Would this encourage you to use a mortgage broker for £495?

[ineeduourhelp]

Heard good reviews about this company and they include homebuyers protection which basically means if the seller pulls out I get any money spent on solicitors and surveys refunded.

I haven't seen other brokers offering this - is this kind of insurance useful?

Just want to ensure I'm getting good value out of what I'm paying for, £495 seems to be the going rate for a mortgage broker (a good one anyway)

What do you think about the protection would it encourage you to go with a certain broker because of this?

That wouldn’t circumvent the issue of them being paid twice though would it ?

I have used the same mortgage broker twice. The first time there was a (fairly small) fee, which I was happy to pay. The second time he’d moved companies and I followed him. He came up with a remortgage strategy that saved me quite a bit of money the second time around, well in excess of the fee which I’d paid him the first time.

i don’t think you have to pay to get a good broker by any means. But, my reason for selecting a fee was, I’d expect the brokers who charge not to be under the same pressure to arrange as many mortgages as they can, so they could take more time to help me through the process.

Of course, they not only make money from the mortgages they arrange, but also from any life insurance that they set up at the same time. But again, I was happy to throw the dog that bone, in compensation for services rendered. I’d likely do a better job for someone who is paying me directly (‘skin in the game’) than where I get paid via a 3rd party, so I apply that sentiment to them.

Am currently using Trussle for my remortgage. Free as they get commission for the product they sell. Have also used L&C in the past.

I have used London and Country many times and would always recommend them.

I used a broker as it was a complex mortgage. Expensive, yes, their fee was around £2000 but it was worth it

I have neber paid for a mortgage broker, moved 4 times. They get paid by the mortgage company i go with as commission usually

I had a really stressful house move, the only thing that was really easy with no issues was the mortgage because I used L&C mortgage broker. I’d found a good deal, she found me and even better one with £1k cash back and sorted it quickly and easily. She was paid by commission.

I agree. I only used a broker once and they completely oversold me insurances when I was young and fairly naïve about housing. I sort everything out direct now. When a house sale fell through for me at the last minute a couple of years ago the solicitor charged less than £450, so this doesn’t sound like good value either.

There was a three week waiting list when I tried to get an appointment with them. Would have lost my house. Luckily I found a local broker who didn't charge either.

I always use a mortgage broker, and he always saves me money. The one time he was unable to find a better deal than I was able to find myself, he told me so and there was no charge.

Searches come to nowhere near that round us.
Not sure what the Solicitors partial fees would be - I guess it depends on when the chain collapsed.

How many sellers pull out? I thought it was normally the purchasers (ie you - and I'm sure that's not refundable).

No, I wouldn't do it.

I’ve used the same paid for broker and he’s never pushed additional products. He presents a load of different deals (far better than what comes up on the websites) and only charges if I go with one of them.

tbh there’s no way I would have got a mortgage the first time round without him (poor credit) and I don’t care if he’s paid twice - I feel that he isn’t under pressure to sell me a specific product.

You can buy homebuyers protection separately for much cheaper, sure I saw it for £50 a few years ago. Only pay £500 for a broker if you want to spend that on a broker, I've personally never found them that valuable, they don't have access to lower rates like they used to, if you can Google and fill out a form yourself it's £500 saved. If your case is more complex then it's more useful.

Our mortgage broker was great, we had two mortgages to buy one property, one was interest only and the other one was repayment and we already had a mortgage on our old property which needed changing as we lived there during renovations.
He sorted it all out and got us far better deals than the providers we'd spoken to ourselves. We just spoke to him rather than the three different providers we were using.

i don’t think you have to pay to get a good broker by any means. But, my reason for selecting a fee was, I’d expect the brokers who charge not to be under the same pressure to arrange as many mortgages as they can, so they could take more time to help me through the process.

I don't know, my friend is a broker with a fee and she is always under mighty pressure to get leads. Fee brokers still do a lot of research with little gain due to people not following through so they're always needing to develop leads and start on the next case. £500 fee is small compared to commission, like conveyancers they're all trying to get loads through the door, so very much doubt they're working under particularly different conditions tbh.

I used l&c. Was cheaper than direct

I paid similar for my broker in 2021. Now that we are “valued customers” they will do our remortgage every time for £60. IMO it was 100% worth it to have someone explain stuff, deal with all the shite and apply to a product we were actually likely to be approved for. I would never bother to do it myself now tbh

This

I didn't usually use a broker but when I bought out after ex I did as wasn't sure on affordability etc.

It was worthwhile in my case because bank lost file and did sod all because it was nearly Xmas and as I was a remortgage I was way down their pile - a call from the broker woke them up in a way I wouldn't have been able to.

Independent mortgage brokers generally charge a fee at the time of application, when they have already spent hours working to find you the best deal. This is usually a lifetime fee, so every time you remortgage, they spend more hours finding you the best rate. They do get different products to you'd find yourselves. Being a mortgage broker is an incredibly stressful job, especially as the interest rate is unstable and lenders constantly pull rates/products at the last minute. But they are always working to do the best for you and take the stress away from you at what can be one of the most stressful times in your life if you're buying/selling. You get what you pay for!

I'm pretty sure you can buy it separately - have a google and look. I was looking a few weeks back at types of insurance and I'm fairly sure that existed.

Then you could use a free broker?

I used the same mortgage broker as he's great, he doesn't charge me as he gets commission on the products he sells.
If a broker is charging you to use their services then they are more than likely getting paid twice.

There is absolutely no need to use a fee-charging broker (although of course you are welcome to) we don't charge and I could name a handful of other very good non-charging brokers just in my town, there are plenty of us.

Interesting on the "recommended by Money Saving Expert" case, they pay to appear on the site, I think a lot of people miss that, although its there in the small print. Martin himself just always recommends researching yourself AND speaking to a broker.

I used a broker when I first bought my house. It was worth it then, because I was clueless. Didn't use him when I remortgaged as I shoppe round my self. And my existing provider gave me a good deal.