Should I be getting a second opinion on what my broker advises?

User1312

We're about to apply for our first mortgage. It's a joint application, where one of us is self employed and counts as a 'sole trader'.

Our 'whole of market' broker has recommended Halifax, a 2 year fixed rate at 2.69%, 35 year term. He says Halifax are flexible, and are a preferred lender for self employed people. We already have our DIP from Halifax for this property.

I sent the mortgage illustration across to a family friend who works in finance (but not mortgages specifically) and she seems to think we can get a much better fixed rate (1.69%ish) and to ask the opinion of another broker.

My concerns with this are:
- It could delay the purchase (although it is chain-free)
- Another DIP would affect our credit score
- We've already paid £150 to this broker, and would not really like to pay much more for a second opinion
- Another lender may not be so flexible with our accounts / situation

Are there better rates out there for an application where someone is self-employed? Or is Halifax our best and easiest option?

Thank you

David_White

With all due respect to your friend, if they don't deal with mortgage applications in their role you may as well ask the bloke down the pub for advice.

Only your broker has had the info to fully assess your case so if you have faith in them I'd stick with their recommendation.

amnblog

If there is a more suitable option, your broker would have recommended it as he/she is required to do by the regulator.


So, no, you do not need a second opinion.

ACG

I would normally say you should not be getting second opinions. I would be a little annoyed/hurt if I thought my clients did not trust me to do the best by them.

That being said, if you have a good reason to not believe they are not doing the best by you then you could raise it with the broker and say you have seen other options with better deals and see what they say.

When we go through a factfind, we ask what the client wants from their application. Do they want cheapest/quickest/easiest etc, the 3 very rarely all result in the same lender.

But a bloke working in finance does not necessarily mean they know anything about Mortgages. My accountant works in finance, infact my mrs works in accounts at the company she works for - but all she does (with respect to her) is send out invoices. I actually gave her our Mortgage offer when we moved and her eyes glazed over before saying you know best and she gave it me back.

So by all means query it, but query it with your broker. If you do not like the response then look elsewhere.

User1312

Thank you all. I will raise with the broker that we've seen better deals by shopping around ourselves and why he thinks these may not be suitable for us..

User1312

Quick update on this - I sent our income and expenditure info and all other background info to a different broker just for advice. He reckons we would be able to use another lender for a better rate.

In the meantime I went back to original broker and queried this - he said he chose Halifax for their leniency and that changing lenders at this stage will affect our application as we already have 2 AIPs with Halifax (one in Nov when we made our first offer on a different property and one from last week for this property)

I'm much more inclined to go with the new broker if he can get us a much better deal (talking a saving of £150 almost per month) but worried about having another search on file. Is the original broker just scaremongering or should we being going with the less risky option and pay the increased monthly repayments?

ACG

Halifax do a soft footprint AIP, meaning only they and you can see it on your report.

I would be inclined to go with the new broker also based on what you have said. Just agree that any fees are only paid on results.

Pixie5740

Why does broker no 1 think that you need a lenient lender? Is it simply because on of you is self employed or is there something lurking in your credit files? Has broker no 2 seen copies of your all 3 of your credit files?

User1312

Thanks both.

Broker no1 reply to me when I asked about changing lenders was;

"The other lender I would recommend is Clydesdale at a rate of 2.19% - this would save you around £50 but I would be hesitant for the following reasons; we've already done a search with Halifax so any more can affect your credit score, your partners sa302s show a dip in the second year of accounts, and the timescales for Clydesdale are quite long. I want to create the least amount of resistance from the choice of lender and I think that is Halifax"

He also said that the rate broker no2 has mentioned is Ipswich BS which he doesn't work with.

Broker no2's comment about the sa302s is that that's not an issue (yr 1 accounts show one figure, year 2 is a dip, then yr 3 back up - this is very small and due to time off for a holiday). Broker no2 also doesn't understand why Halifax was only considered; he said "if you had more debit (we have £1000 between us) or only 1 years of accounts then I'd be inclined to go with Halifax but otherwise your situation is prettt straightforward"

Broker no2 also said that 2 other searches on file is ok, it's when it's more than 3 that he'd recommend we stop. As this is the third he's not worried ... but I am!

As for Halifax being a soft search, I've looked at my report since and both the AIP in Nov and the one last week show up in searches - that's what I was worried about.

Thanks - sorry for long post!!!

User1312

(Debt - not debit!)

kingstreet

£1,000 cashback from Halifax?

Product fee on Ipswich deal but not on Halifax?

Have you compared the overall cost, or looked only at the rate?