Mortgage advisor? First time buyer

trance14

Ok so yesterday I viewed my first house with an estate agent, then today at the same estate agent they organised for me to meet up with their mortgage advisor.

He went through all basics and the basic calculators which I could of done online.

His fee is going to be £499 if we go through getting a mortgage with him / them.

Is this a bit of a con, can I go through with applying for a mortgage alone on a computer because thats all he did?

Do you think they have seen me coming being a first time buyer, I just felt like he was a salesmen and 'his deals' are the absolute best on the market etc etc....

Please help

AnotherJoe

They'll do for anyone not just an FTB. Can you get a mortgage cheaper elsewhere? If so, do it

ACG

No advisor can say they have the best deals in all situations, infact I suspect if his compliance people were sat with him, he would not be saying it.

I do not think you as an individual can apply on a computer, lenders now typically have to give an advised service and that means over the phone or in branch. I used to work for a lender and have friends there, if you do it over the phone it takes about 3-4 hours all in. If you do it with a broker it takes about 1-2 hours and they do everything else.

£499 is not a bad price, its not cheap, its not expensive, but if he is already full of "spiel" I would probably avoid. General consensus seems to be to avoid estate agent brokers as they are typically salesmen with poor levels of service rather than what you would get from a small local firm.

Each to their own though, you do not have to use a broker but they do (or should) offer more than just finding a competitive deal.

trance14

I went today to see how much I could lend, so I no what I can afford.

He basically went on all the calculators that I went on and got similar figures, some came out at £70k and some £120k.

All in all, this didnt really help because I still dont no if I can afford a £120k property

amnblog

Sounds like he might be worth the £499 as he can do what you cannot and will point you in the right direction.

Better than making a mistake which costs you £1,000.

endrew23

I'm a FTB also. I went with Nationwide as my trusted friends gave them a positive review of costs and general customer service. I also compared their costs to HSBC and Barclays. Nationwide came in cheaper with better terms.

I applied online by myself as it was going to cost me going to my EA mortgage adviser. Got my MIP back in Feb and just secured a flat 2 weeks ago. Submitted my application last week (89% LTV) and now waiting for the valuation to get done then decision stage!

I would advice to apply directly after you have done your research. It also helps if you have plenty of support e.g. friends/colleagues who went through it before.

hw1409

You can apply direct and online if you like. I went direct to Nationwide after researching various products and I found the process very straightforward.

Brokers or advisors will probably have different deals so might be worth a look in your situation. Also, if you're in any doubt that your application isn't straightforward, or you're not confident going it alone, then the fees for a broker or advisor would be worth it. Managing your own application if the lender requests lots of other documents, or raises more queries can be quite time consuming.

Debtslayer

Depends how confident you are doing it yourself
We were first time buyers and used an Independant broker and wouldn't hesitate in using them again. To me it made the process smoother and as stress free as it possibly can be.
But usual advice is to use an Independant broker and not one in an EA

csgohan4

Used a broker. they did all the legwork and I sat back for the offer to come through. No stressful lunchtime phone calls to the lender or BS interview


If you have a clean history maybe direct would be an option if you really want to avoid paying for a broker, or maybe use a conveyor belt broker that are free.

Kynthia

I used a broker even though I'd already found the best deal which they couldn't beat. For me I preferred it because I was working full time and going through a very stressful situation in my personal life plus our sale was quite complicated. This meant I could deal with the broker by email and send him scans of my documents in the evening. He then dealt with everything; he liaised with the lender, dealt with the gifted deposit, called the EA and arranged a time for the valuation survey and generally kept me informed. He was paid by commission by the lender so didn't cost me, but I'd have paid a fee if I'd used a non-commission paying lender.

You don't have to use one and I'd certainly use someone I'd found myself rather than an EA based one. However they can save you time and effort, particularly as some lenders make you see their own brokers to arrange the loan if applying directand it can take weeks to get an appointment. They are good for advice if you are inexperienced. Plus if you or your property are an unusual case in any way (bad credit, self-employed, property above a shop, non-standard construction, etc) then they are best at knowing which lenders are best and which to avoid.

MoneyEM

I am using a broker and he is charging £195. He has taken care of all the paperwork for me and applied on my behalf which has taken the stress of me.

I also went into the appointment having written down the best deals I could find on comparison sites, and he actually managed to beat it and was pleasantly surprised at what was on offer.

He is also there to smooth over any queries I may have so the peace of mind is absolutely worth it. I like the fact that they have dealt with lenders before so they will know the likelihood of being accepted.