Mortgate/Financial Advisor

Nikita_st

Hi All,

I'm looking for some advise. I'm on the lookout for a mortgage/financial advisor, someone who is unbiased and can offer me the best deals on the market. I'm wondering what others may have done when they got their mortgage?

As a first time buyer I really don't know what is best for my partner and myself. We hope to buy in the next 6 months but first we'd like to know where we stand, what is available to us and what we need to get put in place before being accepted.

We live in the South Yorkshire area so if someone can recommend an independent advisor who can see me I'd be keen to know more.

Did folk get their mortgages directly with a bank, would you say an independent advisor is the way to go or am I best to just shop around the main banks?

Any support would be great.
TIA

Malmo

Whether or not you need to a broker depends on your circumstances and how complex your requirements are.

Combined gross income?
What LTV % do you need?
What are your credit histories like? Any adverse issues?
Ages?
What outstanding debts do you have?
Childcare commitments?

In terms of preparation, the following may help:

(1) Obtain copies of your & your partner's statutory credit reports from all 3 Credit Reference Agencies. You need all 3 reports to obtain a full picture of your profiles. It is worth reviewing all 3 reports well ahead of time, to enable you to spot any errors and have them corrected in good time, or any adverse issues such as defaults, CCJs, missed payments, arrears etc that you may not be aware of. Doing this exercise will ensure that the data that lenders use to credit check you is up-to-date, correct & complete.

See links below to each agency's statutory report.

Experian Statutory Report

Equifax Statutory Report

Callcredit Statutory Report AKA Noddle

(2) If appropriate to your circumstances, start engaging with a decent, knowledgeable whole-of-market mortgage broker. You'll need a mortgage Agreement / Deal in Principle (AIP or DIP) in place before you start offering on properties you want to purchase. That way, vendors and their agents will take you more seriously as a buyer. Brokers aren't essential as you could go direct to a lender assuming that you have done your research, understand their lending criteria and you and your partner have spotless credit profiles, but I feel they are invaluable in guiding clients through the buying process and acting as a liaison between parties - they are not there just to get you a good deal on a mortgage. Try starting a local broker search at unbiased.co.uk.

On the home page, next to the search box, select Mortgage Adviser and enter your postcode and hit search.

When the search results are displayed, in the filters on the left hand side:
Un-tick the Only show sponsored results box.
Expand the heading More filters and under Adviser restrictions, tick the box for Mortgage Broker (Whole of Market)

This should give you a list of potential brokers to contact in your locality.

Ask about their experience and make sure you understand from the brokers you speak to what fees will be charged and at what point in the process. They can be fee-free or fee. Ideally, after contacting them, they'll email you a couple of documents;

• This is a MUST - their Terms of Business or Initial Disclosure Document (IDD), which will outline/summarise the service they provide and their fees along with how they are regulated by the FCA etc;
• Possibly a Fact Find document that you or the broker completes to help them understand your full circumstances & requirements. This can be done before or during the consultation.

(3) I'd also create a file / folder that organises important and relevant documents related to your move.

Good luck.

L121254

From my experience an advisor is the way forward. Some are free but the ones you pay for seem to put more effort in to the large amount of work they do for you. I paid £295 for my advisor who was great and was worth every penny. He too was from South Yorkshire if your interested in his details please let me know

Rizla300

Although Malmo has suggested running your own credit checks this could back fire especially if you do it multiple times as multiple credit checks against your name could flag you up as risky and ruin your credit rating. Just go to an independent mortgage adviser and they'll guide you through process.

Get your mortgage in principle before you start viewing and DO NOT agree or feel pressured to meet the Estate Agent's mortgage adviser if you get an offer accepted later on.

Malmo

Rizla300 wrote: »

Although Malmo has suggested running your own credit checks this could back fire especially if you do it multiple times as multiple credit checks against your name could flag you up as risky and ruin your credit rating.

This is incorrect and also not what I described. I explained about obtaining one's credit reports. This is not "running your own credit checks", whatever that means.