Hello mortgage brokers! Do I need you?

miffyhugmuffin

Hi,

I own my own home, with no mortgage, and would like to extend it (new dining room, utility room, sitting room, bring outside loo inside). In an ideal world I would also have the loft converted.

I have a second house in the city where I work which I usually use for 3 nights per week, this has a £100k mortgage. I would like to borrow an extra £30-40k to do the building work on my main mortgage free house.

I thought I would pop along to my local building society (who my mortgage is with) to chat through options. However, they want to do everything on the phone and I feel like I need to sit down and speak to someone about all of this. It is possible I might want to rent out the city house in a year or two as my job has changed and I won't need to go there any more. This is a two bed house and worth about £180k.

All this seems quite complicated to me (I'm sure it's not to those of you with experience). Could a mortgage broker help me to get my thinking straight on this? How much will I pay for the privilege? Will I get a better deal going through a broker? Would I be better re-mortgaging with another provider rather than going for extra borrowing with my current building society? These are the types of question I am thinking about. Does a broker help with this? Aren't brokers just for the super rich or those with difficult circumstances? Am I just being thick about mortgages?! Do I need a mortgage broker or financial adviser? Please enlighten me oh wise ones!

ACG

A broker could help yes. There are a few ways to do this and it will depend on your preferences and circumstances so to give an exact answer on here is difficult but if you were to sit down with a broker, get your details down on paper then im sure an answer could be found.

To answer your questions though:
Could a mortgage broker help me to get my thinking straight on this? How much will I pay for the privilege? - Yes, it will vary some are fee free, others charge - it comes down to the broker.

Will I get a better deal going through a broker? - Possibly, possibly not. It really does depend on your circumstances and what you want. There is nothing to stop you doing your own research and taking it to a broker to see if they can better it?

Would I be better re-mortgaging with another provider rather than going for extra borrowing with my current building society? Impossible to say at this stage.

These are the types of question I am thinking about. Does a broker help with this? Yes, thats what they get paid for.

Aren't broker just for the super rich or those with difficult circumstances? Not at all. The majority of my clients are the average man in the street. I have civil servants, coach drivers, office workers, plumbers, warehouse workers, NHS staff who I have helped. I have the odd well off person and the odd famous person too, but that is more the minority.

Am I just being thick about mortgages?! No, they can be complicated. Im still young enough to remember sitting my exams and doing my first mortgage - there is a LOT to know. Its not just about the rate, its about the best way to do it, speed, fees, criteria etc.

Do I need a mortgage broker or financial adviser? Mortgage Broker would probably be best. Most financial advisors concentrate on pensions, investments, insurance and then do mortgages as a sideline.

Does that help a little? I bet its resulted in more questions :-P
If it has, just ask away. Nothing you have asked is stupid, all fairly normal.

miffyhugmuffin

So I think my first port of call is to speak to my building soc and ask them these questions:

1. How much extra per month would it cost to do extra borrowing of £30k? According to their website, the loan would be at 2.69% for the first two years then SVR which is currently 4.99%.

2. How would remortgaging compare with extra borrowing? What interest rate would a new mortgage be at? Current mortgage is 0.44% above base rate (3% collar).

3. In my mortgage contract, is there a period when I can let out the house without having to convert to a buy to let mortgage (e.g. 12 months)?

Then with that info in mind I could see what other providers could offer in terms of a new mortgage and compare rates/deals.

Then armed with that info I could see a mortgage broker and see if they could get me a better deal.

Does that sound like the right way to approach this?

Mustbeananswer??

Bored with traipsing round trying to remortgage mine legitimately....the High Street is less than helpful....nobody wants to listen to my story....they always find something to fail me....not impressed with BROKERS or UNDERWRITERS....thought their job was to lend money??

miffyhugmuffin

Or my other option would be to get a small mortgage (£30k) on my mortgage free house. Is it hard or easy to get a small mortgage? Do lenders have a minimum they will lend?

ACG

We cant answer any of those questions, they all vary from lender to lender.
1 can be answered by looking for a mortgage calculator online though to get a ball park figure.
To be honest, the more you ask the more I think you need a broker.

Mustbeananswer?? - Start your own thread.
Put on there How much you want to borrow, how much the property is worth, income(s) and why lenders are declining you - might be worth including dates if there is averse.

An underwriters job is to check everything stacks up and falls within the lenders risk appetite.

As brokers, its our job to find a lender who will accept your circumstances. There are times where nothing can be done, we cant force lenders to lend money.

miffyhugmuffin

ACG thanks for taking the time to answer my questions tonight, much appreciated

Is there a quick and easy way to find the best mortgage broker in my area? I don't really have the spare time to spend days comparing them!

ACG

There isn't a way to compare brokers. Do you have friends or family why can recommend anyone?

General consensus seems to be to avoid estate agent based brokers. Aside from that I would say Google and then just call them up and have a quick chat see if you think you can get on with them and if they sound like they know what they are doing.

Mustbeananswer??

Hey ACG you also replied to one of my posts which seems to have dissapeared...thanks anyway....

ACG

Mustbeananswer?? wrote: »

Hey ACG you also replied to one of my posts which seems to have dissapeared...thanks anyway....

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4998260 this one?

No worries.