Martins View On Using Mortgage Brokers...

Ian_Griffiths_Halifax

Paul_Herring wrote: »

Why? He is authorised and regulated by the FSA.

You'll find he isn't.

If you're looking on the FSA site, you're looking at somebody else.

payless

Martin Lewis ( of this site) is FSA registered ( FSA ref 438382 ) but only for Insurance not mortgages- think he took it to allow for the various referrals to insurance sites, as on some pages you see

Important FSA Note. Referring people to insurers or insurance intermediaries can in some circumstances require FSA authorisation. For this reason, Martin Lewis of Shepherd's Studios, Rockley Road, Shepherd's Bush, London W14 0DA is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Paul_Herring

Ian_Griffiths_Halifax wrote: »

You'll find he isn't.

You don't get the weekly email do you? It's at the bottom of every one.

dunstonh

The are FSA authorisations for different things. Having authorisation for being an introducer is not the same as having authorisation for giving advice.

However, there are also allowances and exceptions for journalists.

payless

And there's a difference between advising and arranging

Introducer authoriation if usually marked differently on register.

My understanding was if one is authorised ( to arrange and/or advise) thats its a condition that one actually doing so in the course of ones business

mshaw77

Ok there is a common misconception now, Since the FSA came in and regulated all mortgage brokers (Nov 2004) There are basically two types of mortgage brokers, Directly authorised or appointed representatives of a particular firm/network. Now whole of market some brokers do use whole of market, others uses a small panel of lenders, but as far as the FSA is concerned as long as this panel represents whole of market, the broker can call themsleves whole of market!! Which I personally thing is a fars!! With regards to Fees, officially in order to class yourself as an independent Mortgage broker you must offer all clients the options of whether they want to pay you a fee or not, trick question! no just another confusing guideline the FSA has imposed to make the whole process so much easier to understand..... So essentially when you are chosing a broker the key questions to ask without being caught out, is how big is your lender panel? bearing in mind there is approx 150 lenders plus. With regards to Fees, the question to ask here is: is there a no fees advice option? That should get you the right response!

I hope this helps. Michelle

Beena_Rashid wrote: »

Can someone clear this up for me please?

Martin says that the second key question to ask a broker is "do you charge a fee?" and if the answer is "yes" to seek another broker.

My mortgage adviser charges me a fee for giving me advice, and says that this is because she is an "independent mortgage broker".

She says that if I dont use an independent broker, I cant be offered all the mortgage deals in the market.

I have contacted another mortgage adviser, who was recommended to me, and he says that he is not an independent broker, he doesnt charge a fee, but can get "whole of market"

I am confused.

Does it mean that all independent mortgage brokers charge fees?

jayne_just_learning

Whole of market - the way it is being mentioned in some of the historic posts seems to have a different meaning to my understanding. I thought whole of market would mean just that - every mortgage product available rather than a wide variety from panels etc ??

My fixed rate ends in April. We have a very large mortgage arranged through a broker 18 months ago (£364k) so the best interest rate available rather than an average interest rate could mean a hell of a difference to our monthly repayments when we get a new deal. I thought lenders were trying to cut our brokers at the moment by offering their best rates direct? If someone tells me they are 'whole of market' will this include these rates and offers or not? Ok I can use a comparison site nearer the time and see who has the best rate but I can't get advice on other aspects of the mortgage offer to see what best suits my needs if I just go to who comes out top of the list can I? If paying a fee to a broker gets me good independent advice which saves me money I'm willing to pay for it but what would be the typical fee I might pay?

Wealden_broker

There is no doubt that since the credit squeeze some lenders have operated a dual pricing policy, very much to the annoyance of brokers like myself, although there is less evidence of this practice in recent weeks.
When deciding on a what mortgage to choose, factors such as arrangement fees should be taken into account. If I have a client with a modest mortgage balance, I may suggest a product with a higher rate but minimal fees, whereas in your situation a higher fee may be justifiable if the rate is lower.
Remember that in most cases a low rate comes with high arrangement fees so do a cost comparison over the term of the benefit period, i.e if you chose a 5 year fixed rate check the cost including arrangement fees over 60 months.
Why not do your own research into rates (not forgetting that the loan to value will be an important factor), then contact a local broker and discuss for findings and see what he/she can offer.

Wealden_broker

There is no doubt that since the credit squeeze some lenders have operated a dual pricing policy, very much to the annoyance of brokers like myself, although there is less evidence of this practice in recent weeks.
When deciding on a what mortgage to choose, factors such as arrangement fees should be taken into account. If I have a client with a modest mortgage balance, I may suggest a product with a higher rate but minimal fees, whereas in your situation a higher fee may be justifiable if the rate is lower.
Remember that in most cases a low rate comes with high arrangement fees so do a cost comparison over the term of the benefit period, i.e if you chose a 5 year fixed rate check the cost including arrangement fees over 60 months.
Why not do your own research into rates (not forgetting that the loan to value will be an important factor), then contact a local broker and discuss for findings and see what he/she can offer.

Wealden_broker

Wealden_broker wrote: »

There is no doubt that since the credit squeeze some lenders have operated a dual pricing policy, very much to the annoyance of brokers like myself, although there is less evidence of this practice in recent weeks.
When deciding on a what mortgage to choose, factors such as arrangement fees should be taken into account. If I have a client with a modest mortgage balance, I may suggest a product with a higher rate but minimal fees, whereas in your situation a higher fee may be justifiable if the rate is lower.
Remember that in most cases a low rate comes with high arrangement fees so do a cost comparison over the term of the benefit period, i.e if you chose a 5 year fixed rate check the cost including arrangement fees over 60 months.
Why not do your own research into rates (not forgetting that the loan to value will be an important factor), then contact a local broker and discuss for findings and see what he/she can offer.

PS...............

I am a Mortgage Adviser

You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.