Mortgage fees and telephone agents

Hoseman

Hi, Im in the process of moving house so I was wondering if anyone has haggled or had their fees waived. Abbey want to charge me a £699 "joining" fee even though Im a current mortgage customer.

Also, in Martins guide it mentions direct telephone agents that cater for all the products on the market. Which one(s) should I try?

AndrewSmith

If it's a standard fee charged by the lender then it doesnt matter if you go direct or via a 'telephone broker' the fee will still stand.

Andy

mustang_man_2

I've never used them myself, but London & Country in Bath fall into this category. N.B. you won't get away with haggling over the 'Joining/Product/Arrangement' fee. But if you ask a broker to search the market for a company that does not charge one of these fees they will try to do so. However if this is your priority you may not get the best overall deal on the market, so take the broker's overall advice.

Hoseman

AndrewSmith wrote:

If it's a standard fee charged by the lender then it doesnt matter if you go direct or via a 'telephone broker' the fee will still stand.

Andy

The 2 questions arent inter linked as such. My wife has been to see a broker and I want to make sure we are getting the best possible deal. On the fee, it seems very high so I just simply wanted to know if there is any leeway in terms of getting it down or waived.

Thx for responses.

dunstonh

The 2 questions arent inter linked as such. My wife has been to see a broker and I want to make sure we are getting the best possible deal. On the fee, it seems very high so I just simply wanted to know if there is any leeway in terms of getting it down or waived.

Yes. Got to a broker that doesnt charge that fee. Getting advice is no different to any other retail product. You can pay x amount in one place and y amount in another for exactly the same thing. In some places you may get the extra service you pay for, in others, they may just pocket the extra for themselves and give no more for it.