Mortgage advisor or direct?

[User112]

Why would you use a mortgage advisor? Can they get better rates than high street banks?

Mortgage brokers know which lenders are offering particular deals along with the best rates for borrowers in your particular circumstances and which have the most favourable lending criteria - so yes, it’s always a good idea to use a broker. An all of market one like L&C is a good place to start.

Our mortgage broker was fabulous. We had a bit of an unusual set of circumstances (a concessionary purchase due to inheritance, buying out family and one “portfolio income” and she found us a high street lender fixed at 1.5% for 5 years easily. Took so much stress out honestly and we have paid her now which means in the future when we remortgage I think we only pay her £50 each time which is more than worth it imo

Always an adviser. Independent, whole of market that doesn't charge you a fee. Speak to a couple!

I think it depends on your circumstances.

If your circumstances are very straightforward I.e you’re on a company payroll, there’s clear evidence of your wage going into your bank account, combined with having a fairly high deposit and low LTV then you may find you’re better off going to the banks directly and securing you’re own rate. Most mortgage brokers will charge a fee so that needs to be taken into account.

The brokers who don’t charge a fee, in my experience, are often on a substantial kick-back with a few of the mortgage providers and will try and steer you towards their rates.

Adviser, every time. Going direct you get access to that companies product only, and the deal they are offering. Advisers access most lenders and know of deals, and what suits your individual needs

@Henlie I work for one that doesn't charge a fee and we get the same proc fee from the lenders whether we would charge a fee or not. It would make no difference to the mortgage product recommended. We have to explain and justify the mortgage product chosen which in all cases is done with the client.

If you genuinely have experience of brokers swaying their recommendations based on kick backs I would strongly recommend you forward them to the FCA, although im sure you would have done already?

In theory it should always be cheaper shopping around yourself (doing the mortgage advisors job) and going direct, cutting out a middle man & their cut... But this seems to not be the case with the mortgage market. Not sure why

They all charge a fee! But yes, go to a broker, saves you checking out every deal and makes the process much smoother.

I’d say go with a broker. Ours has been really helpful not only in securing a great deal, but in talking us through the pros and cons of different products, taking the time to carefully understand our approach to risk and our future plans, and how they might impact the kind of mortgage we need, etc. they have also done all the leg work on finding another mortgage deal when our original purchase fell through, and getting paperwork amended, once for an error, then again for a price reduction. Really helpful and well worth his fee.

@User112 London & Country (L&C) were recommended by MoneySavingExpert. Whole of the market brokers.

From L&C "Like all other brokers, we receive a payment from the lender when the mortgage completes. The difference is that unlike other mortgage brokers, we simply choose not to charge our customers a fee on top of this. You’ll pay no more applying through us than you would going directly to the lender on the same deal – but we’ll also handle the entire process for you - from time to time we even have exclusive deals that wouldn’t be available directly from the lender so you may be able to save more money."

We have used them for at least 15 years.

A bank will only sell you their own products. A broker should have access to every mortgage available on the market.
The only time it's not worth using a broker is when you've almost paid off your mortgage and if you were to transfer for cheaper monthly repayments you would find that the transfer fee outweighs any of that saving.

I only went direct as I was porting a old mortgage and to avoid ERC that I'll likely lose now, due to vendor being slow. Given there's been 2 interest rate rises since it was offered, I got a very competitive fixed rate.

Any other situation, I'd use a broker, as they can access the whole of the market, and will be able to find you the best lender and rates for your particular circumstances.

@OnTheBenchOfDoom exactly that- and even in my small town there are a handful of small companies that operate in the same way. Working hard for our clients and losing some who are convinced the broker they pay a fee to will do a better job what we don't have is the massive advertising budget of our bigger competitors

@Outnumbered99 we try our best to support local businesses. When we went with London & Country we had just relocated so knew no one to ask about financial advisors. Our circumstances have changed a lot from dual income to single to self employed so we have stuck with them as we have a history with them and they don't charge. Plus on one occasion our current mortgage company was the best deal so they didn't even make money from the mortgage company. It is shit when people don't understand how it works re fees.

My friend has been with her bank's mortgage for 20 years, told her about L&C and saved her £200 per month, she was ecstatic.

We try to support and trust smaller established local businesses but we are in a great area for that, not everybody is. Word of mouth and recommendations work well here. We also have a local businesses booklet that comes through our door every couple of months.

For complex circumstances or if you're unsure of what type of mortgage would work best for you, use a broker.

If you're confident in what you're doing and your circumstances are straightforward, do it yourself. I've never needed to use a broker, but would if I was self employed, needed a higher than normal amount etc.

@Wideawakeandconfused

They all charge a fee! But yes, go to a broker, saves you checking out every deal and makes the process much smoother.

Mine charges the bank - I don’t pay.

My mortgage advisor is fab. He arranged my new deal 6 months before it was due and the rate actually dropped a couple of times before it kicked in so he just contacted the bank and got the deal again (twice) at the newer, cheaper rate. He also gave some good advice on what the market might do. It cost £50 and it was worth every penny.

I would use a free broker like L&C to see if they could find me a better deal than I could find myself with some rudimentary research. I wouldn’t pay a broker unless my circumstances were complicated and I needed to find a niche product.