Do I need a mortgage broker?

MarcusX

Hi all

I have been a long time lurker and have always found these forums to useful and full of knowledge.

I just have a quick question. Myself and my wife purchased our first property in 2017 and it is now coming to the point where our fixed term ends so I am looking about for remortgage deals.

When we bought we were both a bit clueless about mortgages so paid a broker to help arrange our first mortgage. Since then I have read up a bit and am confident of finding the best rates/offer myself, and ideally would like to save the £500 we paid to the broker.

One area I don't know about though is how our unsecured debt would affect our eligibility.

My income is £28 pa and my wife earns £19k pa. We have a joint personal loan with a balance of £6750 (regular payemnt of £180) and I have a credit card with a balance of £1400 (making regular payment of £150, well over the minimum payemnt). We have never missed payments, and we have both obtained our credit reports from the credit club/clearscore/noddle which shows nothing unexpected.

We have no dependents or any other major financial commitments and are looking to lend £95k with a LTV of 75%.

Should I be okay in applying direct to lenders, or would people recommend still going through a broker to place us with someone?

Apologies if this is a silly question, thank you in advance. :beer:

Marcus

MEM62

In my case the broker had access to a deal that was no available on the high street so it was worthwhile. As with all things, if you can match or beat what he has to offer then you are better off. If not, you benefit from using a broker. (The caveat being as long as he is independent and not tied)

csgohan4

I went with a broker so I didn't need to go through a lengthy interview nor filling out reams of paperwork, not to mention more access to deals not found on high street.

That's what you pay your broker to do or some cases not pay i.e free

MortgageMamma

Has your existing lender made you a product transfer offer yet? You need this to benchmark if you are better staying with a lender or moving to a new lender.

Its not just about getting a competitive rate, there is a fine balance (depending on your loan amount) of getting a good rate which may have an arrangement fee, or a slightly higher rate with no added fees.

The monthly payment and if you can afford it should also be a factor, but you also need to consider the total cost over the deal period, and what the remaining loan balance will be at the point when you are eligible to remortgage again (known as the end of the early repayment charge period).

Then you need to factor in if your employment, property, credit status and affordability all fit the lenders criteria.

Don't forget, a truly whole of market mortgage broker will have access to mortgage deals known as exclusives that you can't get direct. And when you go direct, you are not receiving advice, just "information" from whoever is "selling" you the mortgage.

I'm not saying you should always use a broker, that's personal preference but £500 for a remortgage for an existing client seems a bit steep to me - we only charge £275