MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Moving somewhere bigger need a new mortgage, seen a broker attached to an Estate Agent; Intermediate market broker, £499 fee plus they keep commission, seems a bit harsh.
Other options seem to be an independent broker (Full Market but small fee and on commission too). Shop or yellow pages?
Or someone suggested browsing the titnternet then approaching the chosen high street lender direct.
Has anyone recently been through this process or have a recommended approach. What does the hive mind think?
I used a broker recently and didn't pay for it; I could have got the same deal online myself, but the broker did all the paperwork for me.
I'd certainly not want to pay a broker, especially if you also end up paying arrangements fees to the mortgage company
I used a broker that got its fees (up to £250 apparently) from the lender, all good.
we have just gone through the process of applying for a mortgage with Santander direct.
we did it all on-line & over the phone. basic form to complete 1st, where you enter all the basic info and then there's a bit about your household expenditure. submitted this on-line including proof of earnings etc.
this is then followed up with a 1.5 hour phone call, to scrutinise your income, finances, retirement planning and affordability. - all seems a bit of a waste of time but i suppose its for the best.
in the end we've got it all sorted and were happy with the interest rate.
Just finalising everything with Tesco Mortgages direct.
Couldn't really see the value of a mortgage broker, particularly for the extra £500 they want. We picked our mortgage from one of the agregator sites and applied online.
If you do everything online it's 'non-advised' or you can book a telephone appointment and they'll supposedly give you a personalised recommendation on which is best for you.
The new regulations don't seem to have changed much (we were part way through applying before the change and then had to submit a second application after the change). Having said that, it is undoubtedly the most frustrating thing i've done for a few years.... If you're dealing with call centres don't expect the people on the phones to have any decision making leeway and apparently Underwriters don't speak to customers.
The trend for financial things seems to be moving towards lower commission/higher fees in the theory that the client gets unbiased advice. I've never paid a fee in the past to an IFA but maybe that's hard now. I'd try googling for the best deals and arrange myself, maybe then approach an IFA to see if they think they can do better, if they can then they probably deserve a fee.
you should have tried to get mortagaes back in the 70's.. we had to prove we d been with the building society for 3 years before you could apply and the manager came to your home to fill in the form.. had to produce payslips and bankstatements for the previous 6 months ( we got paid weekly back then in cash)
I just looked online for rates and got a tracker through Nationwide. Helped that I had my current account with them.
For more useful would be to hit all the credit reference websites and make sure your record is squeaky clean before going anywhere near a broker or mortgage provider.
Just going for a re-mortgage myself.
My existing Lenders will only lend £50k+, I want a lot less than that, and they wouldnt help.
I'm self-employed, so will not meet many Lenders requirements, so I rang up a local Mortgage Broker. Told him my details over the phone, he rang back later, said my low wages etc shouldnt be a problem, and arranged a meeting.
Filled in many forms, gave copies of Tax Returns, bank statements etc, and it seems to be going through at the moment.
He charges £195. No idea if he gets a kick-back from the Lender.
He said he would save me more than the £195 in the first year, as he knows who has the best current deals to suit peoples requirements, which I think is true.
No problem at all with the fee, as I think he's earnt it, and the mortgage is very competitive.