thebikechain – Sorry but the mortgage advisor will expect to arrange the finance for you unless you are prepaired to pay for the advice. Its how a mortgage advisor earns their living. Otherwise its like going into a bike shop and them sorting out the best/most suitable bike for you and then buying it direct on the internet.
An advisor will also be able to advise you who's criteria you will fit as well because this varys greatly from lender to lender and where as you may feel your circumstances are standard but many lenders may not see it that way.
Oh and unlike early/middle of last year many of the better deals are available via advisors as well as direct and the application process can sometimes be quite time consuming – HSBC have a minimum of 4 interview application process and only 10% of people who apply for a given rate end up with that. A good advisor should be able to tell you if you will qualify for the rate you want BEFORE the application goes in to them.
It all depends if you are prepaired to do alot of the leg work or let someone else do the chasing around for you plus will you understand all of the small print before applying or are you prepaired to take a punt on getting a deal that suits you. I always find there are alot of issues that people haven't thought about before applying for a mortgage.
Just a few points to think on.