I am in the process of looking for a house and I decided that I would try to get an agreement in principle from a mortgage lender.
I decided that I would use a mortgage broker to save some time and contacted one at an estate agent that a friend of mine used several years back.
I had done some background research on MoneySupermarket.com and found a tracker product that offer 1.79% above base rate for 2 years and then 2% above base rate. That was the best offer I could find.
When I spoke with the broker he told me that he was whole of market and that he did receive different commissions from different lenders but that the difference was negligible.
Anyway, he suggested a couple of product that were 2.3% and 2.4% above base rate. I pointed out that I had found the other product and he said that he would look into it, but that he had not seen it originally because their system filters out product that are "stepped" (i.e. an initial rate then a later rate).
Today he called me and told me that the product I had found was no longer available and so it would need to be one of the other products. I was a bit suspicious and when I got off the phone called the lender in question, who told me that the product was definitely still available.
Can't say that I am impressed. I wouldn't mind that they tried to sell me a product that gave them a better commission, but when I had specifically pointed out a product to them, it seems a bit much for them to tell me that it doesn't exist.
Anyway, I am pleased that I checked. Just wondered if anybody else had had a similar experience.
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Yes, I had a similar experience when remortgaging a couple of years ago. I went to London & Country (brokers), who couldn't offer me anything as good as the deal I found on my own through Furness Building Society. They actually told me they'd never even heard of that building society and thanked me for pointing them out to them.
Needless to say I set it all up with Furness on my ownesome, and stuck with them when I moved house last year. Brilliant little society, and a very personal service from them. I like them very much.
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I've never used a mortgage broker, and Steel Sparks story just reminds me why.
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>>I've never used a mortgage broker, and Steel Sparks story just reminds me why.
Likewise. Although when we bought the house we are living in now, I did see what a local broker could come up with by way of comparison. When he suggested an endowment mortgage I made my excuses and left.
Turned out to be the right decision.
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I'd report the beggars to the fsa for that! Didn't realise the swear filter took out the entire paragraph either. That isn't very helpful!! Only defence they could have is that it was only now available as a direct deal not via a broker. Unlikely though.
Also check out what fees and other restrictions there are on the deal as you might find that one with a higher rate will cost you less if the first one has high fees. Also beware of ones with hanging over lock in periods ie it is 2 years for the fix then you are still locked in with high exit fees after that fix period is over.
I'd also make sure you meet all the lending criteria for the lender as they're still not happy about lending money to people and will make you jump through hoops. Also make sure you have a second lender in place if the first suddenly decides to pull the plug!
Good luck with finding somewhere you like :-)
Last edited by: teabelly on Wed 5 May 10 at 18:06
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the only time you use a mortgage broker is when you cant get the required size of loan.
Otherwise, why pay some other blokes wages for your mortgage, when you can do the job yourself.
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A good broker can save you time and money as sometimes there are special deals around which aren't available direct and from smaller lenders which you may not find out about even from a thorough googling.
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Conversely a lot of lenders have deals that are not available via brokers now. A bit like Direct Line not being on comparison websites I suppose.
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Many thanks for all the advice Teabelly, very much appreciated. Will do everything you suggest and it might save me some money and some headaches.
Thanks again.
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Mortgage broker - Alanovich
