Free Independant Mortgage Advice?

ToonAndy25

Hello.

I have recently been viewing houses to buy. I have found a house which I like and would like to make an offer on however I am yet to make a move on any mortgages.

I am 23 years old and based on the value of the property and the deposit I currently have; my LTV ratio would be 86%-89%. I have been employed at my current company since the age of 17 and have no adverse credit. From looking at other articles here I believe I have everything in place to make me suitable to a lender.

I wanted to find a property I liked, obtain a decision in principle and then make my offer. From reading a few articles here I planned on progressing this through L&C however after calling them I am unable to do so.

This has left be a little uncertain as to exactly what my next steps should be. I'm unsure whether I should be looking for a broker or a mortgage advisor, and I'm also sceptical of the whole 'fee free' situation. I have been looking at mortgages myself and have found a couple that I believe look OK.

The main thing that concerns me is; obviously as a first time buyer I've not done this before. I'm unsure of the whole process of getting a mortgage and the paperwork etc involved once I apply. Ideally I'd like someone to be able to help me when it comes to deciding upon the right mortgage for me and completing the paperwork etc. Maybe I'm making this out to be something much more complicated than it is, I'm unsure..

Basically, I'd like some advice on what I should be doing next. Should I be looking for a mortgage myself? Should I be looking for a reputable mortgage advisor? Maybe both of the above?

Any advice will be very much appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

kingstreet

If you don't want to pay a fee, you need to look at lenders who only accept business directly from borrowers and brokers who do not charge, but are "whole of market for commission-paying products."

Once you have done your comparisons of the options open to you, you then decide on a lender and a product and apply for an agreement in principle if you have not yet found and offered on a property.

If you leave it until you've got a price agreed, you then go straight to full application.

Typically, you'll need three months payslips, three months bank statements, evidence of identity and evidence of address. Some lenders may have additional requirements, such as evidence of deposit.

Wh05apk

Why do L&C say you are unable to do this?

Sounds like you need a broker to sit down with you, explain the process and basically hand hold you through the whole thing? I would recommend this face to face, and take your time, speak to friends/family etc and see if they recommend anyone, at your meeting(S) possibly have someone else there to help/ask questions.

dunstonh

Free independent mortgage advice would be commercial suicide.

If a mortgage adviser is operating on independent basis which means paid by agreed fee then if they were to give their advice for free, where would they earn money to stay in business?

Fees free on whole of market basis is very common (although in low value areas you tend to see small fees added on top as commission is too low).

ToonAndy25

kingstreet wrote: »

If you don't want to pay a fee, you need to look at lenders who only accept business directly from borrowers and brokers who do not charge, but are "whole of market for commission-paying products."

Typically, you'll need three months payslips, three months bank statements, evidence of identity and evidence of address. Some lenders may have additional requirements, such as evidence of deposit.

Thanks for the information. I have all of my payslips from this employment, evidence of address and employment however I don't receive paper statements (Would I be able to request these from the bank as I've heard they may not accept printed statements from online banking) and what would the typical form or proof of a deposit be? A statement from my savings account maybe?

Wh05apk wrote: »

Why do L&C say you are unable to do this?

Sounds like you need a broker to sit down with you, explain the process and basically hand hold you through the whole thing? I would recommend this face to face, and take your time, speak to friends/family etc and see if they recommend anyone, at your meeting(S) possibly have someone else there to help/ask questions.

I previosly had a decision in principle supplied by L&C which was a joint application. My circumstances have changed however when I have applied for a new DIP based on my current circumstances they have advised that it may be difficult as they must provide the previous information to lenders and therefore it looks like I'll have someone financially dependent on me. I believe the best thing for me to do would be to go through a broker, however I don't quite understand where the fees come into play should there be any and how I can find a suitable broker? Are you aware of anywhere where I can look at reviews or advice? Maybe a section of Money Saving Expert?

kingstreet

What a lender will accept varies from lender to lender. On the whole, getting online statements stamped by the local branch appears to work in most cases. Check at the time of application what your particular lender accepts.

Yes to savings account statements for evidence of deposit. You may need to show it build up, rather than a one-off snapshot of the money being there now.

ToonAndy25

kingstreet wrote: »

What a lender will accept varies from lender to lender. On the whole, getting online statements stamped by the local branch appears to work in most cases. Check at the time of application what your particular lender accepts.

Yes to savings account statements for evidence of deposit. You may need to show it build up, rather than a one-off snapshot of the money being there now.

Again thank you for the advice. My deposit has been built up over a few yeras so showing evidence of the build up shouldn't be a problem.

I'm trying to keep things moving at the moment so I'm going to start looking for a broker. If anyone is able to recommend anyone or provide advice / information from past experiences I'm sure it'll go to good use!

somethingcorporate

https://www.unbiased.co.uk

kingstreet

Particular firms can't really be named on here, for spam reasons.

If you have no-one close who can make a recommendation, try https://www.unbiased.co.uk, switching off the "sponsored ads only" option, so you get a full list, not just those who pay to advertise.

Ring a few and have a chat about the service you want and how it should be paid for.

GMS

What was the situation previously? What are your circumstances now?

You may get a bit more help if you post further info on loan amount, deposit, salary etc.

Cant help but think there is an issue in the background which L&C didn't like

Wh05apk

somethingcorporate wrote: »

www.unbiased.co.uk

Probably do as well just using google, "unbiased" is an "opt-in" web site, geared to get advisors to pay for listings in the same way as Yell, they do no checking of advisors at all.