Joint first time buyers. Here we go...

benjdr

Hello all,

I am a long time reader and a first time poster, as I think it's finally time to get some advice of my own.

I am a 22 year old graduate, as is my girlfriend, and we feel it is time to get a place of our own. We have both secured our first jobs paying 20k a year.

We have viewed a number of properties around the 150k-160k price bracket, and are currently very interested in a house on the market for 155k.

We have a rough plan set out in our minds but have received little professional advise thus far.
Our savings put us in a position to put down a deposit of 15k, and then arrange a mortgage to the tune of 135k.

Hopefully that is enough for you to get an idea of what we are trying to do, but if not, please say and I'm more than happy to provide more, or clarify, information.

Now a few questions of my own.
I've done my best to read as much as I can on this forum but still have some questions regarding brokers.
It seems that everyone is agreed that an Independent, WoM broker is what you want. (Please put me right if I am wrong here)
What I am unsure about is optional fee situation, and what happens when you do pay a fee, with regards to the commission rebate, and even why one might want to pay with optional fee in the first place?!

Right, that's all I can think of for now.
Feedback, advice, and questions are most welcome.
Cheers in advance.

kingkano

In some situations the brokers fee from the lender can be very large (northern rock long term rates for example). In these cases paying your broke £500 and getting the £1800 fee he would have received can seem like a good deal

By paying the fee yourself you can assure yourself that the broker will recommend the best product (as they should anyways) not the best fee to himself!

So there is always reasons

herbiesjp

Your mortgage sceanrio appears straightforward, and there will be many options available

To use the term independant you have to offer the opportunity to pay an upfront fee and revate the commission - so you would pay £x up front and then once the adviser receives the commission from the lender he would then send that back to you. Speaking to colleagues who like to use this term, they say that no one pays the fee up front, and the adviser get sthe commission at the end


You can also compare with a fee free whole of market adviser - no up front fees, adviser gets paid at the end

So both can work out the same in the end


Both routes are valid, and both advisers should offer you the best advice based on your circumstances to get you the best deal

benjdr

Thanks for your comments guys.

I'm probably going to be phone around a few brokers over the next few days to see what they have to offer.
What should I be asking them to begin with? Are you independent and do you charge a fee, and if so do you rebate it?
Other than those three, are there any other questions I should be asking before I go ahead and take advice?

Also, should I be working on face to face terms, or is over the phone generally ok?

Cheers again.

herbiesjp

Face to face or remote advice depends on you and how you are happy to receive the advice.

I, like may others, do a lot of business over the phone/email/internet etc and for me, it simply means that I can get information across to a client far more quickly (especially for clients who live far away), than having to come back to my office, print off the paperwork, and drive back with illustrations/application forms etc.

There is no right or wrong answer, it boils down to what you are happy with

HTH

benjdr

Thanks very much herbiesjp.