Are mortgage advisors so busy earning money that they don't need to return calls?

maryjane01

I am having an awful time trying to find a helpful mortgage advisor at the moment. We have been looking to remortgage to release equity, and potentially buy a new place to live in.

1st advisor: Got a recommendation from a trusted friend, the person recommended was too busy to take on work, passed our details to a contact of his, this guy was independent, visited our house, but my husband had to keep chasing him every step of the way for him to do anything. We were looking at an auction property last month and decided we could not use a broker who was so unrelaible and not prompt at returning messages.

2nd advisor: We went to this well known chain which charges a fee, fair enough, a lot of work goes in when so many applications fall down, when we were interested in buying at auction. It would have involved a remortgage to release equity, a mortgage on the new property, and potentially bridging finance. Not simple, but shouldn't be difficult for a broker. After a few days, the guy had not come back with any example rates, he came back and told us he could do the work for £2,500, plus any commission from lenders he would be entitled to (approximately an extra £1,400 in my estimate, and that is not with bridging finance commission). My husband and I read this as he was not interested in doing the work. We are prepared to pay a fair fee, but did not think £2,500 was fair.

3rd advisor: Found this guy through a bridging finance company, when we were looking at the auction property, through my numerous prompts he did get mortgage details to me before the auction, however, we did not end up buying at auction as after we paid for a full survey we felt there was a risk the property may be unmortgageable. We still want to remortgage to release equity, as we fixed before rates dropped at 5.49% and so we think it will be worth paying the fee to get out of the deal. I asked the guy for the best offset mortgage rates with lenders that are favourable to allowing consent to let (not sure when we will move, anytime in the next 3 years I think). I have been waiting 2 weeks now! I emailed last Wednesday he apologised for being away from his desk, and said he would get info to me the next day, I am still waiting.

This is driving me nuts, I can't bear to spend hours filling in another fact find for somebody that doesn't return calls. Can any body recommend a lender with good offset rates that generally allows consent to let? (we are currently with First Direct and they do not).

Sorry for all the rambling,I am just getting very frustrated. I can't believe these are the guys that managed to stay in business throughout the recession.

dunstonh

he came back and told us he could do the work for £2,500, plus any commission from lenders he would be entitled to

Ruddy hell. £2500 plus commission for mortgage advice!!!! You can only get away with pricing like that if you are using it to put people off (and you have enough willing to pay it). Although your circumstances dont quite sound simple.

I can't believe these are the guys that managed to stay in business throughout the recession.

Probably the fact they did stay in business through the recession and are still here is one of the reasons they are busy. The number of mortgage advisers (and advisers in general) is in decline. There was too little work and too many advisers pre credit crunch. Now it is the other way around.

natman

Hi,

Many people have been using -
London and county - http://www.lcplc.co.uk/. I personally have not used them will be be intending to as my fix rate is coming to an end.
Many people on here have had really good experiences with them
You can also chat on line with them, and they have rang me to discuss my mortgage.
Their advice is free.

Also some people have used mortgage monitor - http://www.mortgagemonitor.co.uk/

Have a look nothing to lose.

dunstonh

Many people on here have had really good experiences with them

Just to balance that comment, there are generally more posts saying negative things than good. However, that is the nature of the internet. Bad gets commented on. Good does not.

IMO, L&C offer a very good option for those that dont need hand holding and have very simple cases and you dont mind that only commission paying lenders will be used.

Their advice is free.

No it is not. Their advice is paid for out of commission paid by the lender which is factored into the pricing of the product. A nil commission paying lender may offer cheaper terms. So, paying for advice explicitly may end up cheaper than using one that relies on commission.

DannyboyMidlands

Why not just do it yourself? You have an internet connection so it's not difficult.

maryjane01

I think I may go it alone, however I do believe a decent broker could add value (not sure one exists at the moment though :rotfl:). We need a high income multiple, my husband has his own limited company, we may want to let this place out in a couple of years and would like not to have to do 2 mortgages at once at the time so want a lender that does is favourable to consent to let. Apart from that it should be straight forward, but I think a broker will have some insider knowledge of which lender might be best for our particular circumstances, it will not be a matter of going straight to the lender with the lowest headline rates.

GMS

It will be impossible to predict which lenders would be favourable with granting Consent to Let in 2 years time. A lender who is ok today could change their outlook on it tomorrow. There could be a danger in taking a deal because of today's stance.

Sorry you have had some bad experiences but I assure you not all brokers are that way.

I assume you have checked the numbers on your current mortgage to make sure paying any early redemption penalty would be worth it. Can your current lender not offer you a new deal? Could possibly save you time and effort

opinions4u

maryjane01 wrote: »

I think I may go it alone, however I do believe a decent broker could add value (not sure one exists at the moment though :rotfl:). We need a high income multiple, my husband has his own limited company, we may want to let this place out in a couple of years and would like not to have to do 2 mortgages at once at the time so want a lender that does is favourable to consent to let. Apart from that it should be straight forward.

I don't think that is a straight forward case.

maryjane01

Ok, not exactly straightforward if I wanted to take a DIY approach, that is why I don't want to do that, but nothing that an experienced mortgage advisor would not have seen before, hence I have said I am happy to pay for good advice...and service. I would expect a mortgage broker to be generally aware of the ins and outs of various lenders lending criteria, and I know these are fairly fluid these days, so at least know who to get on the phone to call or understand how to read small print. We have good credit and 25% equity but understand we will not fit all lenders criteria, but it shouldn't be too difficult for a broker. Just wish I could find a decent one.

Sorry, just editing this because I reread opinoins4u post properly and don't get why you have highlighted some things. The only points highlighted that are relevant are the high income multiplier and the limited company...both not terribly unusual. We have 3 years good accounts so the company is all legit. The other things you highlighted would not affect a mortgage application.

maryjane01

GMS wrote: »

It will be impossible to predict which lenders would be favourable with granting Consent to Let in 2 years time. A lender who is ok today could change their outlook on it tomorrow. There could be a danger in taking a deal because of today's stance.

Sorry you have had some bad experiences but I assure you not all brokers are that way.

I assume you have checked the numbers on your current mortgage to make sure paying any early redemption penalty would be worth it. Can your current lender not offer you a new deal? Could possibly save you time and effort

We wouldn't totally base a decision on consent to let as we are aware this could change, but our current lender are fairly militant in not allowing it, so would not by choice go with such a lender if there was another comparable option. We have redemption penalties for another 7 years, and after a lot of talk and sums with my husband think it might be worth getting out of the fix now. I try not to think about how we had the option of a 0.34% above base rate lifetime tracker when we took the fix! Wouldn't a crystal ball be fantastic.

kingstreet

I'd split it up and treat it as two different transactions. Get the remortgage done first with a mortgage offer ready to complete. Once you've completed, you've got the funds ready to go for property number two. Think about an offset product. Put the extra money in the offset account so you don't actually start paying for it until you actually use it.

When you've got property number two ready to go, apply for the mortgage for that.

As things stand, the brokers are probably seeing this proposition as a load of work which may ultimately lead to nothing, if one thing is conditional on another. We've all had complicated "big earners" that have involved a lot of time and effort which end up going nowhere and if we get paid on completion and there is no completion... :eek: