FTB - mortgage broker or not

qbazdz

Hi All,

My partner and I are getting ready to buy our first house and I have been in touch with some places asking for advice and generally trying to gauge how much pcm our repayments would be.

I sorted a AIP through L&C some time ago and since than, talked to two independent brokers, both recommended by friends.
One charges peanuts and the other is still quite cheap but charges a bit more.
Both proved quite efficient, but I just wonder if there might be any benefit of going through Which? brokers to get us the best deal?
I was discouraged by my friends to from going direct as for a FTB it might be a nightmare and we would want to complete asap.

We are hoping to buy a ~300k house, with 90% LTV and as my wife is pregnant, I want the security of a good fixed rate initially with the intention to switch once we are both working again.

The more I search the various mortgage comparison website the less I know which deal is better, despite using some quite sophisticated calculators I've found here.

Any thoughts are welcome!

Thanks!

Mortgage_Mark_2

Definitely broker, to keep hassle for you down to a minimum given your current circumstances, I would suggest.

The very best way to find any financial adviser is through recommendations, so personally if it were me I'd be using one of the ones your friends recommended, whoever they are.

ACG

As a FTBer its never a bad idea to have a broker onboard.

the amount of issues that arise in the house buying process that I do not even make my clients aware of is amazing (Until I became an advisor I never realised how much could go wrong/or how many hiccups there could be)... you could have pedantic underwriters or underwriters with no common sense who request something that doesnt exist.

We (as brokers) just get on the phone get it resolved and get it to the next stage.

Im not one for banging the broker drum, I genuinely believe anyone can arrange a mortgage in the main, we just help to make the whole process a LOT smoother.

Im also a believer in you get what you pay for... pay peanuts and you get a monkey as the saying goes. But if he/she has been recommended, then you cant get much better than that.

Which? do get some ok reviews on here, L&C appears to be pot luck - although like anything, I would generally recommend trying to go with a local firm as you can knock on their door if needs be, your supporting the local community (as cheesy as that sounds), they have been recommended to you and smaller firms in general tend to give a better service as things do not get lost in call centres etc.

kingstreet

Have a read of this;-

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5026651

At least having someone knowing you were having a homebuyer's report and being able to describe a homebuyer's report would have alerted the OP to them not actually receiving what they paid for.

That's exactly the kind of stuff a broker looks after.

qbazdz

OK guys - thanks for your comments.

I am assuming that if you stick to the same info provided to both advisors, keep ltv and house value the same, than the products suggested are likely to be very similar and the suggestion should be based on advisor's knowledge of the market, our circumstances and preferences.. and of course - their experience and knowledge.

chocolatepickle

As a first time buyer I am finding my broker (from a friends recommendation) worth his weight, he is dealing with everything and just telling us what we need.
Its making the whole process so simple as both my husband and i work a lot, plus children, it means someone else is doing the leg work.

I cant imagine wanting to do it without one- in terms of mortgage costs, his is relatively low in comparison to other services too.

AnnaLMLH

we have done one years ago without a broker what a headache this time broker all the way

Neese

A good broker! We're FTBS and tried to buy initially last year, but due to various problems it didn't happen. Our broker at the time worked at the EAs and needed to be constantly chased. We have got a different broker this time, he's fantastic and everything seems to be going well. I'd go for a good broker anytime over doing it myself or using an EA broker.

hanfrangipane

If you have found a good broker, go with them.

I'd echo what others have said, in that a good one is well worth it. However, a bad one on the other hand adds additional stress to an already stressful situation. I found this out the hard way!

Have now ended up doing it myself through circumstance but if I was doing this again I would definitely use a broker. I've not had anything too tricky crop up (yet!) but to have someone guiding me through it more would be worth it - I just find myself worrying that I've inadvertently done something wrong!