1st Time House Buyer/Morgage advice please

stormbreaker

My son wishes to get on the first rung of the property ladder.

He has a reasonably sized deposit, full time employment etc.

What should be his first step? Mortgage advisor? Free or paid?

It's been a long time since I was involved in this area and at that time you made an appointment with the bank manager who you happened to save with :eek:

I believe things have changed considerably. Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks

ap1985

I would personally recommend speaking to a broker to see what his options are

stormbreaker

ap1985 wrote: »

I would personally recommend speaking to a broker to see what his options are

Please excuse my ignorance, but is there a difference between an advisor and a broker?

David_White

No difference at all, just a preference on job title.

The best path will come down to your Son's circumstances really.

If he's got a very straight forward situation and is switched on he may want to do a bit of research himself and go it alone.

If however the idea of handling a whole mortgage application and all that comes with it is daunting for him (and it is for many) then a broker may be better suited.

Free or paid brokers is a whole debate in itself and my (biased) opinion will always be that you get what you pay for in life.

Good luck

stormbreaker

Thank you both. I have just googled and contacted a local broker who is first 20 mins free, if he takes what she can offer it is a £450 flat fee.

She was very helpful. One problem I didn't see was that he has no credit history ☹️️

I've brought him up old school, you don't get until you can afford! The only thing to have a loan for is a house and don't even think about a credit card!

It may reduce his choice of lenders or they may not lend what he wants.

He can apply for a credit card tonight but he wants to move yesterday on getting a property, he needs his own space! ��

csgohan4

stormbreaker wrote: »

Thank you both. I have just googled and contacted a local broker who is first 20 mins free, if he takes what she can offer it is a £450 flat fee.

She was very helpful. One problem I didn't see was that he has no credit history ☹️️

I've brought him up old school, you don't get until you can afford! The only thing to have a loan for is a house and don't even think about a credit card!

It may reduce his choice of lenders or they may not lend what he wants.

He can apply for a credit card tonight but he wants to move yesterday on getting a property, he needs his own space! ��

I would be weary of brokers who charge by the hour. I paid my broker last time when they got me a mortgage offer so both parties are working together for one purpose than pay now and maybe get you an offer later if they can be bothered.


Avoid online conveyor belt Brokers, especially the free ones, they stack up their cases to get their commission worthwhile and hence their customer service may suffer as a result.

GLM71093

Hi,

I have just brought my first house with my partner and with a bit of research it was fine without a Mortgage broker/ advisor.

We just compared mortgage deals, and had a few meetings in banks. It took a bit of time but saved us money so we feel the time spent was worth it. It was complicated or difficult.
The only thing is my boyfriend had to take a number of calls from the bank in the process which were in 'office hours'. I am unable to take calls then so it was lucky he could. If neither of our jobs allowed us to be able to take calls often in working hours maybe a broker would have been better for us.


Also my boyfriend had never had a credit card/ loan and i had only had a credit card for a short time and we was fine.

Fingers crossed for you/ your son

stormbreaker

csgohan4 wrote: »

I would be weary of brokers who charge by the hour.

My understanding from the call was that the first meeting (20mins) where she would collect his details was free.

There after if he went with one of the mortgage deals she found, her fee was £450.

David_White

Personally I'd suggest avoiding a fee upfront scenario as there's plenty of brokers that will only charge a fee once they have got you results.

Jox

Does your son have a mobile phone contract?
That will help with the credit rating.
If your son registers with noddle.co.uk they can see their credit score/rating. This is free.
When I was looking for mortgages I looked at the mortgage calculators on the bank's websites or you can look on a mortgage comparison site.

tykesi

As above, my broker's fee is only payable on offer of a mortgage and is £90, your £450 sounds pretty expensive. Even the one with a local estate agents (not the one I'm buying through) was only £300.