advisors do that we’d be paying that money for? I was always told that they find the best rates and have exclusive offers that make them worth the money. However, I found a better offer than her so can’t work out what her role would be now - other than filling in the forms?

WIBU to say we’ll just go it alone now? Will I regret it?!

If she has already spent considerable time filling out the forms for you then you may be liable for paying for her time.

Depends what their brief was ? If it was "find me the best possible mortgage deal available" then they've clearly not done the job. If on the other hand it was "find any old deal", then clearly they have.

She has been working on your behalf, do you work for free.

Life is a tad more complicated than that.

I would never bother with a mortgage adviser for a straight forward mortgage. You can even compare the various rates online, there's nothing I can't do.

If you have already employed her, it's more tricky not to pay her. What was the agreement exactly? You need to check what the contract states.

I wouldn't trust her if she's pushing you to get a worse deal than you've found yourself. I went to a mortgage broker a few years ago, he gave me his best rate, I told him the best rate I found myself and he said 'I can't beat that, you go ahead with yours'.

The fact she hasn't said that rings alarm bells with me.

Ex mortgage advisor here. Agree with @sewinginscotland

If she is in an estate agent, unless she's mab, she'll be tied to around 20 lenders.

Your LTV is high. Being self employed is not an issue unless your accounts show a downward trend. If they do use L&C who are fee free whole of market

Exactly my thoughts sewingscotland

If the best deal you've found is with Natwest, just arrange an appointment directly with them. They do it over the phone now, takes about 2 hours and they get you to upload your docs online beforehand

As an independent mortgage broker, I would never charge a fee for any initial consultation or advice. But that's not to say others do. I do however charge a flat fee on submission of a mortgage application as there is so much work involved and compliance to adhere to, which clients don't have any knowledge or understanding of. And this can vary whether is a purchase or a remortgage, debt consolidation or adverse. Each type has a different level of work involved. It's not just a case of sourcing a rate, submitting and application and job done.
There are unfortunately some instances where a lender may offer a better rate direct, especially if you bank with that lender, however these deals would not show on our sourcing systems so as an adviser, even being whole of market, we can only work with what we have.
My clients are given a general terms of business from the outset which lays out how I operate and what fees and charges are involved. They also have to sign a fee agreement, once they have confirmed they are happy with the advice and are willing to pay my fee, at the time of submitting a mortgage application. Of course, if the application isn't submitted then I personally don't charge a fee. However all brokers work differently with fees. The whole reason for charging a fee on application is that we will only get paid a fee from the lender ONCE the mortgage has fully completed so if the application falls out of bed because the clients have pulled out for example, we don't see a penny and have effectively worked for nothing. And the amount of work involved from start to finish on a mortgage isn't just a 5 minute job. Nobody in their right mind would go to work for free!!
Your mortgage adviser should have outlined from the start what the fee covers and when it is payable. And also, as brokers get paid a percentage of the loan amount - this, by the way, usually equates to around 0.32% net, the adviser may charge a higher broker fee if the loan amount is small, because the lender procuration fee sometimes isn't worth the amount of work which goes in to a case. However, again, this is something that you should be made aware of from the start.
Hope this helps?

What Willow says... ^^

You shouldn't have to pay a mortgage advisor. The advisor is paid by the mortgage lender for finding the business.

Dear God no don't pay a mortgage advisor, especially one that is bad at her job. L&c and other brokers are free and can probably get a better deal for you. Plus before the initial deal ends, they will contact you again with the next deal to keep it cheap, rather than increase the cost.

I don't work for them, but I wouldnt be paying any broker after they did a great job for free.

My mortgage advisor charges £500 for his services and he gets commission as well. However I am willing to pay for this service as I think he has done proper research (hes not connected to an agency or bank) and given me the reasons for suggesting the deal he has. eg. Yes I could have a slightly lower monthly payment but would pay considerably more for arrangment fee. i could get better rate of interest on a 2 year fixed deal (about 0.2% better) but at the end would have to pay another arrangement fee to change to another fixed rate whereas the one he has suggested is a longer fixed rate and he's done the sums and I would be x amount worse off. Thats what I'm paying for.

This isn't helpful to you at all (!) but I would never go to a mortgage advisor at an agency or bank - they are going to be fixed to certain products, likewise someone who doesn't charge for the services but goes for mortgages with the better commission for them (exH I'm looking at you!!)