Tips for finding a mortgage advisor

Bubblebutt9

I’m looking for a mortgage advisor and I’m not sure where to start. Any tips please? How much on average are the fees? Are they paid upfront or on completion? 

Many thanks 

K_S

@bubblebutt9 I'd recommend starting with the MSE guide on how to find an appropriate mortgage broker https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/best-mortgages-cashback/#step3

Asking for recommendations from friends, family and colleagues is also a good place to start.

With regard to fees, as the guide says there are plenty of brokers who charge no fees. Those who do charge for standard cases are typically in the range of £200-500 and usually at the point of application.

If your needs are complex (medium/heavy adverse credit history for example) then the fees can go up significantly as the work involved is much greater.

ACG

Its always worth speaking to friends and family. We see a few threads on here about bad brokers (usually bad at communicating rather than anything else). 

Our standard fee is £500, most brokers I know charge £500-699 as a standard fee but typically you will find anywhere from £0-999. I differ from K_S in that I think most brokers charge on offer. I dont think as a customer you should be paying unless you get a Mortgage offer. Ultimately if you are honest, it is down to the broker to decide if they can place you or not upfront. 

Bubblebutt9

Thank you both for your advice. I did a search online and a broker called me. They said the fee was £195 before the application when in and then £3,500 upon completion! I thought that seemed really excessive. I have now found another broker (through the tips above) who will change £499 payable upon completion. So far I am very impressed with them. 

Many thanks

ACG

Wow. I have never seen £3,500... sorry £3,695 charged by a broker before! 

K_S

Bubblebutt9 said:

Thank you both for your advice. I did a search online and a broker called me. They said the fee was £195 before the application when in and then £3,500 upon completion! I thought that seemed really excessive. I have now found another broker (through the tips above) who will change £499 payable upon completion. So far I am very impressed with them. 

Many thanks

@Bubblebutt9 £3,500?!! If you're talking about a normal residential mortgage, I'm sure that can't be just the broker fee quoted.

Glad you found one that you're happy with. Good luck!

dunstonh

They said the fee was £195 before the application when in and then £3,500 upon completion!

!!!!!!.   That is completely unjustified.    Even if you have the credit record from hell, that fee is not justified.  

There are some brokers (less desirable types) that charge a percentage of the amount being borrowed and have no decency cap.

ACG

dunstonh said:

They said the fee was £195 before the application when in and then £3,500 upon completion!

!!!!!!.   That is completely unjustified.    Even if you have the credit record from hell, that fee is not justified.  

There are some brokers (less desirable types) that charge a percentage of the amount being borrowed and have no decency cap.

I used to work for a firm when I started out as a broker who did that - 1%. I always remember going to an appointment and saying that was our fee (they wanted a £400k mortgage), I never heard from them again (surprise surprise) and I still cringe 10 years on at how stupid I must have looked. 

tervozina

Bubblebutt9 said:

I’m looking for a mortgage advisor and I’m not sure where to start. Any tips please? How much on average are the fees? Are they paid upfront or on completion? 

Many thanks 

We had a mortgage broker previously who was not very good but did not charge anything. 

Then we changed the broker who was really great, found us a lender who could accept our circumstances within an hour after initial call when the previous one kept telling us for a month, there are no other lenders, his charge was £200 payable on completion. 

[Deleted User]

Not totally unheard of for 2nd charge or bridging but for normal 1st charge mortgage advice that is an incredible fee.   Sounds like they haven't updated business model since rinsing people on self cert mortgages in ye olden days

Bubblebutt9

dunstonh said:

They said the fee was £195 before the application when in and then £3,500 upon completion!

!!!!!!.   That is completely unjustified.    Even if you have the credit record from hell, that fee is not justified.  

There are some brokers (less desirable types) that charge a percentage of the amount being borrowed and have no decency cap.

I have no blemishes on my credit record. It’s so odd. I politely declined