When to visit a mortgage advisor

paulburns1984

Hi all,

I've googled my query and haven't been able to find an answer so was hoping you lovely people could help me out.

My partner and I are waiting for a newbuild property to be released for sale. The developer informs that this happen in around 4 to 6 weeks.

I already have an agreement in principle so I can make an offer on the property when it is released. But I'm a first time buyer so I'm unsure about the timeline of how to do things.

Should we be setting up an appointment with a mortgage advisor before the house is released? Or should we wait until released, make an offer and if accepted then visit a mortgage broker/advisor so we know exactly what the price/value of the property is and how much mortgage we are looking for?

If it makes a difference, we are looking to utilise the Help to Buy Equity Loan.

Thanks for any help.

Sahmed660

You should be looking for a mortgage broker just now.

paulburns1984

Been looking and have a couple of word of mouth recommendations from work colleagues/friends.

When should I book to see the mortgage adviser/broker? Before the house comes up for sale, or after when we've had an offer accepted and so know the price/mortgage needed etc?

csgohan4

Before the house comes for sale to see what you can truly afford.

Make sure you have copies of all your credit reports and salary slip and bank statements already scanned and ready to go. At least 3-6 months worth. SA302 if applicable for self employed or P60 as well.

Good thing about brokers also, is no need to give the EA your AIP, as that will let them know what you can afford and push you higher to offer. Simply direct them to your broker.

EA may also direct you to see their in house broker or lie and say the vendor is only willing to accept offers if you use their in house broker. Quote the TPO rules and they must pass offers on.

paulburns1984

Thanks, I will get an appointment booked and sort out the paperwork!


Can anyone tell me roughly how long such a meeting may take so I can work out how much time I may need to move around in my schedule at work if I need to visit during work hours.

csgohan4

paulburns1984 wrote: »

Thanks, I will get an appointment booked and sort out the paperwork!


Can anyone tell me roughly how long such a meeting may take so I can work out how much time I may need to move around in my schedule at work if I need to visit during work hours.

Variable, I did all mine over the phone and after I finished work. I got my broker on here actually.

Depends on the broker you find tbh.

wantonnoodle

When we were starting house hunting in April last year, we booked an appointment with a mortgage advisor before we started looking to find out exactly what we could afford and how much everything would cost.

From our experience, our mortgage advisor was happy to visit after work (6pm) and the full factfind and assessment, along with explanations of everything we needed to know took about 2 hours. I believe that a good advisor will be happy to accommodate a meeting in the early evening, as most people are working during the day. To me it also shows that they value your business.

He's been a really useful asset, as he has also given us advice when we've been interested in a property in terms of what to offer and what the EA is trying to achieve (some are obviously trying to start a bidding war when you look at the way it's advertised). Ours is pretty much whole of market and takes all his payment from the lenders in the form of commission. Given the bumps we've had in the road (we're only just at exchange) he's been a godsend, chasing things and giving us advice and reassurance where we've needed it. Get a good broker on your side from the start and it will make things so much easier.

ACG

Appointments normally take around 45-60 minutes. My quickest was 20 minutes as they had completed all my paperwork and I just went over ti to double check a few things. Longest was just over 2 hours.