Proceeding without mortgage broker

Lrimas

I recently approached a mortgage broker about a new mortgage. I normally do mortgage applications myself but since this was a complicated case I decided to get advice from a mortgage broker.

The mortgage broker gave me good advice but I don't really want to proceed with them for two reasons:
1) They are very expensive (over £1k)
2) I am not 100% happy with the mortgage they recommended. I think they went for ease of getting it rather than price.

How 'bad' would it be for me to go ahead without them (they only charge the fee if I apply through them)? It feels wrong as I got some free (useful) advice - a bit like finding a house through an estate agent then making a deal with the sellers directly.

On the other hand it is a lot of money for something I am confident I can do myself (and that I have done myself in the past)

ACG

Surely the time to decide their fees were too high would have been at the outset before wasting their time?

Ultimately, they set their fee structure and realise they will discuss cases with people that will not proceed. So I am sure that is budgeted into their fees. Business is business at the end of the day and it is your money so if you are not 100% happy then walk away. If the biggest issue is the price, you could try to negotiate (but again, the time to do that really would have been at the outset). If it is a combination of the 2 things, tell them.

I would always rather people be brutally honest with us if they choose not to proceed. I sometimes email people a couple of months down the line to find out why. I appreciate the feedback, even if it is a case of "we thought you were clueless and useless"...that has never been said btw.

kingstreet

Lrimas wrote: »

I am not 100% happy with the mortgage they recommended. I think they went for ease of getting it rather than price.

If you have a tight deadline and gave them that timescale to work to, such a reason for lender/product selection is entirely reasonable.

We've been using it in newbuild for avoiding Barclays, Accord and HSBC for years...

As a consequence, you may not get the lowest rate. We would always discuss your priorities with you first, though.

middleclassbutpoor

Not sure if I have missed something but if you are not going to take their advice then no issues.

If you are going to take their advice but go direct then that is really a different conversation but it sounds as though you are not happy with the lender/product they are recommending?

It's not really like the estate agent analogy because most EA's will still charge the vendor if they find out that they introduced you and you did a deal privately. Only time that analogy would work is if you saw the house on their website or shop window and then went direct - no way to trace they introduced you.

Lrimas

ACG wrote: »

Surely the time to decide their fees were too high would have been at the outset before wasting their time?

Ultimately, they set their fee structure and realise they will discuss cases with people that will not proceed. So I am sure that is budgeted into their fees. Business is business at the end of the day and it is your money so if you are not 100% happy then walk away. If the biggest issue is the price, you could try to negotiate (but again, the time to do that really would have been at the outset). If it is a combination of the 2 things, tell them.

I would always rather people be brutally honest with us if they choose not to proceed. I sometimes email people a couple of months down the line to find out why. I appreciate the feedback, even if it is a case of "we thought you were clueless and useless"...that has never been said btw.

That is very true: but... they only disclosed their fee at the end. I should have asked at the start though.

At this point I have not agreed to go ahead. This was just an initial conversation to see what options are available to me. I haven't even found a property to buy yet.

Out of interest, I expected the price to be around £500. Was I naive?

Edit: The broker was aware that I'm not ready to proceed at this time. To be honest, I have already decided that I won't be going back to them when I am ready - I think I just posted this so someone will tell me: Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong, which is a bit stupid . Once I am ready to proceed I might look around for a mortgage broker again - but this time I will ensure that I ask the price first.

mortgage1st

This is a difficult one, I have had to use a broker to ensure I could get access to particular products for my circumstances. In hindsight I wish I'd have gone with another firm as my current broker is really slow but that said there are many out there and you've just got to do your due diligence as a good one can really make all the difference. Make sure they're whole of market as well.

middleclassbutpoor

Surely costs should be disclosed up front for the costs of advice?

An adviser should go through their key facts document to explain their charges and how they work up front. This should tell you whether they are tied to a panel or whole of market etc. It should tell you their complaints process, when you are required to pay etc and what your rights are etc.

amnblog

middleclassbutpoor wrote: »

Surely costs should be disclosed up front for the costs of advice?
An adviser should go through their key facts document to explain their charges and how they work up front. This should tell you whether they are tied to a panel or whole of market etc. It should tell you their complaints process, when you are required to pay etc and what your rights are etc.

Correct in outline.

A Broker who does not have the wit to establish and agree fees at outset and chooses to recommend a Product before the Client has agreed to terms probably does not deserve the business anyway.

Thrugelmir

Lrimas wrote: »

This was just an initial conversation to see what options are available to me. I haven't even found a property to buy yet.

The options may have changed by the time you've found a property. Perhaps the broker felt that you were fishing for potential lenders. Rather than genuinely seeking their advice.

ACG

If the broker has sprung a high fee on you after spending time doing the research, that is there problem and yes as amn says,they probably do not deserve the business.

I always try to bring fees up on the first conversation.

dunstonh

Out of interest, I expected the price to be around £500. Was I naive?

In our area, £195 to £295 is typical.
£1000 is the sort of price you pay when you expect the commission to be rebated/offset.

Fee structures/amounts should be disclosed in the early minutes of the first meeting. At the very very latest, they should be disclosed prior to you being committed to any fee.