Sloppy Service from London & Country

jonewer

LiamM wrote: »

Am I allowed to ask (are you allowed to say?) where that was you went?

L&C were looking at Abbey and Skipton.

Brittania, nationwide and abbey all had better rates. (L&C could do 5.99 at best. Brittania had 5.59 IIRC and the other two between those amounts).

Leon_W

And therein lies the whole problem I have with L&C. They will not look for a mortgage until you've found a property and I ask myself what good is that ?

I suspect that practically EVERY broker that posts on this site gets an Agreement in Principle BEFORE telling someone to go out and put an offer in on something !! I would much rather do it that way round than have angry clients banging on my door because I had basically just plucked a figure out of the air.

I openly doubt Martins advice with regards to L&C. Yep, OK if you want to remortgage OR are Very sure that you have ooodles of income and a spotless credit history. But for first time buyers ? No. There are much better local advisers out there willing to meet face to face, get an AIP and still be fees free.

Conrad

Fees free brokers have to work harder for less. A professional fee charging broker is able to commit real time to SERIOUS CLIENTS willing to prove thier intent with cash.

We dont expect builders of hoteliers not to want some sort of up front commitment, but somehow it's ok for brokers to waste hours and then not hear back from the client ever again.

Many inside the mortgage indusrty believe so called fee free advice is a broken business model. MARK MY WORDS.

Dan_Collins_2

Conrad wrote: »

Fees free brokers have to work harder for less. A professional fee charging broker is able to commit real time to SERIOUS CLIENTS willing to prove thier intent with cash.

We dont expect builders of hoteliers not to want some sort of up front commitment, but somehow it's ok for brokers to waste hours and then not hear back from the client ever again.

Many inside the mortgage indusrty believe so called fee free advice is a broken business model. MARK MY WORDS.

I hope you are not saying that fee free brokers do not do the job correctly! I work on a referal basis and do not charge a fee. I have to work hard to keep my clients recommending! I do agree that it is becoming harder, as you may know the market is slow and less money to made, however if you are good at your job then clients will keep coming! I have come across some shocking fee charging brokers as well as non fee charging!

MortgagesInc

I agree Dan - there are plenty of fee free brokers out there who do a fantastic job. I can't believe that he would imply that you're not professional if you don't charge fees? Surely it's irrelevant to how you conduct yourself?

And Conrad, you may want to use a different builders if yours charge you up front - none of the ones I know work that way

toonfish

Conrad comes up with the same waffle every time, trying to discredit the fee free brokerages whilst pig-headedly refusing to use the agreed standard signature.

Because the business model didn't work for him he fails to understand how it can for the rest of us.

Be interesting to compare say the last 10 transactions, because I bet there wouldn't be any "better" mortgage advice for those that have paid a fee, than the ones that have used our free advice.

Dan_Collins_2

OOps I thanked my self for m y post LOL

I agree guys! All solicitors charge, most I come across offer a poor service. I dont think its about the fee its about the attitude of the broker!

Conrad

No not all fees free brokers are worse, of course not, but in order to rationaly decide which approach is best one must consider 'general rules of thumb'.

Take LMC. Clients are bemoaning the fact LMC refuse to put much time in up front, yet this is a natural consequence of tight profit margins. Thier model simply does not allow them to indulge a potential clients desire for lots of up - front free work.

If a client wants lots of work for free he needs to understand there is a greater chance that free work will come at cost somewhere down the line.

THE CLASSIC FEES FREE ARGUMENT GOES: But I am happy to take a chance there might be a commission at the end IF IF IF IF the case goes through.
I dont know of any other professional group willing to work on the off - chance they will be paid.

Intelligent people recognise house sales and remortgages fall through for all sorts of reasons that have nothing to do with the mortgage being declined.

WOULD YOU TRUST A DOCTOR PAID ENTIRELY UPON THE DRUGS HE RECOMMENDS YOU?

C'mon , would you?

herbiesjp

Hi Conrad

Is there any reason why you do not want to adhere to the code and put a signature?

HelpWhereIcan

Have to say that, horror of horrors, I agree to an extent with Conrad.

L&C's refusal to obtain an AIP before finding a property is indicative of the type of compromise that a fee free broker might have to make to make their model work.

I know fee free brokers that offer horrendous service and I know fee charging brokers whose service is just as bad.

However, all brokers work on the basis of completing a case for only a % of the people they speak with.

I could argue that I would write a proposal for a higher % of people that I speak with simply because I do not charge a fee.

Conrad's point is relevant for those fee free brokers who do not have any income other than the mortgage commission. Conrad's fee means he will earn more per case and can afford to do fewer cases hopefully offering a better service at the same time (fewer clients means more time per client - watch Jerry Maguire people:beer: ).

However, that is not the way the real world worksfor most people. Most fee free brokers arrange more than their customer's mortgage, looking at things like protection, loans etc etc.

Cue Conrad's rant about brokers who force people to take protection and how most mortgage brokers know nothing about protection contracts.

To be followed by the usual response that those of us who came from an IFA background know a lot more about protection than most 'specialists' who were never IFAs.

Each model is different and has its good and bad exponents. I offer good advice and service as we have to believe that Conrad will.

I think as little of some of the advisers that have come into the industry with no more than CeMap thinking they can do it all straight from the off as he does.

Does not make him better than me though, just makes us both better than 'them'. :rotfl: [Puts on a tinfoil hat and gets back in his box]