The benefits of a mortgage broker?

flopstocks

Hello all, I have recently had an offer accepted on a property and the estate agents (your move) called us in to see that we can progress. They went ahead and set up a mortgage agreement in principle. We have a LTV of 52% and they were impressed to see 'fast track' on our application, apparantly only their 3rd this year.

I already had an idea about mortages and thier best deal is no different to what I can find can find on moneysupermarket, and they have an extra charge £140 for commission. Am I missing something here?

dunstonh

and they have an extra charge £140 for commission.

Is that commission or a fee? If commission, then moneysupermarket would be paid that too. If its a fee, then its not a commission.

Fee based advice can be cheaper and better than commission based advice as it includes commission and non commission deals. Plus, if there is commission, it is rebated to you (or offset against the fee) so you know you are getting better value for money.

Internet quote sites tend to include commission only deals.

A mortgage broker is there to give hand holding through the process and save time as well as giving you consumer protection against their recommendation (although there inst much that can go too wrong from an advice point of view).

flopstocks

Well the two monthly payments are exactly the same.

Moneysuper market fees

Booking fee £495, Land registry fee £285

You move fees

Booking fee £495, telegraphic transfer £35, Mortgage Account fee £225, Conveyancer fees £129.31

Does this make any sense to you?

sazandy25

Give london and country a call, they will find you the best deal, NO commission, will lead you through the whole process.

Use them every time, never had a problem

dunstonh

Give london and country a call, they will find you the best deal, NO commission, will lead you through the whole process.

There is commission. Indeed, L&C only consider commission deals.

ruggedtoast

They take commission from the lender, if you want the full independent shabang you have to pay a broker; even if that would save me money in the longer term I am far too short sightedly tight fisted to pay upfront, so found L & C very good.

flopstocks

Can't I use money supermarket to find the best deal, and then contact the lender direct? Surely this would erase the commission fees.

Thrugelmir

flopstocks wrote: »

Can't I use money supermarket to find the best deal, and then contact the lender direct? Surely this would erase the commission fees.

Why the fixation with commission fees? If the product costs you the same amount of money makes no difference.

MacMickster

Benefits of using a mortgage broker:

They have access to deals which are not available to direct applicants - not always the best deals for everyone, but they will be the best deals for some.

They have an understanding of the current mortgage market and different lenders' lending criteria. Applying for the best deals on comparison sites and being turned down can impact on your likelihood of getting an offer from other lenders. A broker can save you from applying for mortgages whch you are very unlikely to get.

dunstonh

Can't I use money supermarket to find the best deal, and then contact the lender direct? Surely this would erase the commission fees.

It doesnt eliminate the commission. The commission is paid to the broker. If moneysupermarket is used, they get the commission.

flopstocks

The monthly cost from your move and moneysupermarket worked out the same, but it appears that your move have more fees to pay up front. This deal is from Santander, if I visit their own website I can see the exact deal with less fees. But I am no expert!