First time buyer with no clue over mortgages,should i use independant mortgage advise

PokerPlayer111

First time buyer with no clue over mortgages,should i use independant mortgage advise vs going to a bank direct?

What scams should i look out for (if there are any?)

AnotherJoe

Yes you should use one, they will guide you through the process and make sure you have your application prepared in the most favourable way possible with the least hassle, and make sure you dont do soemthing stupid that derails the process.

Try and find one through personal recommendation then there wont be any scams.

wantonnoodle

I would highly recommend finding an independent mortgage advisor. Not only do they help identify the best mortgage for you, but any decent advisor should be able to help guide you through the whole transaction. There were various misunderstandings between us, the EA, the lender, and both sets of sols, and our broker pretty much held everything together and gave us the reassurance that was needed.

Normally the EA would be the one keeping the transaction moving, but ours seemed to spend more time out of the office or in meetings (she was the sales manager for the branch) than working and available, so our broker stepped in when times were tough. He also did the negotiating for us when the surveys highlighted necessary remedial work that led to a mortgage retention, and was able to resolve it in our favour.

Lauralou79

I didn't realise how little I knew about mortgages. However I did lots of online reading different guides and forums etc prior to actually viewing houses.
We had pretty simple circumstance no adverse, good deposit, stable jobs etc. We went to a lender ourselves and did it all ourselves. I haven't found it difficult to do it that way as I was well informed and confident we could do it. It was all pretty straightforward.

However I think a broker would be the way to go if you didn't want the hassle of arranging things yourself ( wasn't that bad more just nervous waiting on decisions!) or you have more complicated circumstances.

Trickzyy

Hi PokerPlayer,

As a first time buyer you are definitely best speaking to a mortgage broker or two, the advice is free and they could save you £1000's - a mortgage is the biggest liability you are likely to take on in your life, so worth putting some time into.

You can do as Laura suggested and sort it all out yourself, but if you use a broker that doesn't charge a fee, they will do all this for you and give you proper advice. Using a broker also doesn't affect what you pay.

Hope this helps

sevenhills

Trickzyy wrote: »

As a first time buyer you are definitely best speaking to a mortgage broker or two, the advice is free and they could save you £1000's - a mortgage is the biggest liability you are likely to take on in your life, so worth putting some time into.

Not using one myself; could be right for the OP. If I was using one, I would pay a fee, would that be around £500, I would not want one that was biased towards certain organisations/products.

Trickzyy

sevenhills wrote: »

Not using one myself; could be right for the OP. If I was using one, I would pay a fee, would that be around £500, I would not want one that was biased towards certain organisations/products.

I hear that a lot, pay a fee so you don't have an adviser that is biased toward a particular lender. The truth is it makes no difference, the mortgage industry is heavily regulated and we are required to justify on the sourcing results why we have chosen a particular lender.

If you go to a whole-of-market independent mortgage broker, he/she should always recommend the best lender based on your circumstances, the result will be the same regardless of whether the broker charges a fee or not.

That said, it is totally up to the individual at the end of the day

PokerPlayer111

I got a quote... application fee of £300 by a company just now + they said they make a [FONT=&quot]procuration fee on the deal. They said if we do not get you the offer we dont charge you hmmm - that means i get charged just for the mortgage offer even if i dont take a mortgage with them i think? (as in even if i dont buy a house i get charged?)
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kingstreet

sevenhills wrote: »

I would not want one that was biased towards certain organisations/products.

The difference between what different lenders pay is so small you're unlikely to find anyone picking a lender on the basis of the fee they pay.

Remember, for years after we do a case we have to be able to justify the lender selected and why a lender with a lower rate wasn't. We do that by discussing the options with the borrower ahead of the submission and follow it up in a suitability report which is given to the borrower post-submission and they can challenge the reasoning behind it if they don't agree it was what was discussed.