financial adviser or not?

mattbest1986

Hi,

I'm looking at moving home and I'm weighing up the option of getting a financial adviser or not?

I'd like to here the pro's and con's for it?

Thanks

extra detail

Con's
They'll only look at lenders that will give them commission, so not the best deal on the market... is this true?

m00m00

it depends entirely on what your situation is

perfect credit history, large deposit, low multipliers, then you can probably go direct to someone like First Direct or HSBC if you do your research, and feel comfortable doing so

anything less than above, or if you don't feel comfortable doing the research, then an experienced whole of market broker is who you should be talking to. Talk to them about fees up front, they will be straight with you, and you will know where you stand.

a local adviser is likely to have local knowledge, particularly of the smaller institutions

dunstonh

Financial Advisers should be avoided as they are tied sales agents. IFAs are normally the type you should use but in the case of mortgages I think you are best served by independent mortgage advisers or whole of market advisers as most IFAs dont do mortgages any more.

Con's
They'll only look at lenders that will give them commission, so not the best deal on the market... is this true?

If you choose a whole of market adviser then they will only consider commission paying deals (they have to be paid and if you are not doing it then why should they include non commission deals).

If you choose an independent mortgage adviser then they will include non commission deals.

Basically, it all depends on time and knowledge. If you dont know what you are doing or you dont want to spend the time doing it then a mortgage adviser makes sense.

magpiecottage

dunstonh wrote: »

If you choose a whole of market adviser then they will only consider commission paying deals (they have to be paid and if you are not doing it then why should they include non commission deals).

Be aware, too that simply because somebody is whole of market for mortgages they may not be for insurances, and vice versa.

dunstonh

magpiecottage wrote: »

Be aware, too that simply because somebody is whole of market for mortgages they may not be for insurances, and vice versa.

We have seen that on a few threads in recent times as well where someone thought they were seeing an IFA but they were not.

A couple of years ago, Which? did a survey that found that over half of those seeing tied sales agents (FAs) thought they were seeing an IFA.

It is a "common" trick of tied agents to use the fact they can recommend different lenders to give the impression they are independent. A good test is to ask the adviser to show in writing that they are independent. Their terms of business will show it. Their business card will often show it or their headed paper. If they cant or are unwilling to put it in writing, then you know your answer.