advice re broker please

razra

Hi

I went to see my mortgage broker on Saturday (yesterday) and she recommended a re mortgage to the Halifax, with arrangement fees of £999 and a fixed rate of 5.99% It seemed pretty good so I said yes.
However my dad has just rung to say hes been on the Halifax website and cant see that deal although there are better ones

Now I don't pay a fee for using the broker, they get paid by the halifax. But what I want to know is how come they didn't find the better deals from the Halifax and can I say Ive changed my mind to the broker and go direct to the Halifax instead or will the broker be of more use/help to me with the re mortgage (this is the first time Ive re mortgaged so its all new)

Just to compare direct to Halifax is 5.74% at £499 arrangement fee

and through broker Halifax is 5.99 % at £999 fee

as far as I can tell both ways are free legals and survey.

It seems to add up to about £1457.40 saving over the 5 years to go direct( if my maths is right)

So although I'm not paying the broker their fee (they get £351.40 from Halifax) it seems that I am being forced to pay it by the higher % and arrangement fees. Is this common?
And will they provide any more guidance and help for me than if I went direct?

Sorry for all the q's but as I say this is the first time Ive re mortgaged and I thought by going to a broker I would get the best deal so I'm really confused now that I appear not to have done

thanks
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LillyJ

razra wrote: »

Hi

I went to see my mortgage broker on Saturday (yesterday) and she recommended a re mortgage to the Halifax, with arrangement fees of £999 and a fixed rate of 5.99% It seemed pretty good so I said yes.
However my dad has just rung to say hes been on the Halifax website and cant see that deal although there are better ones

Now I don't pay a fee for using the broker, they get paid by the halifax. But what I want to know is how come they didn't find the better deals from the Halifax and can I say Ive changed my mind to the broker and go direct to the Halifax instead or will the broker be of more use/help to me with the re mortgage (this is the first time Ive re mortgaged so its all new)

Just to compare direct to Halifax is 5.74% at £499 arrangement fee

and through broker Halifax is 5.99 % at £999 fee

as far as I can tell both ways are free legals and survey.

It seems to add up to about £1457.40 saving over the 5 years to go direct( if my maths is right)

So although I'm not paying the broker their fee (they get £351.40 from Halifax) it seems that I am being forced to pay it by the higher % and arrangement fees. Is this common?
And will they provide any more guidance and help for me than if I went direct?

Sorry for all the q's but as I say this is the first time Ive re mortgaged and I thought by going to a broker I would get the best deal so I'm really confused now that I appear not to have done

thanks

The exact same thing happened to me. The broker offered me a similar 5.99% deal, however I then found one for 5.68% (was a few weeks ago though) with the halifax with a lower fee. I asked my broker but he said his deal was a special broker only deal. In the end I went direct with the halifax who were amazingly quick and we got the offer in under 3 weeks from the initial phone call.

razra

Thankyou,

did you have any problems telling the broker that you were not going to use them? I'm just wondering if I ring them tomorrow morning and say what ive found that they will have already put the wheels in motion and I wont be able to go direct to the halifax.

NeilQuinn

Broker shouldn't have any problem with it. Not much we can do if the client finds a better deal that we can't access.

It's a bit naughty of the Halifax to be bringing these deals out though, considering that we provide them with the majority of their business.

LillyJ

razra wrote: »

Thankyou,

did you have any problems telling the broker that you were not going to use them? I'm just wondering if I ring them tomorrow morning and say what ive found that they will have already put the wheels in motion and I wont be able to go direct to the halifax.

Luckily I rang mine to ask if he could get me the same deal I had seen on the internet, but he didn't reply for 4 days, and we had had our offer accepted, so I just went direct, then when he rang explained that we couldn't wait. I am glad we didn't as rates had gone up by the time he got back to us!

cooper2110

This is an unusual occurance. Basically a couple of lenders have taken it upon themselves to bite the hand that feeds them and start undercutting some of their deals for clients that go direct. This isn't your broker's fault, just Halifax and one or two more have started to do it to try and save some money on broker proc fees in the current environment.

razra

cooper2110 wrote: »

This is an unusual occurance. Basically a couple of lenders have taken it upon themselves to bite the hand that feeds them and start undercutting some of their deals for clients that go direct. This isn't your broker's fault, just Halifax and one or two more have started to do it to try and save some money on broker proc fees in the current environment.

to be honest I think its bizzare that they pay the brokers fees but then charge the customer more for going through a broker.

If it hadn't of been for the broker I wouldn't have even looked at Halifax:o

Ok I will ring the broker tomorrow and speak to her, and then maybe see whether I do go direct to the Halifax

I know its my money etc but I feel a bit like Ive wasted her time however who knows she may still be able to match the deal

Thanks everyone

LillyJ

Well I am sorry for the broker but you have to look after yourself. You need the best deal and if she can't get if for you, then she has to understand that.

cooper2110

As above. It's unfortunate......maybe if you broker is obtaining any related insurances for you, then that will pay for their time and efforts?

LillyJ

cooper2110 wrote: »

As above. It's unfortunate......maybe if you broker is obtaining any related insurances for you, then that will pay for their time and efforts?

If it is costing more than £1000 more though, it is pretty hard to justify. It is a bit unfair by the halifax though.

cooper2110

I believe you have misunderstood so maybe I should be clearer......I mean take the deal directly from the Halifax.

If your broker arranges say life assurance (depending on your circumstances it may/may not be required), then he/she could do this for you, get paid for arranging it, and then as such you won't feel so guilty about him/her earning nothing for the work he/she has done.