First time buyer confusion - are Connells ripping me off?

Tommo99

Hi there,

Buying our first home, and my head is spinning with everything that is involved in it!

When I first started looking, I visited several different "in house" mortgage brokers. I settled on Connells because he was by far the most helpful and throughout the buying process (offers on several houses), he spent so much time taking us through things and providing advice.

Now we have had an offer accepted, and the best mortgage that he has found us is the following (we want to go for 30yr with 5yr FT by the way):

Nationwide 5yr FT, 3.89% then 3.99%, £499 product fee added to Mortgage.

I know they aren't Whole of Market, and did some Googleing when I got home, to find that the deal I was offered isn't exclusive at all and I could get exactly the same direct from Nationwide.

I rang L&C and whilst they can't get back to me for a few days, after my 20 minute consultation, they said they had three available for me at 3.55%, with a £999 product fee. Using the calculator, this would save me £2,204 over the course of the 5 years.

I would be paying Connells £399 for their services, and potentially spending more on the mortgage, BUT to me £399 is worth it for the help they've been so far and for the fact that they are sorting out conveyancing, survey etc.

Could someone please give me some advice!

Thank you so much in advance.

Gonzo33

I would say that Connells are doing the best with what they have got. As you say they are not a 'whole of market' broker.

You don't say what your loan to value is, that really has an impact on rates.

Lois_Lane

My past experience of Connells has been that they're extremely pushy.
If you're not committed to anything yet, you could go to a fully independent financial advisor who will look at the whole market for you.


Good luck.

Tommo99

LTV is 80%

Thing is... if I sourced a mortgage elsewhere I could potentially save a couple of grand but what concerns me is then arranging the solicitors, survey etc by myself and not having those fees covered should it all fall through.

I can see online that Nat West, for example, would offer me a 3.79% rate with no product fee. Is it likely that, for some other reason, this mortgage is in reality not available to me and I already have the best I'll get?

Tempted to bite the bullet and put it through in order to make things happen quickly and simply!

Tommo99

Connells are a bit pushy when it comes to selling you life insurance, home and contents etc but I will do these myself. I have found them excellent so far! Just unsure as to:

- Whether £399 for this "lifetime membership" is a rip off
- Whether them not being "whole of market" is really going to cost me money.

Din85

I would say it's all quite normal, just be aware you will be paying more by doing it all in house.

You would get a cheaper solicitor if you found one yourself.

An independent survey may or may not be cheaper, we ended up with an in house mortgage broker, and to be fair, he did his job and got us a mortgage offer !

But we have organized the rest our selfs, and have saved close to £1000 by organizing our own legal stuff, survey and sorting our own insurances etc as well.

kingstreet

A fee is a matter of judgment.

This "lifetime" nonsense is only of importance if you decide to go back to them in future.

If you think £399 is good value for limited panel service, go for it.

We charge £249 for whole market advice & arrangement and three of us have about sixty years experience. I'm sure you could find someone like that near you for less than this second division outfit is charging and you should be able to get cheaper/better protection and better/cheaper conveyancing too...

Keekles

Have you indicated to the broker any restrictions on paying upfront (arrangement etc.) fees?
Having spoken to L&C you might aswell go back to the broker at Connells and make him aware that you've seen other products and quote as above. No need necessarily to say it's through L&C.

Ultimately you may be paying slightly more, but you've said yourself - L&C couldn't get back to you for a few days, whereas I imagine the broker at Connells likely gets back to you relatively quickly every time?

The lifetime fee probably means you won't be paying directly for his services in re-mortgaging in the future. As above; it's a judgment call on your part and what you consider in terms of value for money.


It is likely that you won't get the cheapest insurances nor conveyancing, but if they offer a fixed price on the latter then at least you're aware of what you're up against in terms of shopping around.

If the broker makes you feel comfortable, has been over and above helpful and you can see yourself making use of him in the future; personally I'd lean towards an aspect of loyalty. Perhaps you won't get that view from many on a Money Saving forum however.

ethank

I'm actually surprised they recommended Nationwide, when I sold my house through them, all they did was tell me about the great offers available through Skipton Building Society (who just happen to own Connells)

Tommo99

Keekles, I think that's very true in this case - I owe the broker something after all he's done for us!

What do you mean when you say "Have you indicated to the broker any restrictions on paying upfront (arrangement etc.) fees?"

I phoned up again and explained about the rates. A better one has come on today which is cheaper than even L&C quoted (though I'm sure they now have access to it too).

I am told the surveyor is dictated by the mortgage lender... not sure if this is entirely correct, however it certainly saves us booking and arranging the survey and the £399 we pay Connells "insures" our survey fee so we don't lose out if the sale falls through.

I will drive to get the best solicitor deal I can, but I think it is probably worth taking the hit at this stage, accepting that I could be losing a few hundred pounds, but safe in the knowledge that someone is doing all the behind the scenes for me and it is moving quickly.

I certainly won't be using their home and contents, will or life insurance services though. Rip off!

Many thanks for all the advice so far.

Keekles

In house brokers have to recommend to your needs, so if upfront fees was an issue or you wanted to pay a sub-£1000 arrangement fee, he would've considered that in his recommendation. It may potentially mean the best mortgage on his panel isn't available if it was outside of your requirements.

I'm sure Connells have their own conveyancing service but each lender will require a valuation. If you're having more than a basic, I would personally request it via the lender, given they'll be doing it anyway and I would imagine it's much cheaper than having Connells doing it 'independently'.

No harm in obtaining a quote for life / buildings / contents, even if you don't take it out via the broker. At least it gives you a comparable platform.