To jump the gun with fixing our mortgage rate before our broker appointment

[Confusedandpoor]

Our mortgage is up for renewal in a few months. We have our appointment with our broker already booked for Tuesday. Our bank sent us the letter letting us know our options to stay with them. I checked Thursday so know what the options are and they are marginally better than I expected. Last time we remortgaged our broker was able to get us a better deal whilst still staying with the same lender so I left it hoping they would be able to do the same again.
It's important to point out that we ported our mortgage when we moved and it is the larger chunk that is up for remortgage, our smaller chunk is still fixed at 2.34% and we can't afford the early repayment charge either way so we are almost certainly going to be staying with our current lender whatever they offer.

Cue the news on Friday that mortgage rates are going up yet again and some banks have already increased their products.
I've checked tonight and the options I saw on Thursday are still there so I could just switch online and be done with it.
I'm worried that by waiting until Tuesday, the lender will increase the rates they are offering us and even with the broker's help we'll end up paying even more. I know it's the first working day of the week but I don't know how quickly banks are likely to change things. I'm currently on maternity leave and even when I go back to work we'll be in a childcare induced financial black hole for at least 2 more years so it really is important that we can secure a rate we can afford and the options I can see now are brutal (isn't everything) but doable so I'd be devastated if it disappeared come Tuesday.

WIBU to say sod it to the broker appointment and just switch online whilst I can?

Have you checked online to see what other deals are currently available? That would give you an idea of how competitive it is and how likely the broker will be able to improve it.

I have looked at two other banks' websites and the offer is better than one and virtually the same as the other so it does seem a fair offer given the current climate.
When we remortgaged two years ago though the broker was able to secure us a deal that saved nearly £100 a month from the bank's original offer. Of course this was 2 years ago when the interest rates were so much lower so how much she'd be able to do this time I honestly don't know.

Is there a cooling off period for a remortgage? I think there may be 14 days but I could be wrong. If so can you fix then see your broker and rescind the offer if the broker gets you a better one?

Anyone know how I move this to Money Matters? Might be more people in the know over there maybe?

Go on Money Supermarket and do a quote

Yeah I'd get some other quotes online myself and then I would.
I've used brokers in the past when I genuinely needed and wanted to survey the whole market but if it is extremely likely you need to stay with your existing lender, then I wouldn't risk waiting.

Thank you. I will lock in that deal then I think whilst I can. Should I just cancel the broker appointment or is it worth seeing if they can sort out a better deal if there is one they can access?

I would go with the deal you have. Cancel the broker appointment and just forget about it until the next renewal.

If you were sent a quote, then you can take it up anytime in the following validity period, which is usually 30 days or more. Read the wording on the quote.

Yes, go for it.

It’s strange to me that using a broker is seen as essential now. We’ve never used a broker and always got a good mortgage deal, just by researching online in the same way I do for any other bills or major purchases.

So some lenders will let you lock in a rate now and change it before the switch happens if rates drop. Some won't. Which lender is it?

Many people's situations aren't straighforward. If you have 1 or 2 PAYE incomes with clear credit and you're buying a standard home it's one thing, but sometimes you need to know which lender will accept your new payrise as a letter confirming it rather than waiting 3 months for payslips, or will ignore a Buy to Let one of you has in the background, or won't be fussed if both of you have cars on hire-purchase, for example.

Yes check if the offer isn’t valid for a while anyway, it usually is - in which case nothing to be gained from not going to the broker appointment.
Or if not, is there a cooling off period? (in which case accept for now).
In either case I’d go see if broker can improve the offer.

If neither applies I would fix it now and cancel the appointment

Because not everyone’s circumstances are the same eg may be self employed, bad credit history, other unusual circumstances that mean going to someone who has access to lots of different products is very useful.

op did the letter say how long the offer was valid for?

That's interesting about the quote being valid for a set period. It didn't immediately say that but I'll go have a nose through the terms and conditions. Its not an offer on a letter, the letter directed me to their website to show all the available choices for different fixed terms, though they are specific to us and our mortgage so maybe they are valid for a little while.

And yes, my husband is self employed so having a broker has been a huge help for us previously.

If they didn't generate a specific quote for you, then you generate one and save it to keep it valid. You just don't bind it until you've met your broker, but take it with you so he can see if he can better it or not.

Brokers can have access to scheme deals that are not generally available, as well as knowing where the different deals are. Some people also want advice; whether or not to pay more for fixed rate, options to overpay/ link to current account, whether and how to incorporate a loan etc. It's not harmful to ask, because you can still take the deal you found for yourself if that is better.

My broker got me a rate that was much better than anything I could have got directly by me researching online as it was only available to brokers.

I've just done this - I'm with Halifax. Up for renewal in October. Accepted offer on a fixed rate mortgage with them at 4%, according to the offer documents there's no charges if I decide to cancel before then. I've also contacted a broker to see if there's any better deals out there.

Erm, it's a "she". We are allowed to work in financial services. 😁

@Kerning oh that's so helpful, thank you

First, I was in the same quandary a few months ago. I went online and locked in a lower amount to start from May when my deal ended. I then spoke to a broker and was able to swap it for something smaller. You have a 14 day period of cooling. Do not wait. You need to get your AIP locked in