Experiences with Co-op/Britannia

robby_from_the_rock

Hi

My girlfriend and I are looking for a mortgage for a property we have had an offer accepted on of £180k, deposit is 15%

There are two deals I like:

Coop/Britannia lifetime BoE base-rate tracker of base +3.19 (currently 3.69)
It's not just a good rate, there's also the fact that there are no upfront fees (other than survey), and good flexible features (overpayments allowed, deducted from interest next day, kept in separate pot that can then be withdrawn at a later date)

However, my mortgage advisor (associated with the estate agent selling the property) says that Coop have a reputation of taking very long to process applications. Is this true or is he just trying to get me to stay with him so he gets some commission? Coop on the phone said they weren't too busy with applications, so it would probably take 2-3 weeks max. I guess my main question is what experiences have people had with the recently merged Coop/Britannia? Are they truly dire in their customer service and speed?

Alternative is Nationwide tracker 3.69% for 2 years, followed by 3.99%.


Second question: most mortgages I seem to be offered by brokers are available directly on the companys website, and are exactly the same except being ~£500 cheapest in arrangement fees. This seems like a very direct way of paying my "no fee" broker ~£500. Are they really worth that much money? (I'm pretty sure I know what I want, having read Martins Mortgage Guide ie tied in for at most 2-3yrs, happy to go tracker as could soak up an interest rise, overpayment option needed)