Using Freedom Finance mortgage broker

Such_2

Due to the recent increases in LIBOR, I am looking to move my sub prime mortgage currently with Capstone (SPML). I have been referred to freedom finance via an online enquiry.

After some discussions, a couple of options are open to me but the broker is unwilling to confirm who proposed the lenders are, as nothing has been commenced yet (he says)
Also, a fee of £3000 will be payable - probably added to the loan.
He also states that should i opt for any of the fixed rates proposed, I can move again when the fixed period ends and there will be no cost associated with this, I will just need to give one months notice.
I was under the impression that with fixed rate mortgages you are normally tied to the variable rate for sometime after?

Has anyone dealt with FF?
Any feedback will be much appreciated.

Thanks

toonfish

you should be able to find a broker who won't charge you a fee for this - freedom won't tell you the lenders to stop you going direct and missing out on their fee and the proc fee from the lender.

£300 is ridiculous - although it's sub-prime the research doesn't take an awful lot more work than a standard mortgage.

The info about the fixed rates is correct, you can move once the rate ends in many cases

herbiesjp

Do you have any penalties to leave SPML?

Have you got an up to date copy of your credit file? What kind of adverse history did you have? How long ago was it?

There may be other options available - when you place on-line enquiries, sometimes your information is sold off to highest bidding brokers, and those brokers may not be offering you a good deal from the whole of market, and they may not be fee free (as in this instance)

Such_2

Thanks for your replies, I have no penalties to leave spml, apart from giving one months notice.

Whats the best way to find a broker that does not charge a fee?
I'm wary of having too many credit checks done by different brokers.

Re my adverse history, I have defaulted on a couple of Ccards and am currently on reduced payments with them. my mortgage payments have been fine for the 3yrs or so I've been with spml.

Thanks

toonfish

Such wrote: »

Thanks for your replies, I have no penalties to leave spml, apart from giving one months notice.

Whats the best way to find a broker that does not charge a fee?
I'm wary of having too many credit checks done by different brokers.

Re my adverse history, I have defaulted on a couple of Ccards and am currently on reduced payments with them. my mortgage payments have been fine for the 3yrs or so I've been with spml.

Thanks

do any of your friends know one? Other than that you can check on yellow pages if you want face to face deal with someone local or there are hundreds that can deal by post/phone/email.

With just defaults you should be able to get a rate around 6.75-7% assuming income etc stacks up

herbiesjp

Such wrote: »

Thanks for your replies, I have no penalties to leave spml, apart from giving one months notice.

Whats the best way to find a broker that does not charge a fee?
I'm wary of having too many credit checks done by different brokers.

Re my adverse history, I have defaulted on a couple of Ccards and am currently on reduced payments with them. my mortgage payments have been fine for the 3yrs or so I've been with spml.

Thanks

Have you had any credit checks done already?

A good adviser would normally come back to you witha few options and only proceed to get an agreement in principle (credit check done) only once they have discussed the options and you decided on which deal you prefer

You could even find deals offering free legal fees and valuation - not sure what rate you have been offered or if they have any incentives - so just be aware that you may not been as "bad credit" as you think

Such_2

A credit check has already been carried out so the broker can search based on my circumstances. One of the proposed lenders is offering a fixed rate of 6.45% for 2yrs, or 6.75 if I were to increase the mortgage to consolidate some other debts. However, he did say that this lender has their own credit scoring points system and he is not sure that I would qualify for this rate, but there is another lender offering 7.09% & 7.29 fixed for 3yrs.

One other point, my wife is not included in my current mortgage due to adverse credit, but she must be included now in order to get the loan amount based on joint incomes. She was told by a friend that to include her on the mortgage will cost a fair bit as she needs to get onto the land registry - is this true?
My broker said that she wouldn't need to be credit checked for the 2 lenders outlined above - is this correct?

Thanks

herbiesjp

Those rates do not appear to be too bad - not sure what he's saying about the scoring system, as all lenders have their own internal scoring system.

