Question - Should Mortgage Brokers continue to support this Forum ??

mortgagemark_2

Hi,

As a fairly new memer of this forum and an all round nice bloke - I get a buzz out of helping people in my job as a professional mortgage broker.

I do feel know that there is so much unrest in the Broker community regarding the way people are being encouraged to "use" our professional services (thank you Mr Lewis !!) but go out of their way to ensure we do not get paid for our work !!

Why should brokers go out of their way to help people on this forum if so many people are looking to slate our community and the services we provide ?

The most recent post about brokers/lenders "mis-selling" mortgage for 2/3 year fixed rates is an absolute joke !!

I for one would like to hear your thoughts on this as it wouldn't surpise me if more and more brokers leave this forum and concentrate on people who actually value our services.

And NO this is not a post to try and get leads as the majority of people who visit this forum and click on Mr Lewis's links to his "recommended sites" are paying Mr Lewis % commission and also become "leads" themselves !! so if i wanted them I could buy them.

Comments anyone ?

minimike2

I just ignore it mate.

Ive only been here a short while but have gained some satisfaction from helping people out. Yeah theres loads of anti broker people, but equally theres people that are grateful for some professional adivce.

It does annoy me and I agree that people on here go out of thier way to try and use a broker for advice and then deal direct, or not pay for the service etc, but you come across people like this every now and then, just the sheer nature of this forum means a higher concentration of these types on here.

That said, overall, I find it to be a place I can help some people out and give some good input purely for the personal satisfaction. Just ignore the idiots mate.

Guy_Montag

In a way it is kinda fair enough that people using a money saving website are looking to avoid unnecessary costs. On t'other hand you also have a good point that it's your livelihood & you need to protect that.

IMHO this is one of the most professional parts of the forum - in terms of having so many professionals involved. People who really know their stuff, rather than just a bunch of amateurs giving their opinions. It would be a shame to lose that.

poppy10_2

mortgagemark
MoneySaving Newbie
Join Date: Jan 2008
Post Count: 18

Oh god, please don't leave us, mortgagemark. I don't know how this forum would function without your prolific input.:eek:

minimike2

Guy_Montag wrote: »

In a way it is kinda fair enough that people using a money saving website are looking to avoid unnecessary costs./quote]


Thing is, what some dont realise, is that sometimes paying say £250 for a broker, could save £1000 in the long run.

robertjonesuk

i believe mt advisers/brokers should continue giving their advice here as it is really helpful.

my problem with brokers is that as an employee of one of the mtg lenders i get plenty of complaints about mortgages taken thru a mtg broker that were not explained fully.

from my experience i found that brokers are good at finding the cheapest deal, however they do not always explain how the mtg works (e.g. offset, extra borrowing etc.)

i am not saying this is the case with you guys here, but it does happen.

Conrad

Mortgage Mark

I welcome critiscism and indeed I join it as there are a great many poor brokers, I meet them all the time and the ignorance never fails to astound me.

I had debates on here with other brokers in last 2 years saying how 2 year deals could leave them open to litigation.
Of course it can be deemed poor advice when you consider the double interim interest payable and fees due each time you remo. It renders much if not all of the lower monthly costs pointless.

A thinking broker will have worked this out for themselves years ago.

We really can be sheeple as a crowd. I vivudly recall arguing endowments were poor advice 15 years ago in conferneces and as ever I was a lone voice. Its this group - think you get with brokers that I would question.

We ought to be mature enough to form our own opinions and not be afraid to stick our necks out.

Another argument I've had with brokers is them advertising thier 'free service' without putting THE SAME emphasis on the fact they are very keen to arrange life assurance.
Brokers selling critical illness cover will merrily re - broke a policy paying no regard to the exact wording of the claim criteria of the old and new policy, DESPITE THE FACT CRITICAL ILLNESS DEFINITIONS ARE NOW MUCH TIGHTER, so the client will find it harder to claim.

Its this kind of unthinking robot like submission to group think that does the industry a disservice.

Lets be honest, the intellectual standard of many brokers is pretty poor. Many have no knowledge of economics or the political landscape yet they then claim to be PROFESSIONAL ADVISERS. How the f)ck can you give advice when you are'nt keeping an eye on the financial landscape?

I was telling my clients not to buy to let 2 years ago - I bet 99% of brokers were'nt, yet it was obvious a correction was imminent - had you bothered to follow the economic landscape and again not allowed yourself to be mesmorised by idiotic group think.

In the last crash I recall many broker competitors of mine went out of business. Its a natural culling and removal of the deadest wood. The same is happening right now - good.

I welcome the sharp edge of critiscism - it helps me improve.

Conrad

minimike2 wrote: »

I just ignore it mate.

The first rule of business is listen to your customers (to include potential customers).

History is littered with the relics of business's that thought they knew otherwise...............

tailoredmortgageman

Weird - I can honestly say that I couldn't tell you which side of the discussion you supported!
Martin Lewis is supporting incorrect advice and being paid for the priviledge.

Dan_Collins_2

Conrad I get your point and agree with it, mostly anyway.

Whatever you do in life people will have opinions against or for you. I dont mind criticism it makes us think about what and how we do things.

As in any line of business there are good and bad and very bad brokers! We have had calls from a broker who wanted to join us, they started using us as an info base and some of the questions she was asking made us think twice before letting them join!

I think in the main we are supported on this site, and people are happy and glad for our advice. You will always get people knocking us, we make money out of them. I must admit I dont agree with the 2 year fix thing, however I must admit, and I am being honest I do not just try to arrange the cheapest deal to make sure I beat the rest! I win on service and good advice.

There are some brokers who will just quote the best rate and lean towards the lowest monthly payment rather than what the client wants.

I also do not sell life or cic. If it is needed, wanted or warrented and good advice then yeah I will arrange it.

maveli

My boss once said "Advising is the second oldest profession and it got many similarities with the oldest profession."