What happens at the mortgage advisors?

xXFaithXx

Hi,

Just a query, my other half and I wish to visit a mortgage advisor. We haven't found a property but we wantto know exactly how much we can borrow and how much it would currently cost to repay.

Is this a little premature?

If not:

What actually happens?

What will they need to see and will they run credit checks at this early stage?

Thanks

F

smcqis

They will not runa any checks they will basically teel you what potential you could get offered and told the different types of mortgage and price of other costs eg stamp duty if applicable solicitor costs etc Def worth a visit before viewing properties if you are unsure about things

kingstreet

The adviser will gather information about you to help them recommend the right deal.

He'll explain his service to you, whether you will receive advice, whether he is whole market, or working from a panel, and how he will be paid. He'll cover consumer protection and regulation issues.

He'll go through different types of product, explaining how these meet the circumstances you've described and what the costs will be - both monthly and initial. He'll calculate what should be affordable based on your needs and circumstances helping you set a buying price range.

He'll go through the home buying process and explain what happens and when and what some of the jargon means.

Finally, he'll get an agreement in principle for you if you are ready to be credit checked at that point.

xXFaithXx

Thanks for your responses, both very useful.

Regards,

F

Conrad

He'll try and sell you life insurance. Some brokers refund 30 - 60% of commision to get premiums as low as possible - so check up front whether this will be the case. Fee charging brokers get paid a fair amount regardless of whether you take thier insurance products, so some might argue this is a more transparanet and honest approach - afterall we go to the Dentist with a fee expectation in mind, we don;t go along to be treated and then expect to be sold an insurance policy so they earn commision on the side!

puresilk

Hi

1 Your mortgage broker will be able to give you all the deals on the market at present (bar the ones that you can only get direct from the banks)

2 Find a suitable product based on your circumstances and income

3 Do an Agreement In Principle for you so that you can go and put an offer on a house and let the vendor/seller know your serious

4 Do a full apllication and if this is accepted then you may need to provided further details i.e P60, 3 Months bank statements, 3 month wage slips

5 The offer from the bank/building society will be subject to valution which means if the valuation on the house comes back ok they will give you mortgage offer.

**woody123**

I have a question i've wanted to know the answer to about advisors.

Are they able to do a rough estimate of utility bills, council tax etc.? basically to find out what money you have left over once mortgage and household bills are paid for.

GMS

**woody123** wrote: »

I have a question i've wanted to know the answer to about advisors.

Are they able to do a rough estimate of utility bills, council tax etc.? basically to find out what money you have left over once mortgage and household bills are paid for.

How will an adviser know how much electricity, gas and water you will use?

Different suppliers use different prices. Will a customer sit in the dark and the cold or have heating and lights permanently on?

If the water is non metered then water rates should be able to be estimated. Council tax can be found out easily enough.

A fact find will require a client to declare monthly outgoings in order for the adviser to look at affordability but it can only go so far. The client should have an idea of their expenditure. If not are they really ready to take on a huge commitment?

**woody123**

GMS wrote: »

How will an adviser know how much electricity, gas and water you will use?

Different suppliers use different prices. Will a customer sit in the dark and the cold or have heating and lights permanently on?

If the water is non metered then water rates should be able to be estimated. Council tax can be found out easily enough.

A fact find will require a client to declare monthly outgoings in order for the adviser to look at affordability but it can only go so far. The client should have an idea of their expenditure. If not are they really ready to take on a huge commitment?

Fair points..

A friend once had a mortgage advisor visit her, he told her that on her salary it wasn't worth it, because she would just exist to pay off a mortgage.

I've found the council tax out, and discount for a single person too. The rest i just have to ask friends and relatives about their bills and how much to put aside per month for bills.

Quenastoise

You may want to do some homework first by going online. You can easily find tools like mortgage calculators that tell you how much you can borrow based on your income and how much you would have to repay based on amount borrowed, assumed interest rate and length of borrowing.

Get yourself acquainted with the various types of mortgages and what they entail.

Have a look at the price comparison websites to get a feel for what may be right/affordable for your circumstances.

That will give you a bit more comfidence when you do get to speak with a mortgage broker. You may even get to the point where you feel you know your stuff so well that you don't need an adviser at all (we didn't use one and I am happy with the deal we've got)

It sounds daunting at first, but like everything else, it's a learning curve.

GMS

**woody123** wrote: »

Fair points..

A friend once had a mortgage advisor visit her, he told her that on her salary it wasn't worth it, because she would just exist to pay off a mortgage.

I've found the council tax out, and discount for a single person too. The rest i just have to ask friends and relatives about their bills and how much to put aside per month for bills.

Good adviser that, very sound advice. Too many people were prepared to get into the home of their dreams with no regard for anything else.

You could probably find an estimator for the fuel bills based on number of rooms etc somewhere online.

Water if not metered could be found out or estimated if metered.

Remember buildings insurance too, get a quote online.

Phone/broadband can be pretty much found out with a call package comparison