Do "I" need a Mortgage Broker?

coopso24

Hi All,

I see a lot of general advice on this forum and it often concludes with 'Get a good Mortgage broker who can can sort it all out for you'. and for many FTB's or applicants with poor credit history, I can fully see the benefit.

My question is, does someone like me need a Mortgage broker ? or would I benefit from using one ? Im pretty much the happy path applicant for a Mortgage (joint application with me and the wife, both in full time employment with no adverse credit and a 60%+ LTV )

Last time I remortgaged, I stayed with HSBC, managed to get a 1.49% rate for 2 years fixed which i thought was pretty good, If a broker was able to get me a better rate or cheaper fees would that have been negated by the broker fees ?

To summerise, Brokers are worth their weight in gold but does everyone benefit from having one ?

Newbie78

I think these days its better to have than not to have


In saying that ours has been good and we couldn't have done with but as FTB it's a godsend!

ACG

It depends on what you class as benefit.

If you mean financially, then no not everyone will benefit. HSBC are typically one of the lenders who offer deals at the better end of the table, yet they work with barely any brokers (although they do plan to change this).

However, a broker is not a price comparison service. Our job is to ensure we get you the best deal we can, whilst also ensuring it fits everything you want (cheapest rate, cheapest deal (these 2 are different), quickest, easiest, most flexible etc), our job i to also ensure you understand the options and also taking away pretty much every potential headache that can arise.

I do not like analogies, but a more simple example is if you get a decorator down, they will price it up, tell you how many rolls you need and do it all for you. If you do it yourself, you run the risk of ordering too much or too little wallpeper/paste and not doing as good a job as the bloke who does it every day. But you are probably more than capable of doing it yourself.

coopso24

Thank you for the answer,

Ive negotiated the last 2 remortgages (well just stuck with the same lender for speed and ease) but the rates offered looked competitive, and I understood all the options of the product (fix length, ERC, Overpayment terms, Fees etc) so have been able to do the basic calculations myself to work out if it was a good deal compared to other products from highstreet lenders.

there was just that nagging feeling that I should have been getting expert advice because . well everyone else seems to!

I guess to pinch your analogy, Im happy to paint a wall, (ive done it before and was happy with the results,) but if I had to paper an alcove then id get someone in to do the job!

ACG

To be honest, I bought my house 4 years ago. My first remortgage I just stuck with the same lender. I coudl have saved myself a few quid by going elsewhere but for the sake of getting all of the paperwork out and doing the application form I just could not be bothered (and I get the commission!).

But this time around (in October) I did switch lenders and I managed to save myself about £20-30 a month AND get a product with no ERCs (as I plan on moving early next year). It is all about what is important to you, there is no harm speaking to a broker but I am not going to sit here and say everyone should as I do not genuinely believe that.

I would use a decorater anytime wallpaper needs hanging though, I do not mind painting but putting up wallpaper is one of the worst jobs I can think of (around the house)...just behind laying carpet.

silvercar

There have been times I've used a broker and times I haven't. Anything complex where you know some lenders may be more agreeable than others and it's broker territory. Something simple like a remortgage with existing lender offering an amazing deal and I wouldn't bother.

I've also said to a broker, "I can get X deal from my existing lender, can you better it?"

muhandis

As with most things, I guess it depends.

If I was buying a freehold house, no particular time pressure to exchange, with 15%+ deposit, a clean credit report, standard PAYE permanent employee of many years on a fixed basic salary, British citizen/ILR, UK resident for 3 years+ I would not use a broker.

My logic for doing so would be that (under the above circumstances) most lenders would be more likely than not to offer me what is being suggested by the basic affordability calculators on their website.

However the more my situation deviates from the above, the more likely I would be to go to a broker, simply because I don't have the time or expertise to know how each lender views the deviation and whether it is acceptable to them or how quickly they process applications.

Plus if/when things go wrong (as they did with my app), with a broker I have someone who has access to the lender's BDM and can get issues addressed much quicker than I could. Plus of course the fact that the broker is incentivised to complete the purchase because unless that happens, he doesn't get his proc fee from the lender which is his main income.

As mentioned by someone else above, I myself don't view the value added by a broker as limited to finding the lowest rate.

As with all things, there are good brokers and bad. However, personally speaking (at least in London) there is no dearth of decent independent whole of market brokers who know their stuff and (thanks to FCA regs) are completely transparent with regard to the remuneration they receive and the fees they charge.

coopso24 wrote: »

Hi All,

I see a lot of general advice on this forum and it often concludes with 'Get a good Mortgage broker who can can sort it all out for you'. and for many FTB's or applicants with poor credit history, I can fully see the benefit.

My question is, does someone like me need a Mortgage broker ? or would I benefit from using one ? Im pretty much the happy path applicant for a Mortgage (joint application with me and the wife, both in full time employment with no adverse credit and a 60%+ LTV )

Last time I remortgaged, I stayed with HSBC, managed to get a 1.49% rate for 2 years fixed which i thought was pretty good, If a broker was able to get me a better rate or cheaper fees would that have been negated by the broker fees ?

To summerise, Brokers are worth their weight in gold but does everyone benefit from having one ?

csgohan4

Really depends on your situation. If you have a busy job and you really don't want the hassle of all these telephone or branch interviews together with all the paperwork that goes with it, a broker will be useful.

Not all brokers are equal of course and not everyone needs one. If you have adverse credit, definitely advisable.

But if you don't mind getting your hands dirty and have no credit history issues, then you could try and do it alone.

I used a broker as self employed and it is a pain to find a lender who will give decent rates and offers. My broker did all the hard work and was reasonably priced.

kingstreet

The vanilla HSBC/YBS brigade don't need a broker.

Only around 1% of my time is spent looking for a 0.1% saving on a two year fixed rate.

As we speak I have eight lender affordability calculators open trying to establish the lender who will lend what is required and it's this, plus poring for hours over lender criteria to establish the lenders who will accept quarterly bonus over the last three quarter payslips only which takes up the time.

AnotherJoe

coopso24 wrote: »

Hi All,

I see a lot of general advice on this forum and it often concludes with 'Get a good Mortgage broker who can can sort it all out for you'. and for many FTB's or applicants with poor credit history, I can fully see the benefit.

My question is, does someone like me need a Mortgage broker ? or would I benefit from using one ? Im pretty much the happy path applicant for a Mortgage (joint application with me and the wife, both in full time employment with no adverse credit and a 60%+ LTV )

Last time I remortgaged, I stayed with HSBC, managed to get a 1.49% rate for 2 years fixed which i thought was pretty good, If a broker was able to get me a better rate or cheaper fees would that have been negated by the broker fees ?

To summarise, Brokers are worth their weight in gold but does everyone benefit from having one ?

Depends on the brokers fees. Some are zero.

hypergogo

Always use a broker who is experienced and NEVER hit the high street. There is sooo much you do not know about the mortgage world and you need a guide!
E.g.
- How many multiples
- Access to deals from lenders you cannot access directly
- How do they treat pensions (saving hard for your retirement? Could cost you HARD on multiples)
- LTV limits
- Are bonuses included
- Are car allowances included (this is a mine field, if you get paid a "tax free" car allowance will the lender consider it net or gross? On a 7200 car allowance this could cost you 15k off your limit)
- What are the underwriters like? An experienced broker will have a relationship with these people even though they are not officially accessible

and so on.

Short version = get a broker