Do I need a mortgage broker or can I do it myself?

[CollectorofCookbooks]

Every one I have phoned has not returned my call!

We own a house and have a mortgage already. We have seen another house and would like to put an offer in. We were looking last year and were given a decision in principle by the bank, so we know we can do it - and we've done all our sums.

Now the deals have changed and I've found a good one. But do I just try to do it direct myself or continue to try to get hold of a broker? We'll lose the house at this rate!!

If your affairs are fairly simple - employed, not self employed, and no bad credit etc - then there is no reason you can't do it yourself.

A mortgage advisor will advise on a number of different products, so may find you a better deal, but they, like any sales person, will also try to sell you lots of stuff. (The bank will also do this.)

apply online straight to the lender

I've never used a broker, always applied direct.

charcol online usually has a good round up of the available deals. The Sunday supplements (e.g. Sunday Times Money) usually show best buys too.

Agree with above posters, apply direct yourself. I went through a broker last year and looking back was a waste of time. By the time you answer all their questions and provide copies of everything, you may as well have done it yourself.

Our broker was the person who was about to miss his monthly target managed to get the sale pushed through before I gave birth to ds. So he was worthwhile for us, but folk who don't return your calls are no good.

Thanks everyone, one has returned my call so I've scheduled a chat with him and will see how we get on before making a decision. Thanks for the tips on where to look to find info, much appreciated

There are free mortgage advisors like London and country. Would they be useful to you?

You don't need them. The one time I got one involved there was an error which no one noticed til I was £60k short on the day of completion (sorted after various stressful phone calls). Adding another link in the chain increases the number of people who can get things wrong.