Use a specialist broker?

cheersthanksbye

I am an IT contractor, over 3.5 years of constant contracts, self employed with own ltd company for 7 months, prior to that 3 years operating using an umbrella company. A++ credit and a 10% deposit.

I am wondering whether I need to use a specialist contractor broker. There are a number on the web who all warn that conventional brokers put you in touch with a lender, only for the deal to fall through when they find out you are a contractor. The problem is I have contacted 3 of them with only 1 responding. Its like they are not bothered for my business which makes me not want to use them.

So what I would like advise on is, do normal brokers successfully get contractors such as myself mortgages, or should I stick with a specialist.

Cheers in advance.

toonfish

any "normal" broker should be able to arrange this for you.

JoeK_3

What you need is a self cert mortgage or remortgage.

Post your circumstances and we will see if we can help.

JoeK

MortgageMamma

I managed to place a case similar to yours on a full status basis with a lender last year (chelsea BS)

You are right to seek the advice of a broker but make sure you have exhausted the full status options before you go for the self cert option

cheersthanksbye

JoeK wrote: »

What you need is a self cert mortgage or remortgage.

Post your circumstances and we will see if we can help.

JoeK

Cheers for the comments. I would rather not go down this route as I would like to get the preferable rates of a standard mortgage and the brokers I have looked at so far say self-cert is not necessary.

Have had an offer accepted on a house for 219k. At xmas had a mortgage approved by the Halifax for 316k on my income so am very sure they will lend me the 219k. I just now want to get a better rate. Other than that i have a 5k credit card balance transfer outstanding and thats it.

JoeK_3

cheersthanksbye wrote: »

Cheers for the comments. I would rather not go down this route as I would like to get the preferable rates of a standard mortgage and the brokers I have looked at so far say self-cert is not necessary.

Have had an offer accepted on a house for 219k. At xmas had a mortgage approved by the Halifax for 316k on my income so am very sure they will lend me the 219k. I just now want to get a better rate. Other than that i have a 5k credit card balance transfer outstanding and thats it.

Sounds good.

You need to find a good whole of market mortgage broker and get an Acceptance in Principal done (AIP).

All the best

JoeK

cheersthanksbye

Thanks. Well as said, already have an acceptance in principle done but want to get a better rate. Something that is making me wanting to act quick is 1) current interest rates, but also 2) I have a new car arriving in May (a month early). I plan to take a loan of 25k out for this so want to get the mortgage nailed before so it does not affect the chances of getting the mortgage.

I am presuming this will have a big effect?

AndrewSmith

cheersthanksbye wrote: »

I am an IT contractor, over 3.5 years of constant contracts, self employed with own ltd company for 7 months, prior to that 3 years operating using an umbrella company. A++ credit and a 10% deposit.

Simple change of business status from contractor to LTD company. As long as you have some evidence of income history then no real problem. I assume that you were, as a contractor, 'self employed' for those 3 years even though operating under an umbrella company?

I am wondering whether I need to use a specialist contractor broker. There are a number on the web who all warn that conventional brokers put you in touch with a lender, only for the deal to fall through when they find out you are a contractor. The problem is I have contacted 3 of them with only 1 responding. Its like they are not bothered for my business which makes me not want to use them.

Yes they would say this purely because so called specialists brokers are nothing of the sort, they have no better acces to anything that a regular broker can offer.

In actual fact consider this. These so called specialist brokers will operate from a panel of maybe 5-10 lenders, they will usually charge a fee and have high priced single insurer protection product portfolios. They will always tell you not to use a regular broker because we have access to every lender and are not afraid to show you ALL the options you have available, not just those from a very limited panel.

A fees free regular broker will work to find you the best solution and will usually ensure it tis a product that will actually get accepted as they will be outlaying time and resources without being paid anything till you begin making your new mortgage payments. It is therefore in their interests to get you a product that you can actually have. Pointless to do otherwise.

So what I would like advise on is, do normal brokers successfully get contractors such as myself mortgages, or should I stick with a specialist.

With far greater market access and usually better resources and experience, a broker looking at the whole market will have access to everything that your so-called specialists have and everything else out there as well.

Usually, for specialist read big fees and limited panel lender access.

If you want proof, quote the rate, lender and fees etc they have offered you for comparison.

cheersthanksbye

AndrewSmith wrote: »

If you want proof, quote the rate, lender and fees etc they have offered you for comparison.

Thanks for such a detailed responce. Well I thought I would post what figures the 'contractor specialist' broker gave me. They are fees free and are 'all of market' by the way.

For an off-set mortgage, with the Woolich, they have got a rate of 5.84% (Barclays Rate +0.59% with a £595 arrangement fee.

The best Fixed rate they have quoted me is with Northen Rock which is 5.29% with a £1995 arrangement fee but this mortgage can have unlimited capital paid at any time (keeping a token sum to avoid a redemtion fee).

How does this sound then? Just to reiterate, the mortgage is for a house worth 219k with a 10% deposit.

Would love to hear your thoughts. Cheers.

Melissa177

That arrangement fee seems quite high!

For a quick comparison, try tapping in your details into Moneysupermarket.com to see what it comes up with. It will give you an idea of what the mortgage market is like. I used this in conjunction with a mortgage broker because I could then go and compare the two to make sure I was getting the best rate!

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/mortgages/quickmortgage.asp

silvercar

The best Fixed rate they have quoted me is with Northen Rock which is 5.29% with a £1995 arrangement fee but this mortgage can have unlimited capital paid at any time (keeping a token sum to avoid a redemtion fee).

HSBC have an internet only deal at 5.49% fixed with zero-fees. Not saying thats the best around but their advert of zero fees caught my eye. Compared to the 5.29% rate with NR its costing you £400 more per year but saving you £2k of fees.