'Whole of Market' Mortgage Brokers?

olineedsadvice

Hi there,

Can any please recommend any 'whole of market' brokers? Preferably one's that do not charge fees. I hear London and Country are a good company but to be honest I have spoken with them and the person I spoke to didn't seem too clued up or interested.

Is there a 'best broker' list for 2013 anywhere on the internet?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Regards,
Oliver

ACG

Service wise you tend to get better service from smaller companies (thats in general and in my opinion). I dont think there are many fee free unless theyre based in estate agents - and estate agent brokers are generally pretty poor.

I would just try google to be honest as people on here generally cant make recommendations (you never know whether they are working for the broker).

olineedsadvice

Ok, thanks for your help. I guess that does make sense really and I appreciate what you are saying.

I have tried googling and have spoke with one company who charge £195. They seemed very helpful. I then read Martin Lewis' guide on mortgages and he stated that London and Country tend to always be high on 'best broker' lists. I cannot find any such list though.

Do you personally know anything about London and Country? Are they meant to be a good broker?

Also, would you know if a broker would be quicker than a high street lender from start to finish of the whole application. We are on a tight deadline!!

Sorry to ask so many questions...

Regards,
Oli

ACG

They win awards because theyre the biggest broker firm - nobody can compete lol.

With all respect, you want a good broker who is going to push it all through to a tight deadline without paying for it... im a firm believer in you get what you pay for and a company who do not charge are going to be far busier than a company who charge.

L&C you hear good and bad about on this forum, if you get a good broker your quids in, if you dont then you may lose the sale? £195 is still very cheap.

If you go to a bank "advisor" theyre going to have clients coming out of their ears. If you go to a good broker they have less business but earn more from them so you get a better level of service - therefore they can spend more time pushing everything through, they may even work in conjunction with a local solicitor so can ensure your solicitor isnt dragging their feet.

kellyt86

My broker was a local one, with a £250 fee on competition. But nothing to pay if it all fell through.

He was fantastic and well worth £250, I know on MSE that should be fee free etc. But he 'held my hand' as it were through those initial hurdles of getting an AIP, offer accepted and full mortgage offer. He explained everything to me and responded quickly to all calls queries etc.

As a FTB, I felt it was worth it as he could tell me what was happening next and all the documentation that our lender, Nationwide would need so we sent it all over via scanned PDF the same day the full application went it.

I've seen on the forum that loads of people have had delays with Nationwide surveys etc, my broker constantly chased Nationwide so it all went through with minimal hassle! There was one slight hiccup with receipt of an employers reference which needed doing and sending to Nationwide twice. Over this period of 2-3 days delay I spoke to my broker around 4 times a day!! Much more communicative than the solicitor when I had queries and problems!!

So my point is maybe don't get so hung up on a fee free broker. And look for a really good local broker who is able to assist you in the process fully!

kingstreet

In our area, our average mortgage is under £100k and with commission at about 0.3%, we simply cannot provide the service we offer without charging a fee.

My latest client got a home visit on Sunday morning to go through the paperwork, can call and email me any hour of any day and they pay £249 for that. That was for a £95k mortgage on a shared-ownership property.

Only the individual can decide if their broker is going to be worth £500. We are, but you won't know that until after the event.

Please note - we only work face to face in our geographical area of the West Midlands. This is not an attempt to get business. We are already busy enough, hence why I'm doing admin and on here at 6am!

dunstonh

I then read Martin Lewis' guide on mortgages and he stated that London and Country tend to always be high on 'best broker' lists. I cannot find any such list though.

Financial services awards are not done by quality. They are done by business volume, favouritism, advertising power and a lot of just being known. Small local firms will never win awards. The big ones just take it in turns between them.

When you look back at many awards you have to wonder how they got it. Some of the worst buys you can get have awards.

olineedsadvice

Thank you all for your replies - It seems that alot of you agree with each other in that it may be better to go with a smaller firm as they will concentrate with our personal application more than perhaps a larger broker will.

On the other hand I have seen review sites where London and Country consistently get very good reviews. However, when I spoke with a broker with them I felt he was not overly fussed about our application.

I am based in South London, has anyone had any experiences with any brokers that they would recommend to us?

My partner currently has a mortgage with her father as a guarantour and we are now looking to get a joint mortgage together and take his name off. We are looking for a repayment mortgage as my partners original 2 years fixed is coming to an end.

We are currently both in full time employment, but are both starting new jobs at the end of August, does anyone also know if this is likely to put lenders off?

Cheers,
Oli

kingstreet

If you have an imminent change in employer, choice of lender will depend on how you are being employed. Probation means no mortgage for many lenders, although a couple will look at you.

Permanent from day one, or see out your probation for most lenders.

Temporary and fixed term contracts also need extra care.

amnblog

Why don't you just PM Kingstreet and ask him to help you.

kingstreet

amnblog wrote: »

Why don't you just PM Kingstreet and ask him to help you.

Please keep up at the back!

Please note - we only work face to face in our geographical area of the West Midlands. This is not an attempt to get business. We are already busy enough, hence why I'm doing admin and on here at 6am!