First time buyer, no clue what I'm doing. Mortgage broker or not?

princeofpounds

You come across as seriously naive. That's not your fault, most FTB are.

You don't need to use their broker (and it's advisable not to as they can pass details of your negotiating position to the EA).

You don't need to use their lawyer (such a relationship has a conflict of interest and there is no real guarantee you will get a better deal).

If they ever tell you you do, be assertive and firm and tell them that's a load of bs.

The vendor is the person who decides to make the sale, not the EA. Stop being so damn afraid of them, and when you make an offer do so in writing - they have to pass it on by law then and can't play silly games in the middle.

And no, you don't need insurance. If they tell you they do, they are liars.

pie81

As those above have said - speak to an independent mortgage broker (London & Country are decent and free). Whether you need the insurances or not depends on the specific mortgage - a few require you to have insurance in place in case of unemployment/illness, most don't.

Sometimes mortgage lenders offer better deals if you go directly to them rather than through a broker, so after you speak to the broker, it's also worth checking out the main lenders' websites just to check if they have any of these "direct only" offers.

If you don't need life insurance for your mortgage but want it anyway, then you are best off going through comparison websites/insurance brokers to buy this, rather than getting it alongside your mortgage.

Should you use the EA's lawyer? Well, if you have already appointed them and they have already done half the work, it's probably too late to change. However if they haven't really started work yet, then I'd be inclined to use an independent sol instead. It will NOT make your sale process any easier just because you use the EA's lawyers. An EA can talk to an independent lawyer just as easily as to a tied lawyer. And so what if you annoy the EA? They can't stop the sale just because they are a bit annoyed.

blizeH

Thanks again, and I think yeah to call me 'seriously naive' would probably be an understatement! I've got quite caught up with everything to be honest as it's all moved so quickly, but thankfully I have you guys to help keep me a little more level headed

With regards to the broker, I'm absolutely certain now I'll bypass him and the insurance policies that he would require - think I can get myself a nice deal elsewhere, even by looking around at the different rates online and offered by different banks.

With regards to the solicitor I'm still torn. I do not know really know anyone to ask from that area for any recommendations, and a quick search around a few local places as well as comparison and estimates online suggests that £450 is a good price. Although as you said there is a potential conflict of interests since the EA will do their best to ensure it goes through even if there's a problem.

The insurance I'll leave for now then, thank you

pie81

I don't think it's a disaster to use the EA's sol, and that isn't a bad price. BUT you must bear in mind that they have a vested interest in the sale going through. So there is just a possibility they might not flag up any potential problems to you, or at least they might play them down. (Of course this would be in breach of their duty as your lawyer, so I'd hope they wouldn't do this, but bear in mind it's a risk).

What this means is that if you go ahead with the EA's lawyer, it would be sensible to be very cautious and thorough yourself when going through the sale process, rather than relying completely on them. Make sure you read everything very carefully (eg the lease, if it is leasehold) and really think "what does this mean and is any of this likely to cause me a problem". Ask yourself "has my lawyer asked all the questions they need to ask".

Kyrae

Life and mortgage insurance is optional and totally depends on your situation. If you're getting a mortgage with a partner or you have kids then life insurance is probably a good idea, as if something terrible happened and you passed away, then your family might lose their home if they couldnt afford the mortgage payments. Mortgage protection insurance is there to help pay the mortgage if you were off work for a month or so due to illness or if you were made redundant, might be a good idea to get it if your employer doesn't offer great sick pay or if you wouldnt get much redundancy pay if you were made redundant. The only type of insurance that you usually have to get in order to have a mortgage is house insurance.

I'm a first time buyer too so I know how confusing it all is, just when you think you've figured it all out then something else comes up that's new and needs researching!!

blizeH

Many thanks again for the awesome information guys - I think the more I think about the EA's sol the more I think it's maybe not a great idea. Will look into it a little more and contact them later saying I'd rather not use their broker or their solicitor, unless of course some kind of process is already in place (although that would mean they moved pretty damn quickly!)

Many thanks for the details of the insurances too Kyrae; I'd be living in the house on my own, and fortunately work for the police who have pretty good sick pay etc (I'm actually working on the sick pay system right now!) so would hopefully not have too much trouble with that either. Will swerve the insurances and use whatever little extra I get from that towards overpaying, or treating myself (£20 a month or so, but it all adds up right?)

laughingcow81

Regarding a good sol, you don't need to use one from your local area - we live in London and our sols was in Sheffield!

Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages of using one far away - you can't visit the office to chase up, you never meet face to face etc. but at the end of the day she did the job for us and it all went through without a hitch!

blizeH

That's great to hear, thanks. If I did get an independent one now it'd be someone recommended by a family member or something, so they'd be local to where I live now so hopefully still quite easy to deal with

I've just e-mailed the EA saying thanks but no thanks for the broker, and also a heads up that I probably won't be using the sol either.

Thank you so much once again guys, really appreciate it. Just trying to someone to survey the house now too! I know it's part of the mortgage process in many cases, but I like the idea of someone having a quick check too, and I think my parents know people that can hopefully help. Just a quick check for peace of mind really.

xnikkix

Can I jump on and ask a question about life insurance please? If we decrease the term of our mortgage by overpaying what happens to our mortgage life cover? Do we just pay the £6.77 for every month we have a mortgage or will it decrease if we pay off a lump sum?

Thanks and all the best for your move Blize!

Horizon81

blizeH - You should buy a book on the whole house buying process. I recommend 'Buying a House on a Budget for Dummies' from the huge 'for Dummies' collection. It's full of answers to the most commonly asked questions, then come on here for any further info.

In short, be forceful with the EA and don't go with their broker or solicitor. You can easily find the best mortgage deals yourself on the FSA website.