An Open Letter To Mortgage Brokers.

HelpWhereIcan

Charlton_King wrote: »

I don't usually make pedantic posts except when pointing out superfluous commas and prepositions.

If the grammar police was a paying profession, my mum would be a multi millionaire by now....

(and no, I never paid any attention to her at all)

HelpWhereIcan

puddings wrote: »

Yes, obviously anybody can give advice on mortgages but if the bloke down the pub does it then it is technically illegal to do so and he can therefore be prosecuted (though unlikely).

I think even the FSA (who have plans for world domination as the uber regulator of all things) would admit that they do not regulate the man down the pub - even technically.

That's why there are 4 tests that have to be fulfilled to determine whether someone needs to be regulated.

harryhound wrote: »

"4.10 Deciding whether a person giving advice must be authorised by the FSA is determined by applying four tests:
• Is the provision of advice carried on in the UK? Most pubs are - except those in Benidorm
• Is the advice given by way of business? Even the guy looking for a free beer for his 'expertise' would be hard pushed to claim it was his business/job - though I know a couple who would try it if they thought they could
• Does the advice relate to a specified investment? Normally, the guy down the pub gets the name of the lender, deal, fund or wrapper wrong so this would be hard to prove
• Does the advice relate to a specified activity? "You know what you wanna do ... what Fred erm erm, you know ... ginger fella ... any way, he did this thing wot earned him loads of money ... trading daily, no buy to let, no endowments ... investing innit
4.11 All four tests must be met to require FSA authorisation.."

zebedy

Just wanted to add another voice to the many saying "Keep up the good work Martin".

Your information (and Martin only ever gives information , he does not advise people) has saved me a lot of money over the years. Add that to the hints and tips I've picked up from the forums which are managed by martin's capable team - and I'd guess it runs into thousands that I've saved by change of attitudes, making use of loopholes, finding the best deals on intended purchases and use of cashback sites/cards, mortgage overpayment etc.

For those who incorrectly quote Martin please note he does not give advice to individuals. He actually provides a huge number of people with thorough, accurate, well-researched information that they can arm themselves with in order to make their own decisions and judgements.

Martin, ignore the ignorant folks , we still think you're a star!

payless

You've forgot to add the usual tagline -

" and I want to have your babies"

Joe_Bloggs

@Payless Who in their right mind would read this far down into a thread? Is there any hope that the backing of the MSE readership could propel you on to a seat of a committee of the FSA or some other influential body ?
J_B.

Den

You may be correct in classification of advice, but sure you didn't read Martin's books or guides. There are disclaimers.

Amazonemerald wrote: »

You should have a WARNING at the end of your "information" page when conveying anything of a regulated nature.

Good site otherwise.

Den

dunstonh wrote: »

Level of income and quality of adviser dont go hand in hand. Like the last house price crash, a lot of good people will be lost as well as some of the bad business models.

I am not attacking brokers, just wanted to highlight that in some cases not honest brokers/advisers taking advantage from customers who trust them.
I just watched BBC rogue traders, and you can see that it happens in every industry.

I think brokers should see Martin's referrals as a great thing. And not the opposite.

I recently got Life cover through a broker, hope receive good product: spend about a hour answering questions. Got it through life search, not sure if they are good .

Btw, dunstonh, I was after your advice. But didn't get response at the time. You are on my good list :beer:

Tom_Kelly

lethal0r wrote: »

Very true. Any intelligent person who is good with figures will know 95% of what a broker knows about mortgages.

I am not an authorised mortgage broker or financial adviser but I have passed the required exams (FPC and CF6) and also passed the subsequent equity release exams (CF7). It is useful for my job to have done so.

The above statement would be more accurate if it said 95% of intelligent people could learn what mortgage brokers learn to pass the exams. However, passing the exams is only a part of the equation. Being up to date with the details of lenders current deals, along with the ability to analyse the true costs provided for in the detail is equally important. Neither element is much use in isolation if you are advising someone.

[FONT=&quot]I have met literally hundreds of mortgage advisers over the 26 years I have been involved in financial services and can put them into two categories. The first sees themselves as an adviser who will do everything they can to ensure their client gets the best deal possible. They get paid for having done a very good job for that person and their client is happy with the income that the adviser has earned. The second sees clients as people they can sell products to and earn as much money as they can squeeze out of the deal. Their priority is to maximise their own income and it is unlikely that the client knows just how much has been earned (despite commission disclosure rules). I would suggest that the majority of gripes will come from those in the second group.[/FONT]

Malcolmw

Hi,
Just wanted to add that the advice on this site has helped me, my family and many friends get sorted, and you can't say that about too many sites/people!
Keep on keeping on!
Malcolm

payless

Joe_Bloggs wrote: »

@Payless Who in their right mind would read this far down into a thread? Is there any hope that the backing of the MSE readership could propel you on to a seat of a committee of the FSA or some other influential body ?
J_B.

interesting thought, but I think not

I applied ( some time ago )- it was only about 2 days a month ,
as I thought it would be a good idea for the FSA CP to have the insight of an "adviser" who dealt at the "rockface" , and thought that my input into this site ( much greater at that time) actually would put me in good sted, but the positions seem to go either financial journalists or higher level people in FS / CAB background