mortgage - bank or broker?

MortgageMamma

You might have been misled nmiah as I was previously fee's free. I stil do support the idea, but unfortunately its not worked for me. i have three kids and can't do 100 hour weeks!

Gorgeous_George

Will the £50k from your step father be a gift and subject to tax?

Why not 'buy' the house in joint names with a £41k deposit (i.e., get a joint mortgage with sf for £59k)? This would mean he'd be own half the house (or other percengtage) and could charge you rent for that half. This would help to protect his interests and could avoid all sorts of family squabbles.



GG

AndrewSmith

TangentMan wrote:

I would just like to add my usual comment. Don't assume that any single person is giving you the complete picture of all the deals available. A bank certainly will only offer its own products (some banks have referrals system to in house brokers for people whose needs are not met by the high street range - they can then offer from the market as any other broker might).

Independant brokers will offer you more products than a bank sales person, but again not those to which they have no access (i.e. if they are in anyway tied and thus limited or for example the products for a mortgage club to which they do not belong).

Also remember that certain areas of the market thrive on churn (i.e. short term remortgaging).

My personal view is that the term "whole of market" is misleading.

I quite agree.

I personally beleive that the FSA needs to realise the mistake it has made by allowing 'Whole of Market' to mean nothing like that.

Hence I say that you should always ask the broker what his/her market access limitations are, and if he has any restrictions or panel lenders imposed upon him/her.

Regarding mortgage clubs etc, most brokers can register individually with one or more mortgage clubs which will give them access to the very vast majority of the exclusive products that are available.

To be completely honest the gap between those offered by mortgage clubs or by standard brokers is closing, with the incentives no longer being dramatic differences in rates, but more like a free valuation etc.

Andy

nmiah786

MortgageMamma wrote:

You might have been misled nmiah as I was previously fee's free. I stil do support the idea, but unfortunately its not worked for me. i have three kids and can't do 100 hour weeks!

Havent been on these boards regularly so I didnt pick it up when you made that transition.

Fully understand your situation. Need to pay bills and look after the family and if that means being fee charging then so be it. If thats what works for you, so be it.

All the best. I've only got 1 kid (1 year old) and she can be a handfull. Fortunately, I'm at work all day so the wife has the pleasure of her company best part of the day.

payless

I recently posted in another thread

lets be fair , a lot of brokers offer no fee basis ( well no top up fee - because commission is a fee really ... thats for another thread though ) and most do a damn good job.

Some have different business models, overheads or income expectations , so charge a fee on top ( I don't have a problem with this)
either way though most ( "free", topup fee, or fee in lieu of commission aka independent ) are offering personalised service , usually face to face ( for that read travelling time & costs and/or offices )

Some others brokers / firms don't deal face to face, and , so can afford a no top up fee model - in fact surprised they don't offer a rebate as well - especially when talking about the "larger firms" as they are not likely to be paying the advisers anywhere near the actual commission earned.

Also I do wonder what the average age/experience is of some of these "telephone based advisers

As for more time spent on a case if fee charging - I don't think that really adds up, one broker ( especially with experience in a particular marketplace) might be able to carry out reserach twice as fast as another, ( i would likely take longer than say Andrew on a sub prime case ... well if I actually took it on) plus it really depends on how much income the broker wants from the case - one might be prepared to work at £20 per hour ( so happy with commissiononly) another might expect £40 per hour ( so needs to charge a fee)

If brokers charge a (topup) fee , than thats up to them and their clients , but that does not mean that within a regulated envirnoment one adviser is automatically better than another just becuase they charge fees.

The case size is alaso an issue , as in fairness those £40K mortgages can sometimes be more work than a £500K case

payless

Oh David.. get the name now- meant nothing to me, of course me being North of Watford.... although I did once live in Finchley Rd ( Birmingham! ) on that line.

I had enough trouble finding "southwark" - you guys can't spell anything

MortgageMamma

Payless I wasnt talkign about time with the mortgage sourcing itself, I was talking predominantly with the customer service side of things that can easily be prioristised incorrectly when not charging a fee. some clients, first time buyers and adverse cases especially, or even those remortgaging through a martial split or whatever, need their hands holding and a lot more advice and reassurance than others. Some clients think they should ring you every other day thinking it will make the mortgage complete quicker, some just struggle with the maths and the insurances - I just want to be there for my clients, when they need me, for as long as they need me, and thats why I charge a fee - to get a good earning from each case so I dont need to take on as many clients, and to look after them as best I can.

payless

Whilst I commented on research, I feel my arguements stand for all ares of the advisory process / case processing also .

If a broker is busy they will just work longer ( or harder ..... instead of being here!).. its all down to the model one chooses ( or needs to choose), and I'm sure we are all capable of accepting other models, and adapting our own when required. Can't say I've ever felt I not given what a client ( who I have agreed to act for) wanted , service wise . I'm more likely to decline new clients than be over streched

paula_j_2

Hi!
It was my late mothers house.
My sf and I are not on speaking terms only through solicitors.
He had the house valued and is selling it at a discounted price to me.
Is that classed as a 'gift'?
I could get my two brothers to get a morgage with me but they have only been self employed for nearly a year so i dont know if they can?

Keep replys coming they are a great help!!

AndrewSmith

You have 2 options open to you really.

1) You take a 100% mortgage for the discounted purchase price. (Possible implications of high lending fees, potentially higher interest rate, not to mention that some lenders don't like sales within families with a discounted purchase price).

2) You take a mortgage for £50,000 on the basis that you are being gifted the remaining value by your stepfather as a unconditional gifted equity. Possible better interest rate, no high lending fees, lenders are more likely to be happy with this as you are declaring the real property value, and the true way in which the equity is being given to you.

There are lender who will look at gifted equity however they will most likely want a letter from your SF stating that the equity is a 'gift' without repayment or obligation in any way.

Andy