Is it really worth seeing a mortgage advisor?

SouthLondonUser

davilown wrote: »

I've just been through HSBC direct and they were actually very good - fill in the form, upload the documents, chase a few times on the phone and mortgage offer was there in 2 weeks.

I don't know what to say other that my experience is what I have described.

To be fair, I had been approved for a First Direct interest only offset, but I had to withdraw from the process because my circumstances changed in the meanwhile, and I needed a mortgage with no early repayment charges (the First Direct product I had been approved for had them). First Direct is the same group as HSBC, and the application with them was super easy and not stressful at all.

I'd like to think that my horrible experiences cannot be representative, that maybe I was particularly unlucky...

Lauralou79 wrote: »

We did it ourselves. I did loads of research beforehand as We were FTB. No bad credit, no debt and good deposit. Both in long term stable jobs and well under affordability and what we could borrow. I don't understand why people say it's a hassle.

It's not a hassle if the online, no-advice system works the way it should.
It's a soul-destroying experience which causes you to waste countless hours on the phone and to lose the will to live if unspecified IT errors which no one can seem to be able to sort out prevent you from submitting your application.

If, for whatever reason, you cannot apply online, then scheduling a call can involve a long wait (2 weeks with Nationwide, in my case), and going to a branch can be a pain: we could have gone on a Saturday only, as we work far from each other, and, btw, have you ever tried to go to a branch with a toddler who's in terrible-two mode and has an attention span of about 4 seconds?