Have I made a mistake going through a broker

Jordanparly92

As with a lot of people at the moment I have been worried about my mortgage payments 

I initially got my mortgage direct from my bank afterwards seen so many articles videos etc online regarding how brokers have access to exclusive deals and can save a lot of money in long run

my fix is up next year so I’ve been looking at renewing the deal the broker came up with was widely available on the nationwide website 

My bank have actually offered me the exact same deal and wouldn’t require the conveyancer

I’ve essentially paid the broker 399 and nationwide will be paying 250 for a deal that was widely available on comparison websites and That could have been beaten slightly by my current lender 

I thought all of this would have been taken into consideration and this was the point of a broker is to give me guidance 
 

Craig_1988

Any middle man is there to make money and will inevitably make what you're buying more expensive, IMO. On the 3 occasions I have morgaged/remortgaged I have spoken to a (free consultation) broker and have been able to find the same or better myself.

I guess they are handy if you're in a scenario that isn't straightforward as they can help with knowing lenders affordability criteria etc.

Jordanparly92

All down to life experience I suppose the broker fee has been paid and interest rate has been secured that’s the main thing I was looking for

the broker is there to generate a profit I just didn’t realise I could do the same thing via Google search haha

 

ACG

The broker should really have looked at what was available with your current lender and compared it to what was available elsewhere. Usually we find that if you switch lenders you save a few quid, but most people dont want the mither. 

Who is your original lender? Some lenders brokers do not have access to (typically First direct, possibly HSBC and TSB). 

A broker is not really there purely to save you money. Yes, in an ideal world that is the aim, but it is also to take the stress away and deal with most of it for you. 

dunstonh

Have I made a mistake going through a broker

No.   

I’ve essentially paid the broker 399 and nationwide will be paying 250 for a deal that was widely available on comparison websites and That could have been beaten slightly by my current lender 

Sometimes it just happens that the best deal is available direct.   

Very generally.....When lenders have capacity at the underwriting/processing centres but not in the branches, they tend to offer better deals to brokers.  When lenders have capacity in the branches, they tend to equalise the deals.

I thought all of this would have been taken into consideration and this was the point of a broker is to give me guidance 

The point of the broker is to give you advice.   You paid for advice and you got the advice.

Jordanparly92

ACG said:

The broker should really have looked at what was available with your current lender and compared it to what was available elsewhere. Usually we find that if you switch lenders you save a few quid, but most people dont want the mither. 

Who is your original lender? Some lenders brokers do not have access to (typically First direct, possibly HSBC and TSB). 

A broker is not really there purely to save you money. Yes, in an ideal world that is the aim, but it is also to take the stress away and deal with most of it for you. 

Lloyds is my current lender 

Jordanparly92

dunstonh said:

Have I made a mistake going through a broker

No.   

I’ve essentially paid the broker 399 and nationwide will be paying 250 for a deal that was widely available on comparison websites and That could have been beaten slightly by my current lender 

Sometimes it just happens that the best deal is available direct.   

Very generally.....When lenders have capacity at the underwriting/processing centres but not in the branches, they tend to offer better deals to brokers.  When lenders have capacity in the branches, they tend to equalise the deals.

I thought all of this would have been taken into consideration and this was the point of a broker is to give me guidance 

The point of the broker is to give you advice.   You paid for advice and you got the advice.

Thanks I understand your point I suppose I was expecting a more personalised response I got the advice I was looking for as pointed out on a previous post I would have liked the rates to have been compared to what was on offer with my current lender 

I got the peace of mind i was looking for 

biscan25

The whole broker involvement confuses me. They don't have access to all open market rates, yet they have better exclusive deals for some lenders. I guess you kind of have to use both. See what they can get you, then use a comparison site, or the other way around.

I wanted to remortgage in June, as my fix was ending. I was reluctant to move provider as I was a contractor, and only had been contracting 6 months, so needed a lender which does no underwriting.
Offered 2.73% for 5 years direct with NatWest.
I thought it would be 2.68% as I found the rate on here https://www.intermediary.natwest.com/intermediary-solutions/products.html
So I called them up and they said those rates are for brokers only. I said won't you match it, instead of having to pay commission on top. They said no.
Call to broker (L&C) to see if they can beat it substantially on the open market. They couldn't, but was duly offered 2.68% with NatWest. All sorted the next day, and excellent service from the broker.

TheBanker

biscan25 said:

The whole broker involvement confuses me. They don't have access to all open market rates, yet they have better exclusive deals for some lenders. I guess you kind of have to use both. See what they can get you, then use a comparison site, or the other way around.

I wanted to remortgage in June, as my fix was ending. I was reluctant to move provider as I was a contractor, and only had been contracting 6 months, so needed a lender which does no underwriting.
Offered 2.73% for 5 years direct with NatWest.
I thought it would be 2.68% as I found the rate on here https://www.intermediary.natwest.com/intermediary-solutions/products.html
So I called them up and they said those rates are for brokers only. I said won't you match it, instead of having to pay commission on top. They said no.
Call to broker (L&C) to see if they can beat it substantially on the open market. They couldn't, but was duly offered 2.68% with NatWest. All sorted the next day, and excellent service from the broker.

I work for a lender, although it's a few years now since I've had much involvement in the mortgage part of the business. My understanding is that the business prefers broker applications due to lower processing costs; the broker does part of the work meaning fewer staff are needed at the lender, and broker applications are more likely to meet the lender's criteria, meaning less staff time is wasted dealing with applications which are going to be declined, less time wasted chasing up missing/incorrectly submitted documentation, etc.

Even though I work for a lender, and am financially savvy, I used a broker and ended up with a mortgage that cost me less than if I'd gone direct, and was less hassle since I had someone else doing a lot of the work for me. 

kingstreet

TheBanker said:

biscan25 said:

The whole broker involvement confuses me. They don't have access to all open market rates, yet they have better exclusive deals for some lenders. I guess you kind of have to use both. See what they can get you, then use a comparison site, or the other way around.

I wanted to remortgage in June, as my fix was ending. I was reluctant to move provider as I was a contractor, and only had been contracting 6 months, so needed a lender which does no underwriting.
Offered 2.73% for 5 years direct with NatWest.
I thought it would be 2.68% as I found the rate on here https://www.intermediary.natwest.com/intermediary-solutions/products.html
So I called them up and they said those rates are for brokers only. I said won't you match it, instead of having to pay commission on top. They said no.
Call to broker (L&C) to see if they can beat it substantially on the open market. They couldn't, but was duly offered 2.68% with NatWest. All sorted the next day, and excellent service from the broker.

I work for a lender, although it's a few years now since I've had much involvement in the mortgage part of the business. My understanding is that the business prefers broker applications due to lower processing costs; the broker does part of the work meaning fewer staff are needed at the lender, and broker applications are more likely to meet the lender's criteria, meaning less staff time is wasted dealing with applications which are going to be declined, less time wasted chasing up missing/incorrectly submitted documentation, etc.

Even though I work for a lender, and am financially savvy, I used a broker and ended up with a mortgage that cost me less than if I'd gone direct, and was less hassle since I had someone else doing a lot of the work for me. 

We also hold liability for the advice which many lenders are happy to avoid.

Jordanparly92

I have a new question please I have a payment due on my mortgage on the 30th

we have applied for 66,300 taking into consideration another month of interest will be added before the balance transfer I assume the amount owed will be around 64,948

600 is going towards an exit fee for my current deal leaves around 700 spare will I get this to put towards the first payment to the new lender as my DIP indicates this is going to be quite high