Countrywide review

MrPaulius

Hello everyone.

Finally we saved our 10% deposit plus for fees and some extra cash for any job that will be necessary, and we ready to buy

Question in regards to mortgage adviser:
letting agent offered to see their in-house adviser, they work for countrywide. Meeting was really good, adviser was very profesionall, helped us to understand more about buying, overall left a very good impresion, got our trust. But when i got home, and checked reviews on countrywide, mortgage adv. or solicitor, there were so many reviews and they were horrible... Most of times about timing.

I am kinda confused, has anyone of you had experience with them? would you recomend them?

I thought it would be good idea to go to a large broker, as they would have experience, they would be working with majority of banks and societies. What other options there is that I would need to consider?

And probably the most important Q., how to choose better mortgage advises, and then solicitor ?

Thank in advance for your help.

kingstreet

Countrywide;-

limited lender panel - not whole market
charge a fee
push expensive/poor quality conveyancing
push survey services
single tie for life, health insurances
single tie for general insurances.

Worst of all worlds, from the client's point of view.

Did you study the Initial Disclosure Document the advisor is bound by law to provide at the onset of your dealings with them, to enable you to compare them with others?

What did you think of the service provided in section 2 "Which service will we provide you with? - limited panel of lenders?"

What did you think of the remuneration option in section 4 - "What will you have to pay us for our services? - A fee of £x and we will also be paid by the lender."

Ask friends and relatives for a recommendation of a whole market broker in your area.

MrPaulius

We didint get Initial Disclosure Document, we havent signed up for anything yet, maybe that is the reason. All we got was welcome pack, where, to be honest you cant find much of info.

Problem with advice is that, there is no one to ask to. So need to look for answers online

I read article, written by Martin, he was saying that good broker should not charge fee, but article was written 10y ago, and in my opinion these days, everyone is charging for their services.

What in your opinion would be good broker? What would make you to go over, and get a mortgage?

kingstreet wrote: »

Countrywide;-


push survey services
single tie for life, health insurances
single tie for general insurances.

In regards to these statements... I just dong understand couple things:
"Push survey services?" what do you mean?
"Single tie for life?" not sure what this mean either... dies it mean, when you will remortgage, you cant go to different broker?

kingstreet

You should be given an Initial Disclosure Document by every advisor, whether tied, limited panel or whole market, but often those with a reason for wanting to keep the limitations of their service quiet will avoid providing it.

Before you discuss anything with an advisor, ask for one. If a firm has a "Welcome Pack" I'd expect an IDD to be the first thing in it.

Some brokers charge fees. They cannot survive without. We charge £249. In our area and business sector, affordable housing, we often arrange mortgages for well under £100k. With typical commission at 0.3%, earnings of under £300 cannot cover our overheads for our advice, recommendation and arrangement service on a "your home - face to face" basis. I have been to south of Birmingham today and in petrol alone, I probably spent £25.

A good broker is someone who comes with a recommendation from someone you trust who has experienced good, cost-effective service.

"Push survey services" means they will "encourage" you to have a survey done on your new home by their in-house surveyor which will earn them commission.

"Single tie for life and health insurance" means you get even less choice when it comes to protection products where their tie to only one provider means you get no choice. The tie means they earn more commission and the premiums may be higher than you would pay for the same cover, with the some insurer, from an independent source.

National estate agency chains view their "monopoly" as a means of extracting as much money out of as many pockets as they can, whether they be vendors or purchasers. They should be avoided.

jonathan_1983

I would strongly recommend NOT dealing with Countrywide.

Whilst there may be some decent 'advisers' working for Countrywide, it really isn't worth the risk.

I used a Countrywide adviser when I was a FTB as he was in the same branch as the estate agent. I consider myself to be very much 'on the ball' when it comes to money and making sure everything in order.

However, what an experience! I won't bore you with all the details but needless to say, I was signed up to very expensive life insurance, critical illness, house insurance etc without even me agreeing to it; this took a long time to cancel and get my money back. Also, £300 was taken from my account for without my knowledge for their apparent fees despite the 'adviser' telling me that I don't pay this fee, it's the mortgage provider. This is what he told me on two separate occasions in front of witnesses.

I complained to Countrywide, this went on for months trying to get this £300 back and eventually I went to the Financial Ombudsman. A couple of weeks later, I received a cheque for the £300 plus a little bit more for the inconvenience.

I have well and truly learnt my lesson when it comes to Countrywide. Never again!!

ValHaller

MrPaulius wrote: »

In regards to these statements... I just dong understand couple things:
"Push survey services?" what do you mean?
"Single tie for life?" not sure what this mean either... dies it mean, when you will remortgage, you cant go to different broker?

Having things all under one roof may seem attractive. But if that one roof is an estate agent and you want to buy a house which is on with that agent, you have to remember that the agent works for the house seller, which compromises the focus all of your services away from you.

As buyer, never take legal, financial, survey or any kind of services from your seller's agent.

MrPaulius

In regards to Survey/Valuation... Is it OK to let mortgage adviser to sort it out? Or is it better to do on your own? I'm just thinking maybe there is some dirty tricks when it comes to valuation, where they can extract a bit more money from you ...

kingstreet

The mortgage report & valuation is arranged by the lender and its chosen surveyor. However, you can choose an independent surveyor to carry out a HomeBuyer's, or Structural Survey, if you wish to have a more in-depth inspection/report.

haras_nosirrah

deal with who you are comfortable with. If you think the person is good and has explained things well to you then go with them - I take it English is not your first language so this is important. You don't have to do any other business with them in terms of insurance, solicitors or surveyors so don't let anyone pressurise you on this. The Initial disclosure document is the welcome pack I believe so you have this. Go with whoever you feel comfortable with.

law111

This company has taken incompetence to a higher level. You pay them over £1400 for conveyancing, far higher than others, thinking you will get a better service, but a shocking service. Can't get to speak to the lawyer handling your case, have to chase them up every time to act. too much headache. Pls don't use them

Mortgage_Mark_2

kingstreet wrote: »

Countrywide;-

limited lender panel - not whole market
charge a fee
push expensive/poor quality conveyancing
push survey services
single tie for life, health insurances
single tie for general insurances.

Worst of all worlds, from the client's point of view.

Did you study the Initial Disclosure Document the advisor is bound by law to provide at the onset of your dealings with them, to enable you to compare them with others?

What did you think of the service provided in section 2 "Which service will we provide you with? - limited panel of lenders?"

What did you think of the remuneration option in section 4 - "What will you have to pay us for our services? - A fee of £x and we will also be paid by the lender."

Ask friends and relatives for a recommendation of a whole market broker in your area.

Whether it's changed or not I don't know but Countrywide were WoM c.2yrs ago...