Accord mortgage

tadaska

Hi guys,

My mortgage adviser wants to get me a mortgage from Accord Mortgages but I read some bad reviews. What would you advise? Also I'm not sure they are the cheapest either? All opinions and advice will be welcome.

Thanks in advance

Malmo

Has the broker explained to you why he/she chose Accord after matching your circumstances to lender's criteria?

From what I have seen posted on this board, they're quite fussy and hard work (more so than Leeds BS) but that may not be everyone's experience.

tadaska

It came up top of his list on his laptop...

tadaska

No other explanation was given...

LplateSaver

I was reading up on them today as they were coming up with the best interest rates for our LTV (1.74% 2 year fix). They seem approachable too according to their criteria eg "one default up to maximum value of £150 acceptable" whereas other lenders have just stated it will be referred to the underwriter which sounds more like a no. We have not started anything yet though so I'd be keen to know more too.

Malmo

Your broker's method wouldn't reassure me if I was the client. How did you engage/find this broker?

Did the broker request to see all 3 Credit Reference Agencies reports before finding a lender?

They should have at least shortlisted lenders who would loan the amount needed, calculate the comparative cost for each lender and then ensure that you fit their lending criteria or investigate if there was anything else that might crop up criteria wise.

tadaska

Malmo wrote: »

Your broker's method wouldn't reassure me if I was the client. How did you engage/find this broker?

Did the broker request to see all 3 Credit Reference Agencies reports before finding a lender?

They should have at least shortlisted lenders who would loan the amount needed, calculate the comparative cost for each lender and then ensure that you fit their lending criteria or investigate if there was anything else that might crop up criteria wise.

None of that... He works with EAs I'm looking to buy through. We spent some time filling in his lists with data about me and he did a lot of self-promoting. And at the end he said it will cost me £500 and that he is a very good value for money and will take care of everything.

Malmo

I'd run a mile. The EA will be paid a referral fee (kickback or commission) for directing the business to the adviser and that adviser may be tied to a limited panel of lenders. Is the agent any part of the Connells Group by any chance? If he hasn't bothered to provide or show you his Initial Disclosure Document (IDD), then that would set alarm bells ringing. EA based advisers, particularly for the larger corporate chains (like the Connells Group) tend also to be volume / sales focused and therefore, not the best at being thorough, helpful & your friend during what is a stressful process.

Find yourself a good independent whole of market broker who has your interests in mind and expects to be paid only on offer or completion.

hieveryone

Here's my perspective.. I applied for a mortgage (posts on the Mortgage board somewhere) with Accord as they had the best rates available for our LTV etc, and our Independent Financial Advisor recommended we take that mortgage.

It was a swift process, I had to scan my passport twice as the first time the scanner cut off the top part so it wasn't totally clear. They also wanted clarification as to why my partners payslip showed an address in a different country (where the head office is :rotfl:).

Other than that, it was totally fine. I can't remember exact timescales from start to finish, but I seem to remember about 10 days maybe?

amnblog

If that product was at the top of the list it would suggest your lending requirement is fairly modest.

The rate is not spectacular but the product fee is slim.

The revert rate on Accord products puts some broker off from using them as it is close to 2% above some rivals.

It is fashionable to criticise their administration but a broker used to dealing with them should have little problem.

benjus

I have an Accord mortgage. The application process was quite rigorous but in general seemed OK. The only hitch was that my solicitor's firm merged with another firm and changed name, which Accord said was a material change and they would have to reassess the application (and under MMR rules, as the original application went in pre-MMR). Fortunately after a couple of days they admitted that it wasn't a material change and it all went smoothly from there.