How do I find a good mortgage broker?

Dave_Ham

Interesting thread..

This forum keeps me grounded and just reminds me how many inexperienced advisors are out there.

We have had loads of private messages from here and have been engaged to take the cases forward.

We also get found heavily on Google but do find clients from MSE more capable of self help. They have done reading, understand issues, have credit files and typically provide documentation promptly and efficiently.

Personally when buying, I love the use of independent sites like trip adviser, feefo, trust pilot etc

Mr H from Romford loved it does not cut it for me in this day and age...

lizards

amnblog - Thanks, that's good to know for future reference! To be fair to our broker, it was probably me keeping him chatting more than he'd have preferred to :silenced: We could probably have done it in half an hour on the phone if I'd kept it simple I reckon. Although I did ask a lot of questions.

I assume a lot of people due to the media reporting of having to spend hours justifying every trip to the takeaway would expect long phonecalls. I knew (from here!) it wouldn't be that bad but it could well put others off.

Jason_Bourne_2

amnblog wrote: »

A thread from richk77 today got me thinking about this question which comes up on the forum most days.



If you have recently sought out a broker what happened and how did you decide who to engage to assist you?[/B]

I went to see a local whole of the market broker after emailing my credit reports to them.
I have several satisfied defaults dating 2010-2011. These were all settled dec 2013/jan14.
And an arrangement to pay marker which was settled Jan 2014.

The last 6 months or so I've spent hours upon hours looking through lending criteria so I kind of know what to expect.

This broker wanted to apply to Nationwide as I was "discharged more than 3years".

I queried this with them as I hadn't finished paying my debts until 14 months ago. Defaults were 3 years plus but am I discharged over 3 years?
She then agreed that perhaps Nationwide weren't the best option. She then had the attitude that we'll apply and see what happens..... Asked if there's a chance I might not get a mortgage and she answered "yes".

That's when I said I don't think you're right for me, I need someone who can submit an application with some sort of justified confidence of acceptance. I know there are lenders who will lend to me, not all at a decent rate but I can get a mortgage.

I then decided to go with Reach Financial (payplan) ask had been with them for 3 years paying my debts.

I went this way because I was struggling to find a decent adverse broker in my area and it's not the type of recommendation I was looking to seek from friends and family as they don't know what I've been through financially and want to keep it that way.
Unbiased wasn't much help at all.

I went with them as I figured they would be dealing with people like me every day and should have plenty of experience with lenders and have a decent understanding of their underwriting.

Time will tell but I'm feeling good about them, hopefully they can land me the mortgage first time and I've not wasted time and damaged my credit file further.


Not sure if you're allowed to name companies, will edit if needed.

amnblog

Your initial broker clearly had limited experience Jason.


You did a lot of research but still found it difficult to find someone to handle a fairly basic problem.


I'm wondering what else a borrower can do to ensure they do not waste time with the wrong broker?


Clearly you got out when the alarm bells started to ring but is there a way to identify the lack of experience before any meeting?

Let_Us_See

There are some good advisers on this site providing free generic mortgage advice that, I am sure will agree, all advisers are not equal. With regard to the OP the answer is undoubtedly personal recommendation and unbaised.co.uk remains a lottery with no guarantee any listed adviser will be experienced or competent.

What makes a good adviser? I believe the main skill is to manage clients' expectations throughout the mortgage process, and for me this starts at the initial contact with a few well selected questions and a lot of listening. Within minutes (often, even less) it is possible to assess the client's position, and whether they will need their hand holding throughout the application, or happy at a distance via phone and e mail. This chat also allows the client to assess whether or not they can work with you, and if positive, provide the confidence to proceed. Therefore, before sticking a pin into a list, talk to family, friends, and work colleagues for a recommendation, but don't talk to "the man down the pub."

Malmo

From a client's perspective, I treat finding a good broker pretty much the same as any other service provider or tradesperson. In addition to using reputable sites and/or reviews and ratings, such as Trustmark or Buy With Confidence for certain trades or businesses, or the Law Society for legal matters, I place a lot of importance on how the individual or representative comes across when I contact them, be it via email or phone.

I emailed 4 brokers after searching through the Unbiased website. I also looked at their websites to see what content they had and how professional their online "shopfront" was, along with Social Media presence and activity. I was called or emailed back by all of them promptly. However, only 2 provided me with their IDD and Fact Find documents. Of the ones that didn't, he wanted to see only my Equifax report and not the other 2 agencies reports, which seemed odd so I discounted that one. The other one referred me to another broker not attached to the firm I contacted, one who I had no information on, so I didn't want to pursue that one.

So of the 2 remaining, it came down to how articulate they were and how knowledgeable they appeared, particularly about past adverse markers on our credit reports. The one I wanted to give my business to was very thorough and explained much more than I anticipated, including what other non-broker costs I can expect during the process and when.

The key things I look out for generally are:

Are written responses professional, thorough and detailed?

Did they answer my initial queries to my satisfaction?

Do they give a perception of being knowledgeable, assured and confident, as opposed to being sales oriented or slick without any substance?

As far as specific broker related questions go, I'd want to find out at least the following:

What the broker's fee structure is and when the fee is payable, if they are a fee based broker

The buying & selling process & time line

What other buying related costs to expect and when

Whether or not they will help in moving things along and having conversations with estate agents and conveyancers

If they can recommend a local conveyancing firm that is on the chosen lender's approved panel

What days and times they are available

How they can be contacted

amnblog

This kind feedback in invaluable - thanks Malmo

Let_Us_See

Malmo I would consider all your requirements standard practice for a good, experienced, hands-on adviser. However, cannot understand why you required a FF with the IDD?

ACG

AMN if you need help looking for a broker, I am sure I can point you in the direction of 1 or 2

Malmo wrote: »

Whether or not they will help in moving....

I wondered how that sentence was going to end. Mortgage advisors with a transit?

I nearly replied to this post yesterday but did not in the end. Although I think you covered off a lot of what I was going to post.

I would struggle to look at this from a customers side but at the minute I am having a fair bit of work done on my house and when I call up tradesmen I tend to just have a chat with them...

Do I get on with them or are they condescending/bigging up the job to something it is not in order to try and get the business (comes across as desperate)/a bit of a wideboy etc.

Do they sound knowledgeable and have experience in what I need. If they sound like they do not have a clue then they will not be doing work on my house.

The only thing I think differently on to Malmo is that I think a 5-10 minute conversation is far better than an email. If that goes well, you can then book in an appointment and go from there.

Its interesting on what you write though Malmo and some of the other posts as I do a lot of what has come up, some of them I do all the time, some of them occasionally but it has made me think twice... definitely an interesting post amn.

xHannahx

Word of mouth would be my first consideration.

Had any friends or colleagues used a broker recently, how was their experience?