Which broker should I choose?

earthquakebird

Habito - have been using it fairly successfully up to now, have received good deals that match the benchmark deals I've found independently. I am very comfortable and familiar with the format of doing things online and via chat box. So far am happy with the service but have not got as far as AIP or application yet.

Broker 1 - recommended by a friend, sounded confident and friendly on the phone, charges £299 flat fee paid on completion, will come to see me in person.

Broker 2 - found on VouchedFor, has only been mortgage-advising for a few years, £199 flat fee paid on application. A lot cheaper but maybe there's a reason?

I'm a first time buyer but have done lots of research and (I think) am fairly savvy with the mortgage process and lingo. I guess what I'm asking is, is the value of seeing someone face-to-face really worth £200-300?

dunstonh

£199 and £299 are insignificant differences. It is not a difference that stands out as being cheap for a reason.

Vouchedfor is not a great source. Most adviser/brokers I know are not listed on there. Indeed, i just checked out postcode and none of the local firms were on there. Just a couple of unknowns in the nearest town and one person I know is desperate for business. Most of the firms coming back were over 30 miles away.

Vouched for is a commercial site. Firms that dont need to advertise wont be listed on there. Those that do need to advertise will be.

I'm a first time buyer but have done lots of research and (I think) am fairly savvy with the mortgage process and lingo. I guess what I'm asking is, is the value of seeing someone face-to-face really worth £200-300?

Are you pushing lending limits or have timescale issues?

earthquakebird

Thanks for your insights.

No, mine is a fairly straight-forward case (I think?) although perhaps there are things I haven't considered as a FTB. For this reason I think I would prefer talking things through with a face-to-face broker, but Habito seems to be doing the job so far for zero cost. But with Habito, I do feel a bit uneasy uploading all my important financial and personal documents, given the possibility of IT/hacking scandal! Is this irrational?

ACG

With the recent GDPR rules, you will probably find more brokers go to the uploading of documents in some way or another - we are having our system developed at the minute (taking a little longer than expected).

The issue with big firms who are fee free, if there is a problem, will they have the time/inclination to sort it out? The same goes for relatively new brokers, will they go back and appeal a decision, argue it through if an underwriter is being a bit fussy?

I realise you say you are savvy and straightforward but you do not know what you do not know (sorry for the cheesy line but I thought it was quite reverent here) and even the most straightforward of cases can go wrong.

No idea which broker you should use. I would like to think the people I speak to would know they want me as there broker. Not based on price but based on how we get on and that they trust I will get them their Mortgage. £200-300, assuming you are buying somewhere for £100k you are talking about 0.1% of the purchase price in difference it is hardly enough to get worry about (although I realise it is easy for me to spend your money). I am not saying go with the most expensive, or the cheapest but choose based on confidence they will not only find you the best deal but also get it for you.

I would rather someone came back to me with a deal slightly more expensive and knew they would get it rather than a cheaper deal which will either be declined or take 2 months to be accepted going back and forth asking for more and more paperwork.

dunstonh

but Habito seems to be doing the job so far for zero cost.

Electronic factory line services can avoid the broker charge as they are not spending as much time on you and dont have the overheads of face to face.

it is viable alternative but a very different service to a face to face broker. One issue with factory line style services is that they want the easy stuff. If something goes wrong, then they dont tend to resource solving it in the same way an individual broker would.

Some factory line web/telephone services see the staff member deal in more mortgages in a day than a local mortgage broker deals in a month. So, consider how that affects the time they have to solve issues.

earthquakebird

Thanks both, I think I am leaning towards using the fee-based human broker as, as you say, I don't know what I don't know. Could you outline what I should expect from a broker, aside from them helping me hunt out the best deals? What other support should I expect?

Sophie2009

Personally I would use a broker as they know the market and guide you through the process. I think recommendation is always helpful as you know they are good.

Regards support they may vary, mine found me a good deal, application to offer in 5 working days! They also speak to my solicitor to see how things are progressing. Mine also looks at insurances so sorting that out in one go. They are also good to bounce ideas off regarding property.