First time buyers - broker or no broker is the question

Dave_Ham

SummerRainDrop wrote: »

The pessimist in me think you were extremely lucky and this might not be the case with us

betmunch, I was referring to independent advisers in my original post, perhaps I didn't communicate it very well, thanks for pointing it out. If we go for an adviser/broker we will be looking for an independent one for sure.

For independent advisers - what kind of fee is the average? £400 is cheap? I just have no idea...

I would expect between £495 and £695, but sometimes you do get what you pay for.

In your case, rate is key although the rate is only the best if you can achieve it.

Conrad

SummerRainDrop wrote: »

For independent advisers - what kind of fee is the average? £400 is cheap? I just have no idea...

Make sure they really are independant. People bandy this expression about but so often they are not independant, as they for example are part of a mortgage compliance network that urges members to use certain lenders.

A truly indpendant person will be mentioning The Post Office and all sorts of non commision paying lenders.

£400 fee is ok I suppose where commision is also earned. Remember not every case goes to completion, and those fees are Taxed and have costs deducted so dont think it's £400 in the pocket.

SummerRainDrop

Conrad wrote: »

" Hello, firstly what is you fee":rotfl:

Not really, as I said I am happy to pay if I will be paying for good service.
If this is my first question, it would be because I have no idea where to start and that seems like the first thing to come to mind, it's not like I can ask "do you customers like you", "will you see me as sth more than a quick job or an annoyance" or "can you send me a link to some reviews about yourselves".
I will end up saying "hi" and then long awkward pause...

SummerRainDrop

Dave_Ham wrote: »

In your case, rate is key although the rate is only the best if you can achieve it.

Can you please explain what this means?

Conrad wrote: »

Make sure they really are independant. People bandy this expression about but so often they are not independant, as they for example are part of a mortgage compliance network that urges members to use certain lenders.

How can I make sure of that?

Dave_Ham

Ask if the broker will ever recommend Post Office, Brittania, HSBC

A decent indepdenent broker will look at the best buys - not just the ones on our sourcing software that we have and then preclude the ones which will not accept your circumstances.

In your case they will preclude gifted deposits and low income multiples (as they will be your major challenges) but you may want to buy an Ex Local Authority house and therefore that will preclude some more lenders.

There are many factors (which is why we and specifically me takes offensive to the stupid posts about it being tick box whether you want a fixed or a variable posts on here at times)

Weighing all these up I would then advise the most suitable mortgage and this is what you pay for. The most suitable is likely not to be the lowest rate on the web.

Lastly, doing this day in and day out means you have an appreciation of lender timescales and therefore if speed is important you know which cases to put where...

SummerRainDrop

Dave, you have practically listed why I am considering using an adviser/broker. I tend to think that a professional is a professional and that's that. Let's see what my partner thinks...
He seems to agree with Danny.
This will be interesting!

grey_gym_sock

first the "bank of dave", now the "mortgage brokerage of danny" ... is it something about the letter "D"?

jamesd

SummerRainDrop wrote: »

would it make a difference if we have a higher deposit (30% of a £200k property for example)

Yes. The most potentially difficult part about your situation is the affordability/income multiple calculation. You can control that by adjusting the amount of deposit and the purchase price to meet whatever requirements the lender sets.

To give an example, with your incomes, ignoring overtime, First Direct's calculator suggests that you would be able to borrow £152,000. If you have a spotless credit record you might find it interesting to use them. If you want flexibility you might find it interesting to use one of their offset mortgages, which are interest only so you can choose how much to repay. But you'd pay a higher price for an offset mortgage - I''m mentioning it for flexibility, not mainly the offset feature. Don't consider First Direct or HSBC if you want a fast process, they are popular and usually slow.

Before you go hiring a broker I suggest that you try giving First Direct a call and describe your situation to them. Say that you do not want an agreement in principle or credit search yet, just have some questions about what they will accept. Perhaps do the same with another lender. That'll give you some idea of how the lenders handle it directly.

Thrugelmir

harvey115 wrote: »

Its the relationship with the underwriters

That's a myth.

A broker is akin to a travel agent. They guide those that are too lazy or need specialist advice advice in finding the right product etc.

If you've the time and application. Then you can master the topic yourself.

SummerRainDrop

Thank you all

I am still on the fence, perhaps the best thing to do is call both brokers and directly and see how comfortable we feel with each option.

My partner is seeing a great benefit in using a broker because of the assistance with estate agents, surveyors, lenders etc. and us working full time.
Otherwise he would prefer to do it direct.