L and C mortgage broker- opinions?

[optimisticpessimist01]

DP and I are first time buyers hoping to start the buying process in the next couple of months. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews about L&C, some really positive and others saying they're hard to contact because of how busy they are. We are tempted by them because they are a reputable company with no fees

Would people recommend L&C, go for a broker more local or just do the research and approach the bank yourselves?

We and l&c in August, was a bit slow getting the initial appointment (2 weeks) but from that point all we had to do was upload a zillion documents and the offer was through in 11 days, so much quicker than we had been led to believe. I'm not sure if banks direct will be any quicker tbh

We used them for a uncomplicated FTB purchase last year and honestly they were pretty rubbish. Only found us the same deal I’d found myself (through the MSE search tools), but due to them being too slow to send the application to the lender, that deal went off the market before they sent my application in. So basically they cost me time and money and we’d have been much better off going direct to the lender. Could never get hold of them, they took 7-10 days to return my messages, they slowed the whole process down through their inaction. Very poor service.

Ps pretty straightforward only seeking to borrow 1.5 x salary so maybe easier for us

Used them a few times. Would recommend and they’re free.

@Skylor

Do they get you better rates than if you just hunt around on comparison sites? In a straightforward remortgage case?

They can get rates that aren’t available directly from banks, but it will depend on your circumstances- LTV, multiple etc If you are a lower-risk customer, you will almost certainly get a better deal from them than going direct to your bank, and if you’re a complicated (self employed, bad credit rating, high multiple) customer, you’ll probably get access to more deals via them than you would find yourself