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Original poster

Mortgages

31 replies

Iammetoday · 02/08/2023 08:00

Looking at mortgages. My local broker wants £55 up front before an online appointment but l&c want nothing online. Am I missing something? Is l&c OK?

OP posts:
Loobydoobies · 02/08/2023 08:13

We've used L and C and they were fine. It's just a difference in how they are incentivised- worth asking whether each broker is full market.

Original poster
Iammetoday · 02/08/2023 09:26

@Loobydoobies thank you

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KievLoverTwo · 02/08/2023 09:32

L and C consistently got us the best deals across five brokers whether free or paid, but their after sales service is crap.

BerryGoodPuddingSir · 02/08/2023 09:36

@Iammetoday Used L&C for years and for lots of different circumstances ie both employed, one self employed etc. They are still recommended by MoneySavingExpert and best of all completely free. Always found them incredibly helpful.

All mortgage brokers get a commission from the mortgage you take, L&C don't charge any more than that. An independent mortgage broker will also get that commission but also rightly charge you for their service too.

Wednesdayonline · 02/08/2023 09:45

I used Cooper Associates Mortgages (Taunton). They are free and extremely helpful. We did video chatting and phone calls as they aren't based near us. The advisor Ben was available every single day to speak to us on the phone if we needed and called in the evenings after work as this was easier for us. Would 100% recommend, he also sorted life insurance.

Twiglets1 · 02/08/2023 09:48

Iammetoday · 02/08/2023 08:00

Looking at mortgages. My local broker wants £55 up front before an online appointment but l&c want nothing online. Am I missing something? Is l&c OK?

L&C are fine and I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again

Alarae · 02/08/2023 10:04

L&C are fine if there are no unusual aspects to your case, such as adverse credit. Then I've heard stories that they are not brilliant. I used them for our first remortgage a while ago, although admittedly I did my own research and basically told them what product to apply for.

This time around I used a mortgage broker via work, but can't say there was much difference other than the fact they were perhaps more responsive (not that L&C were bad).

DappledOliveGroves · 02/08/2023 10:07

I've always used L&C and they've been absolutely fine every time.

Original poster
Iammetoday · 02/08/2023 14:50

So do you just fill it all in online and they email results? Does it tell you all details, repayetc?

OP posts:
YukoandHiro · 02/08/2023 14:51

We used John Charlton and they didn't require anything upfront and the fee could be added to the mortgage too

YukoandHiro · 02/08/2023 14:52

I mean John Charcol

Peony654 · 02/08/2023 15:00

We used L&C before they were very good

Ginmonkeyagain · 02/08/2023 15:08

We used them for our mortgage and they were fine. We wanted to put Mr Monkey down as zero income as we had a massive deposit and didn't want the hassle of verifying his (at the time) erratic income. They were great with their advice on how to do that.

KievLoverTwo · 02/08/2023 15:23

Iammetoday · 02/08/2023 14:50

So do you just fill it all in online and they email results? Does it tell you all details, repayetc?

You need to have a phone call. They'll ask for salary, bonuses, overtime, other income, same again for any partner, number of dependents, possibly loans and credit cards, idk. Allow about 15 minutes. 30 if your financial history is complicated.

Original poster
Iammetoday · 02/08/2023 16:40

@KievLoverTwo thank you

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Riverhousepuppy · 02/08/2023 16:57

Jonathan Halford at L and C was superb. Definitely highly recommended

ThisGirlCantAlways · 02/08/2023 16:59

Yep we’ve used L&C couple of times and they’ve been good. Would recommend.

SammySays · 02/08/2023 17:03

Always used L&C and have found them to be brilliant. They have just organised our new mortgage on our next property

whirlyhead · 02/08/2023 17:12

Used L&C for our last remortgage as we’re both self employed and they were great. Barclays whom we remortgaged with however weren’t (the conveyancers they use are truly terrible).

lljkk · 04/08/2023 19:03

Why do people need mortgage brokers... i mean, why can't a few hours on google search find equivalent quality deals for residential primary home mortgages?

autumnboys · 04/08/2023 19:07

@lljkk L&C were able to persuade our mortgage lender to extend our offer while we waited to complete. Don’t think we’d have been able to do that ourselves. We’ve used them several times now, great service.

MakeADecision · 04/08/2023 22:22

First time using L&C in April this year after seeing them mentioned here a lot and they were fantastic.

Daisymay2 · 04/08/2023 23:18

We used L&C several times when re-mortgaging. Both my DC used them for purchasing as ftb. They were excellant, and both got good deals.
A PP asked why you need a broker and as you can do your own research. One of my DC ended up getting his mortgage with his bank, at a cheaper deal than he could get by going to them himself.

MoHunter · 05/08/2023 01:14

We used L&C and they were great

MistyMorningMelons · 05/08/2023 01:21

lljkk · 04/08/2023 19:03

Why do people need mortgage brokers... i mean, why can't a few hours on google search find equivalent quality deals for residential primary home mortgages?

They can often access deals not available to mere mortals. They know which lenders are more flexible on certain points. They can find products for those with less straightforward circs e.g. I'm abroad and my DH isn't.