If you want to put your wife on, you need to do a transfer of equity, and this will cost around £250. If you are being offered free legals, this is classed as extra work and will not be included as part of the package. When you apply for a joint mortgage, both applicants are credit checked, both applicants go on the mortgage application and both applicants go on the property deeds

What is the property value? What is the new total mortgage amount needed? What is your gross yearly basic salary? What kind of adverse credit did she have, and how long ago was it?

Conrad

Many brokers are'nt very intelligent hence they recommend 2 or 3 year deals. This means 2 things;

1) They get to earn another commission when you come back in just 2 or 3 years

2) The costs of remortgaging now can be considerable. Many high st lenders, let alone sub prime lenders will charge you in excess of £1500 setting up costs + legal fees AND INTERIM INTEREST (this last item is charged on both the redeemed and new mortgage).

As a general principle 5 years is a more appropriate fixed rate term.

Check the advisers IDD - make sure he is 'whole of market' and 'gives advice'.

If he doesnt give advice (many imply they do and thier clients dont read the IDD that states no advice to be given) this gives you a lot less protection in the event of misselling as he will be able to say 'the cleint chose the deal, it was'nt my advice'.

Shop around

luckyfool

Conrad wrote: »

Many brokers are'nt very intelligent hence they recommend 2 or 3 year deals. This means 2 things;

1) They get to earn another commission when you come back in just 2 or 3 years

2) The costs of remortgaging now can be considerable. Many high st lenders, let alone sub prime lenders will charge you in excess of £1500 setting up costs + legal fees AND INTERIM INTEREST (this last item is charged on both the redeemed and new mortgage).

As a general principle 5 years is a more appropriate fixed rate term.

Check the advisers IDD - make sure he is 'whole of market' and 'gives advice'.

If he doesnt give advice (many imply they do and thier clients dont read the IDD that states no advice to be given) this gives you a lot less protection in the event of misselling as he will be able to say 'the cleint chose the deal, it was'nt my advice'.

Shop around

A slightly sweeping statement there. For clients with an adverse credit history and where no mainstream prime options are available then a long term fixed rate is often neither appropriate, or even in some cases available.

There are few lenders offering adverse credit 5 year fixed rates and generally speaking I would tend to lean towards a 2 or 3 yr incentive period, also with a view to using a lender offering a credit repair process, giving access to high street rates at the end of the incentive subject to satisfactory mortgage payment history during the deal. Two lenders offering this are Accord Mortgages and Chelsea Building Society. In fact Chelsea Building Society will allow up to £3,000 of satisfied defaults and £1,000 of unsatisfied defaults on their standard prime products subject to credit score, other lenders can also be flexible depending on the amount of equity you have. Without knowing your specific circumstances it is difficult to definitively rule out the availability of high street options at cheaper rates.

As to the original question, £3,000 is well over the odds, I would look elsewhere. A good broker is a) not going to be charging you £3,000. and b) not going to be hiding the names of lenders from you as they will have confidence in their advice.

Cheers

Luckyfool

toonfish

Conrad wrote: »

Many brokers are'nt very intelligent hence they recommend 2 or 3 year deals. This means 2 things;

1) They get to earn another commission when you come back in just 2 or 3 years

2) The costs of remortgaging now can be considerable. Many high st lenders, let alone sub prime lenders will charge you in excess of £1500 setting up costs + legal fees AND INTERIM INTEREST (this last item is charged on both the redeemed and new mortgage).

As a general principle 5 years is a more appropriate fixed rate term.

Check the advisers IDD - make sure he is 'whole of market' and 'gives advice'.

If he doesnt give advice (many imply they do and thier clients dont read the IDD that states no advice to be given) this gives you a lot less protection in the event of misselling as he will be able to say 'the cleint chose the deal, it was'nt my advice'.

Shop around

absolute twaddle as usual - fix on a sub-prime deal for 5 years when with a decent record over 2 or 3 you could be on prime rates. I'm glad I never paid you a fee for such sterling advice.

Please explain how you pay "interim interest" on both new and old mortgage. Surely they can only charge for the days the money is outstanding?