FTB- Online Mortgage brokers- help please!

Sicily1991

Hi all,

I'm a first time buyer in the middle of viewings. I've obtained 2 MIPs with online mortgage brokers- Trussle and Habito. The service has been smooth so far and they have brokers you speak to via chat and on the phone, they've given me advice and been helpful overall. I wanted to know people's views of dealing with these brokers as opposed to using traditional broker service??

These online ones say they're free and make their commission from the lenders, they claim to have access to over 90 lenders. Other traditional ones have quoted fees of up to £1k. Please can someone give me some advice on whether, once I am ready to make an offer and move forward, I should use Habito/Trussle or use of the ones the estate agents recommend etc.

Thanks
S

Autumnleaves15

Hello,

We used Habito and had no issues. It took us 3 evenings to get all the documents together and answer anything they needed.

Application in last Friday and had the mortgage approved today and that was with some adverse credit involved as well. No hassle at all and great availability for chatting to them.

We contacted them in last minute desperation but ended up being really impressed!

ACG

I would not use the ones the agents recommend. Typically they are new to the industry.

In all honesty, the guys at habito etc will probably be relatively new brokers with limited experience. Assuming your situation is straight forward, that should be ok, but I think with anything online and call centre based, it will be fine so long as it is fine. If it goes wrong, you are dealing with chat bots and call centres.

csgohan4

you generally get what you pay for

Also note that you should only be paying 1k in broker fees if you have a complicated case or have a lot of adverse credit/debt history

I would get a local one tbh , any issues you can talk to them face to face

Although I got my first mortgage with a broker on here who didn't charge the earth for it.

Your choice

Sicily1991

My situation should be relatively straight forward, I'm a FTB with good credit history and 10% cash deposit for my budge, no gaps in employment etc. I'm concerned I won't get the best deal with the online ones but again, I have no experience of buying/ how mortgage brokering works. I'm a noob and relying on friends and family to help me through the whole process!

minimike2

These "Online" brokers, are just badging themselves up to be something more than what they really are. They are just mortgage brokers, who work exclusively online. There is nothing fancy about them, you don't get anything else any other mortgage broker can't do (and arguably less so).

If paying a fee is something you really are against, then there will probably be fee-free brokers local to you, although it can sometimes be a false economy.

I am not saying that they are bad, or good, only that they are just mortgage brokers.

kingstreet

Sicily1991 wrote: »

I've obtained 2 MIPs with online mortgage brokers- Trussle and Habito.

Why two?

Usual advice is one only, especially if a hard credit search is done.

ACG

I suspect they will have more or less the same deals as any other broker.

I think the biggest question is what do you want from a broker?

One of my biggest jobs is taking calls from customers who just want reassurance. Despite me giving timeframes, they are so nervous and have questions along the way..."we have seen a sofa on sale, can we get it?" - I answer those questions in minutes more often than not. The reason I can do that is because we charge and I limit the work we take on. We are not a call centre and so if something crosses our customers mind they pick up the phone/whatsapp/email and they get an answer straight away from someone that knows their situation inside out.

I have been a fee free broker in the past and I had to take on a LOT more work to pay the bills. I have also been in the industry for over 10 years and have spent over half of that taking on the cases that other brokers turn away so that is why we charge.

I am not for one minute saying customers should pay, would I? My first mortgage (well before I became a broker) I paid someone a grand and they literally did everything and it was nice to go to to work and not have to worry about it. They dealt with the agents, the lender and me outside of work house as I was busy in work during the day - I thought it was money well spent and so we offer the same service. We do not charge a grand for a straight forward case, closer to half that. But on the flip side I completely understand why people do not want to pay a broker, why would you if you can get it for free?

It all depends on what you want. Unless you are lucky/unlucky you are unlikely to get the same level of service from a fee free broker that you would from a fee charging broker. If you think about it like McDonalds and a Restaurant, you get some kid shouting your order back at you and then NEXT at McDonalds and it is probably not too dissimilar in any industry.

Sicily1991

I did one with Santander which gave me one quote which was lower than what I expected and then did one with both Trussle and Habito.. they all stated they were soft searches when I completed the information... Habito were helpful in that they gave me a certificate which is for the maximum amount I'm willing to borrow which is lower than what I could borrow to give me bargaining power.

In all, I have been happy with their service so far and they've text me to see how the process has been going and if I needed any other advice in the meantime. I suppose if when I did apply something went wrong, I could move to a fee charging broker? I hope it won't come to that!

ACG

It is not a good idea to switch brokers part way through. It makes everything rushed.

Also if you were an estate agent and found the buyer had switched brokers part way through, what would you be thinking? Is there a problem...