Broker or no broker?

housebuyer143

I am applying for a mortgage and normally do it myself, but a broker told me he would do it for me, no cost to me.

Is it better to use a broker or does it not matter. Its a standard case where I meet all the criteria and already have a DIP I did directly with the lender.

andyf1980

Personally we have always used a broker (not always the same one). Even with a simple case it has just seemed easier getting a broker to the legwork. 

ACG

It sounds like it makes no odds. 
I am guessing either your mortgage is pretty big and there is a decent amount of commission or they are a new broker or a bit quiet so happy to get a few extra beer tokens in. Its hard getting going so you might be helping to support a small local business which might give you the warm fuzzy feeling? 

housebuyer143

ACG said:

It sounds like it makes no odds. 
I am guessing either your mortgage is pretty big and there is a decent amount of commission or they are a new broker or a bit quiet so happy to get a few extra beer tokens in. Its hard getting going so you might be helping to support a small local business which might give you the warm fuzzy feeling? 

It's more the big commission I think 😆😆 he couldn't find me a lender but when I told him who I had found he offered to help as well... the money. 
Just wondering if brokers have more pull maybe with the lender, or does it really make 0 difference? 

ACG

In some situations, a broker can help make the difference. I am sure all brokers have examples like this, but I had a client who on paper did not fit with normal lenders, but the case was a good one. We got our account manager involved to make an exception and the customer was about £150 a month better off and about £1500 in fees. The customer would not have got that by going direct. 

But if you are straight forward it is unlikely to make much difference in your chances of acceptance and arguably if you can find a lender that the broker cant, you have to wonder how much time they have or how much experience. In either case, I think I would prefer to go direct as I cant see that particular broker adding a lot. 

housebuyer143

ACG said:

In some situations, a broker can help make the difference. I am sure all brokers have examples like this, but I had a client who on paper did not fit with normal lenders, but the case was a good one. We got our account manager involved to make an exception and the customer was about £150 a month better off and about £1500 in fees. The customer would not have got that by going direct. 

But if you are straight forward it is unlikely to make much difference in your chances of acceptance and arguably if you can find a lender that the broker cant, you have to wonder how much time they have or how much experience. In either case, I think I would prefer to go direct as I cant see that particular broker adding a lot. 

Thank you. Maybe that was the little nagging feeling I had at the back of my mind. How good is he if he couldn't even find this lender. 
Reckon he should split the fee with me as I did half the work 😆

getmore4less

Lenders commission rates.

Some have them on the intermediary sites 
Give you an idea of what's in it for them.

RelievedSheff

It depends on the situation.

We did our own remortgage last time and it really wasn't that difficult or time consuming. But we had a relatively straight forward case other than a 5.5 year old satisfied CCJ. We had the mortgage offer back in 3 days.

We have another 4 years to run on our current fixed rate but will probably do our own application again next time. In theory the next one should be even more straight forward with no adverse credit, a very low LTV and a short mortgage term.

ACG

housebuyer143 said:

ACG said:

In some situations, a broker can help make the difference. I am sure all brokers have examples like this, but I had a client who on paper did not fit with normal lenders, but the case was a good one. We got our account manager involved to make an exception and the customer was about £150 a month better off and about £1500 in fees. The customer would not have got that by going direct. 

But if you are straight forward it is unlikely to make much difference in your chances of acceptance and arguably if you can find a lender that the broker cant, you have to wonder how much time they have or how much experience. In either case, I think I would prefer to go direct as I cant see that particular broker adding a lot. 

Thank you. Maybe that was the little nagging feeling I had at the back of my mind. How good is he if he couldn't even find this lender. 
Reckon he should split the fee with me as I did half the work 😆

Thats the sort of worrying bit. The research is actually the quickest part of the job unless you are buying a house with an annex with one years accounts, a default, foreign income and partridge in a pear tree. 

[Deleted User]

getmore4less said:

Lenders commission rates.

Some have them on the intermediary sites 
Give you an idea of what's in it for them.

it will be printed on the illustration given as part of the recommendation.   Usually around 0.35% of the loan amount