Choosing mortgage adviser - face to face or phone?

ibz75

What are peoples experiences?

I am currently 'googled' with all the search results. I am considering buying a second property, and after playing with a few affordability calculators, I think hiring a broker would be a good move.

What are the disadvantages of having a broker 'on-call'?

P.S.

I live in Leeds, so if anybody can recommend a 'whole of market' broker (preferably in/near the city centre) please feel free to PM.

Crashandburn

I would ask friends and family for a recommendation rather than plucking a name from google.

The fact it is remote doesn't cause too much of an issue and a potential skype meetings can be a nice icebreaker ie so you know who you are dealing with etc.

After the initial meeting most of the contact will be phone/email so whatever method you are happy with. Best to also tell them how you like to be treated ie some clients need updates daily, some like the odd updates to say how things are going. Its all about meeting peoples expectations

lawriejones1

In a financial transaction of this kind of value I always like to meet the person! On the moneysaving site there are a list of impartial local brokers. I found one who has - to date - been very professional, polite and (I guess most importantly) been very good and efficient!

But I perhaps I'm from the old school, as I like to meet anyone who I'm giving money too!

kingstreet

I only work on a face to face basis.

I don't accept arms-length business. It's too easy to be manipulated into fraud for my liking.

Each to their own, though.

Let_Us_See

Basically, down to your own preference, although a personal recommendation should not be ignored. Unfortunately, whether face to face, at arms length, impartial, unbiased, whole of market, or independent are merely terms with no guarantee whatsoever of quality of advice.

florence4

Funnily enough, I had to make the same decision yesterday. I had three recommendations from friends and colleagues, an EA 'recommendation' and a couple of phone-only possibilities. It came down to a choice between two: one who did phone only (because of distance, not principle), and one who is local. The phone-only broker actually said to me "I know I'm probably doing myself out of business, but if I were you, I'd choose someone you can meet face-to-face and look in the eye". It was such an honest comment, it was almost enough to make me choose her. Almost.

florence4

Funnily enough, I had to make the same decision yesterday. I had three recommendations from friends and colleagues, an EA 'recommendation' and a couple of phone-only possibilities. It came down to a choice between two: one who did phone only (because of distance, not principle), and one who is local. The phone-only broker actually said to me "I know I'm probably doing myself out of business, but if I were you, I'd choose someone you can meet face-to-face and look in the eye". It was such an honest comment, it was almost enough to make me choose her. Almost.