apfront payments to a mortgage broker/adviser

justme111

Not that I'm about to buy a house( I wish) , just wanted to know your thoughts.
What if I pay and then I'm not offred a mortgage deal I'd like? If I found a deal better elsewhere or by DIY search? I'd feel very bitter for money paid. Any advise on how to avoid such a situation?

dunstonh

Any advise on how to avoid such a situation?

Dont chose an adviser that charges up front.

justme111

dunstonh wrote: »

Dont chose an adviser that charges up front.

Thank you - how could I overlook this brilliant option!:D
The issue is I do not mind paying for service and from this board I made a conclusion a fare bit of them charge upfront to avoid waisting their time on timewasters. But thanks anyway, your reply meens there is no magic trick and the one should never go for upfront charges, otherwise a dissappointment could ruin my life

homer_j_3

What size of fee are you talking about? Is this fee refundable under any circumstances?

I have decided to start charging a fee now to my new clients for the work I do up front and I provide a full refund when the mortgage completes or if I cannot help them.

What I do not do is work several hours for free incurring postage and telephone costs just to provide a quote that will be compared with several other quotes.

This is not self promotion but just to try and explain that there are reasons why brokers are doing this.

I appreciate that this will not sit right with some clients but I take a quality not quantity approach. Having less time wasters means that I have more time to focus on people that want to do business and want a good service. And its still fee free in the long run.

If you do not want to pay this fee there are plenty of brokers that will do the initial research for free.

On a general note, I was talking to my compliance team today, they are seeing an increase in brokers changing to this type of approach to doing business

justme111

homer_j wrote: »

This is not self promotion but just to try and explain that there are reasons why brokers are doing this.

you do not need to try to justify this replying to me - I perfectly understand your reasons. You do not seem to understand what I was asking. What if a client of yours found a better deal elswhere? What if a broker offers no good deals? I'd feel bad I have paid for a service already. Any suggestions how to avoid this situation?

TwelfthMan

justme111 wrote: »

I'd feel bad I have paid for a service already.

Correct me if I'm wrong but by this stage, you have received a service from the broker already??

By the time you have received their recommendation, they will have spent a number of hours completing a factfind and sourcing the most suitable mortgage product for your needs.

dwsjarcmcd

You could do your DIY search first then go to a broker and see if they can beat the deal you have found for yourself.

Retired_I.F.A.

Unless you have half a dozen ccj's married to a 3 times made bankrupt and have crinimal charges for fraud pending why bother with a mortgage broker anyways?

InMyDreams

dwsjarcmcd wrote: »

You could do your DIY search first then go to a broker and see if they can beat the deal you have found for yourself.

Yep, that's what I did. And when I approached the brokers, I said straight up that's that what I had found. One got back to me and admitted they couldn't do better, listing the best quotes they could find, one never bothered.

I guess the difficult thing is doing the research when you have issues that might make getting a mortgage more difficult (eg self employment, poor credit, high LTV, wanting high multiples, or simply being confused by the whole process). You can't tell from best-buy tables which are likely to accept your business.

I'll have egg on my face if I get rejected for the mortgage I'm after, but I'm happy to take that risk this time (4th re/mortgage) and take full responsibility for cocking it all up.

dunstonh

I know a few mortgage advisers that charge a fee from the offset to put off timewasters. If they proceed with the mortgage, they rebate any commission the lender pays.

My mortgage adviser doesnt make any charges at the moment. We have discussed it but Norfolk (rural) is a bit different to say an urban location. We still have loyalty out here on the whole and many clients bake you cakes or biscuits when you go see them and you get runner beans, tomatoes, jam or honey etc given to you when you leave. They wouldnt dream of shopping around so there isnt a requirement to charge.

wardlaw

You dont need to pay any broker fees up front

If you are requested to do so, they are not very professional

Stick clear of them, like a jobby

The majority of ethical mortgage brokers would never charge an up front fee

Contact a independent broker who only charges fees as and when the loan is offered and certainly not before

John