Moral dilemma - do it myself or continue with mortgage advisor

eldaniel

Hi,
I have decided initially I will be using mortgage advisor because I thought I will need a big mortgage and I will need his in-depth knowledge, which bank will lend the most etc.
Now it turned out we are buying cheap property and need very small mortgage so getting a mortgage won't be a problem regardless of which bank I go to.
Now mortgage advisor spent approx. 1.5 hrs of his time going through all the paperwork with me etc. and then he answered few emails and few phone calls whenever I wanted to ask him for advice on certain properties.
Then I actually found a best deal for myself and sent it to him if he can find me something better. He did sent 2 offers but admitted that the one I found is very good too. For my circumstances the deal I found is the best so I will go with that one, however by the looks of it if I go though bank directly I will get £250 cashback and if I go though mortgage advisor I won't get the cashback and on top of that he will charge me £500 (payable on completion). Effectively I will be £750 worse off if I go through him.

I am tempted to tell him that I will go directly but feel like he did spend a bit of time helping me out (despite the fact that I found the best deal myself).

What is your opinion? Would that be morally fine to go solo? Or perhaps I could tell him that I will go solo but pay him for his time a little proportion of the cost?
Many thanks

ACG

I am a broker who only charges on full offer of a Mortgage, I fully accept not all of them will go to offer - some due to the lender, some due to the client and I take it on the chin. It is part and parcel of the job and the way I charge my fees.

In 3-4 years it has only happened three times, one client paid me £150 as a thank you which was nice, another bought me a bottle of Jack Daniels which was also nice and the other just sent me a thank you email apologising, which was fine.

Dont worry about it, your broker has decided on the model they have. If they have any issues with not getting paid for the work they have done then they need to change their fee structure. If you really wanted, I am sure a bottle of something would be appreciated and it would not cost £750 even if you went for a posh bottle of something.

MortgageMamma

Check your client agreement. When does it say the fee becomes payable? Have you made a full application to the brokers recommended lender? what are the brokers reasons for recommending the lender he did as opposed to the one you have found?

Are you certain the lender you have found will accept your application? It happens from time to time that clients go direct, get declined at the last minute, come back needing help tail between legs and a few hundred quid lighter for stuff like valuations they have had to pay out.

Before doing anything just be certain you meet the lenders lending criteria, or you could lose money in the long run.

Most good brokers don't get shirty over a lost client, you win some you lose some.

eldaniel

MortgageMamma wrote: »

Check your client agreement. When does it say the fee becomes payable? Have you made a full application to the brokers recommended lender? what are the brokers reasons for recommending the lender he did as opposed to the one you have found?

Are you certain the lender you have found will accept your application? It happens from time to time that clients go direct, get declined at the last minute, come back needing help tail between legs and a few hundred quid lighter for stuff like valuations they have had to pay out.

Before doing anything just be certain you meet the lenders lending criteria, or you could lose money in the long run.

Most good brokers don't get shirty over a lost client, you win some you lose some.

Afordability calculator shows that they would lend me 40k more than I need and I need just under 100k
I pay him fee on completion and I am certain this mortgage is best for me. I actually have quite good knowledge of mortgages and how to calculate everything to work out the cost for me.
the only reason why I was going to use advisor initially was because I thought I will need much more £ than that.

still puzzled. feel a bit silly telling him bye bye at this stage, although I do not think I should as it is business at the end of the day, but probably I will go along and swallow £750 loss. The fee I pay him is a lifetime fee so I won't have to pay him again if I need his help...

ACG

Like you say, it is business. Im not sure I would be willing to be £750 down. I am all for brokers offering more than finding the best rate but if you are confident enough, £750 is a lot to spend because you feel a moral obligation.