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

Hollie_Boyd

We had to pay the fee ontop of the commission once we got the keys to the house. So i guess you could say their fee was 750. But having lost the first property right at the last minute we did have to go through 2 applications and no doubt gave our adviser months of grief!
Are they allowed to charge a fee and get commission do you know?

Leon_W

Are they allowed to charge a fee and get commission do you know?

Yes they can. It sounds like the commission payable to the broker was about £250 so with the greatest will in the world that really isn't going to cover the time and effort involved hence the additional fee of £495.

This will all be contained within the Initial Disclosure Document, on the Key Features and Mortgage Offer.

kingstreet

Hollie_Boyd wrote: »

Are they allowed to charge a fee and get commission do you know?

As long as they disclose to you that they are charging a fee and receiving commission that's completely acceptable.

As Leon says, the Initial Disclosure Document will show how the adviser is remunerated.

My only concern is you got the best deal which paid a commission to the broker, not necessarily the best deal in the market. Some brokers are independent and charge a fee but rebate to you any commission they receive to ensure there's no bias to introduce you to a particular lender or product.

You would also have had access to the top of the market deals from the likes of HSBC or Yorkshire Building Society which don't pay commission to brokers.

dunstonh

My only concern is you got the best deal which paid a commission to the broker, not necessarily the best deal in the market. Some brokers are independent and charge a fee but rebate to you any commission they receive to ensure there's no bias to introduce you to a particular lender or product.

and with a fee of £750 you could have employed an independent and got whole of market access INCLUDING non commission payers or got a commission rebate if a commission payer had been used.

Part of the problem is that there are not many independents in the mortgage world yet or those that are independent but are still employed by the client to work on whole of market basis (commission) instead. Although you do see numbers starting to rise.

Hollie_Boyd

kingstreet wrote: »

As long as they disclose to you that they are charging a fee and receiving commission that's completely acceptable.

As Leon says, the Initial Disclosure Document will show how the adviser is remunerated.

My only concern is you got the best deal which paid a commission to the broker, not necessarily the best deal in the market. Some brokers are independent and charge a fee but rebate to you any commission they receive to ensure there's no bias to introduce you to a particular lender or product.

You would also have had access to the top of the market deals from the likes of HSBC or Yorkshire Building Society which don't pay commission to brokers.

I honestly believe that they did everything they could to get me the best deal and not themselves, the only reason i say this is because my friends recommended the company to me after they had spoken to them about trying to get a better mortgage for themselves and the broker got back to them saying to stay where they are as there isn't anything better out there for them at the moment, this made me feel like they would have my best interest at heart and not just in it to get money out of me!

I would definitely recommend them to all of my friends and family

kingstreet

What product did you take and with which lender, Hollie? I'm curious to see if you are correct. Was there any problem in you getting a mortgage?

Hollie_Boyd

kingstreet wrote: »

What product did you take and with which lender, Hollie? I'm curious to see if you are correct. Was there any problem in you getting a mortgage?

No problem getting a mortgage but i really didn't know where to start, so it was good to have someone to pretty much do it for me!

I ended up going for a 2yr fixed rate with ING, I'm pretty sure interest rates can only go up from here!!

Scottishchicky

I am having the same problem! Did you have any luck?

Also wondering if anyone heard or used .firstmortgage.co.uk it says they give free advice so no fees!? How is this possible??

dunstonh

it says they give free advice so no fees!? How is this possible??

Its not possible. Advisers are either paid by commission and will only consider commission deals or you pay a fee and any commission is rebated but this will also include non-commission paying deals. One way or the other it is not free.

property.advert

Hollie_Boyd wrote: »

...I ended up going for a 2yr fixed rate with ING, I'm pretty sure interest rates can only go up from here!!

I'd agree but I think having to remortage in 2 years time with rising rates will see much higher fixes than are available now for 5 years. Not sure I see any value in a 2 year fix.