Advice please - Mortgage Newbie

Abz12

Hi Everyone,

I have been a member of this site for a number of years and am now in the very fortunate position that i can post on this section! Its probably best that i explain a little bit before asking a couple of questions.

I have been very lucky recently and inherited 50k. I plan to use this as a deposit for a house. I live in the WM area and my max price range is 190k. I will be purchasing this house alone as a first time buyer.

This morning i went into Nationwide (who i have my current account with) to discuss my mortgage options. The max they will lend me is 138,200. Meaning the max i can buy a property for is 188,00 (rounding up) From there projections my mortgage payment per month will be less than my rent currently! :-) I have both a help to buy and a save to buy. Nationwide will give me 1k cash back if my save to buy account balance is 5k+ and the gov will give me between 400-3k depending on the balance of the help to buy, apparently i can use both?

So here come the questions;
- is it better to go straight to a high street bank or though a broker?
- How do i maximise the help to buy and save to buy offers?
- is it better to go for a fixed or a tracker mortgage?
- should i go for a mortgage with a product fee?
- what is the average cost of solicitors fees?

Thanks in advance for the advice. Any questions please ask.

stinabean

Hey!

New to whole business myself but from what I've learned it's best to go via a broker as they can search all the deals available with a click of a button and advise which is best as it's not always the one with the lowest interest rate.
RE the help to buy, as far as I'm aware when you apply for the mortgage the lender asks for proof of deposit and therefore sees that it's in a help to buy ISA - this may be incorrect or have more to it though.
Fixed or tracker is personal preference. We are planning on staying in our new home for quite some time, so we have a fixed fairly low % for 5 years. I personally like know exactly how much money I'll be paying out a month.

The rest will be answered by more knowledagable people I'm sure!

always_sunny

Abz12 wrote: »

So here come the questions;
- is it better to go straight to a high street bank or though a broker?
- How do i maximise the help to buy and save to buy offers?
- is it better to go for a fixed or a tracker mortgage?
- should i go for a mortgage with a product fee?
- what is the average cost of solicitors fees?

Thanks in advance for the advice. Any questions please ask.

I think nowadays it is better to access mortgages through a broker and even then a free broker.
When I needed to apply for one I used London & Country and it was pretty good free service, they'd have access to all lenders and/or different criteria but also advise you on what might be best for you, even an extra percentage point on the LTV may increase/decrease your rate.

The days were you'd go to your bank to apply for a mortgage are really gone, now it's computer says x wherever you go...

Solicitors are well local or not may or may not make any difference, I used one remote and it was fine. Some will use one local and have problems or the other way around, it really depends on the property.

Give a broker a call, if you don't like it, you can always go back to a branch.

csgohan4

broker potentially has a access to the whole of market


Don't go for one in an Estate agent or referred by one

Abz12

Thank you - stinabean, always_sunny & csgohan4. Thats why i love this forum, people are always so helpful. I know my dad used an independent broker so i will get there details and have my 'free chat'. Another question, is it worth going to a broker even though i wont get my £1,000 cash back from NW?

csgohan4

Abz12 wrote: »

Thank you - stinabean, always_sunny & csgohan4. Thats why i love this forum, people are always so helpful. I know my dad used an independent broker so i will get there details and have my 'free chat'. Another question, is it worth going to a broker even though i wont get my £1,000 cash back from NW?

going to just one bank is not good value, you might save far more in interest with looking at other competition

AdrianC

Abz12 wrote: »

So here come the questions;
- is it better to go straight to a high street bank or though a broker?

Going direct to a lender can ONLY get you access to that lender's products. A broker can get you access to the entire market. Their fee may or may not be covered entirely by commission from whatever mortgage you eventually go for. Don't just blindly go for the EA's "recommendation".

- is it better to go for a fixed or a tracker mortgage?

Depends on what you think interest rates are going to do in the future.

- should i go for a mortgage with a product fee?

Depends on how the total cost adds up over a period.

- what is the average cost of solicitors fees?

Depends on the property. Don't just blindly go with the EA's "recommendation".

Lauralou79

Going to a bank direct still does happen, I went to mine and am so far happy with their rate and service. Not everyone needs a broker. I agree they are very useful for a lot of people especially those with credit issues or complicated situations.
I researched and prepared what I would need before I was ready for buying. It didn't take that much of my time and isn't that difficult or that much effort for something you really want.

csgohan4

bare in mind loyalty doesn't pay anymore

SuzieSue

AdrianC wrote: »

Going direct to a lender can ONLY get you access to that lender's products. A broker can get you access to the entire market. .

No, there will be some lenders who do not deal with brokers so you will need to go to them directly:

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/nov/24/mortgage-broker-bank-building-society

There are other exceptions. Some lenders, such as Yorkshire building society (which also owns Chelsea, Norwich & Peterborough and Barnsley building societies) and the Co-op don’t deal with brokers, though both have separate broker-only mortgage divisions (Accord and Platform).

always_sunny

Abz12 wrote: »

Another question, is it worth going to a broker even though i wont get my £1,000 cash back from NW?

I applied for a mortgage that had no application fee and also had a cash back offer.
I think having a chat with another party without commitment is always good. They will not do a credit search, etc it's just advisory.