Finding a broker

luiza8

My boyfriend and I are looking into getting our first home this year. He is Italian and has been living I the U.K. since August. I am aware that this will reduce the number of lenders who will lend to us as he hasn't been in the U.K. for a year.

I have found a few brokers that have access to 90 lenders which seems a lot, however when I've just come onto this forum I had a private message from a broker claiming to have access to over 150 lenders. Now the company I've seen (that has access to 90 lenders) has good reviews on Feefo.

The company charges a maximum 1% fee but on the value of our house (170k) and because were FTB, the guy said we could expect around 600 charge, with 149 charge on application and the remainder if we complete on the house.

Were FTB so unsure whether the fee is high or standard? I like that it's not payable until we apply for the mortgage, and also like that we pay a small amount unless we complete on the house.

Can someone with more information comment on this please?

Thanks

silvercar

I would be wary of private messages from people claiming to be brokers.

He is breaking the rules of the forum, messaging you privately so no-one can comment on his offering. What other rules does he break?

luiza8

I know, you're right. I didn't message him back and would never trust anyone sending me an unsolicited PM offering their services.

What are your thoughts on the fee structure above?

Guerillatoker

As a FTB myself I may not be best placed to give advice, but I have got past the stage of picking a broker and obtaining an AIP.

I found it pretty difficult to decide who but got some simple advice on the forum that helped: Go with whoever sounds most confident of getting you a good mortgage. Remember you'll have to speak to this person on a relatively regular basis, so you need to like them. Sound them out on the phone.

Not sure about fees - I may not be with the most competitive broker myself, but I am not the most attractive borrower and what is important to me is securing the property I have under offer.

(Not sure how Italian boyfriend will effect you, sorry)
If you have a good credit record, no bad debts and a secure employment situation then I would suggest shopping around for a well recommended, low fee, whole of market broker. If you're going to be a slightly harder case like me, you might need to bite the bullet and go with the broker that inspires most confidence.

Verix

As has been said I would avoid anyone PM'ing you on here offering services because A) it's against the rules and if they need to come on here for business then they're probably struggling to support themselves normally which i'd find concerning.

luiza8

Guerillatoker wrote: »

(Not sure how Italian boyfriend will effect you, sorry) [/I]
If you have a good credit record, no bad debts and a secure employment situation then I would suggest shopping around for a well recommended, low fee, whole of market broker. If you're going to be a slightly harder case like me,.

What is the "Whole of market" - as I said this broker compares 90 lenders but this other guy (who I am NOT going to use) has said he has access to 150 lenders, so what figure is an accurate representation of "whole of market".

Having an Italian boyfriend who has lived here less than a year will mean less lenders will lend to me

kingstreet

silvercar wrote: »

I would be wary of private messages from people claiming to be brokers.

He is breaking the rules of the forum, messaging you privately so no-one can comment on his offering. What other rules does he break?

Should be named.

I can't believe it's one of the regulars.

LRmortgage

Depending on your mortgage size, 1% could be a hefty fee.

I would expect in your position to pay a fixed fee of £300 to £700 depending on your circumstances.

This shouldn’t be too hard to place, even with your Italian boyfriend not having been here for a year, as long as credit files are good and everything else in good order.

ACG

Name the "broker" or at the very least report them. They should not be soliciting for business on these forums, that is not what they are here for. There is nothing stopping you initiating contact but it should not be the broker starting the conversation.

Ask them how many of the 150 lenders they have used (if there even are that many). Im guessing less than 10%. I think we have around 80 lenders but we have probably used 25-30% at most and that is because we do a lot of quirky cases where they can not be placed on the high street.

There will be a couple of lenders who may consider the case, but with less than 6 months let alone a year you may find the only option is to wait.

£600 is not unreasonable although a little top heavy. The biggest issue I would have is paying anything on application on a case which is at best 50/50. You are potentially going to lose £150 for someone to throw in an application on a punt. If they are quiet, its an easy £150.

muhandis

Having asked the "how many lenders do you have access to" question to a few well known 'whole of market' brokers the last time I remortgaged, the range was 75-95. No one claimed to have access to more than 100 lenders, let alone 150!

I'm sure you have your reasons for wanting to buy now but from experience I can tell you that the breadth of access to lenders dramatically improves as you get through the first couple of years, so you might want to consider holding on while building up a bigger deposit and maintaining a good credit file.

ACG

There is no standard place where brokers charge.
Some will charge on application, others on offer, some on completion and some at various parts in the process. Some brokers will not charge at all. Personally, we charge on full offer.