This post is just generically speaking it is not specifically related to adverse credit, but after some recent conversations with customers I thought it would be useful to explore the question, ‘Why use a specialist Mortgage Broker?‘
What is a Specialist Mortgage Broker?
Mortgage brokers come in all shapes and sizes like anything else. You have good brokers, bad ones, you have some who are like a Jack of all trades but a master of none and you have people who specialise in specific types of customers or parts of the market.
What can we specialise in?
We specialise in Bad Credit mortgages, that is generally what we are known for. But there are brokers who specialise in other parts of the market such as:
- Commercial Mortgages,
- Equity Release,
- New Build homes,
- Shared Ownership Mortgages.
As well as specialising in certain types of Mortgages there are also brokers who specialise in certain types of customers, which could be:
- Teachers,
- Doctors,
- Sports people,
- People with Bad Credit.
Sometimes these can overlap and you may have a Doctor with bad credit…which do you go to then?!
There is not really a set answer and there is nothing to say you need a specialist broker for either of those.
There are Mortgage brokers out there who do not specialise who may be perfectly capable of placing your application. If the Doctor is employed and on a set wage and the bad credit is a default from 5 years ago for example, I would expect any decent broker to be able to place it.
How does a specialist differ?
This was the part of the post that made me think it would make a good article. As a specialist in bad credit we have access to products and criteria that other brokers do not have. We also know which lenders are open to adverse and when the rules can be bent to get a case through.
I also know of other brokers who have specialist products and criteria for new build properties that we do not have access to for example. So while most brokers say they are whole of market and have access to 50-80 lenders, that does not mean we are all equal.
You may have seen some of our Success Stories where customers have been other brokers and been told they are unable to get a Mortgage and this is where a specialist can come in to their own. Some good examples here:
- Lady told to come back in 6 months – we placed it straight away.
- Broker told them a joint application not possible – we did it.
- Previous broker had 4 declined applications – we placed it first time.
There are other good examples here.
I cant speak for other specialists but the way we work is that we have the criteria of maybe 10 specialist lenders in our head as it is something we do every day. When we are talking through your circumstances on the phone or email, we are already narrowing down that list and within 5-10 minutes we will probably already have a decent idea of what your likely options will look like.
Ask us about Shared Ownership products and we would have to go off and do the research like any other broker, equity release? We would not have a clue – Bad Credit? Now your talking. We know our part of the market better than most, but in contrast we know other parts of the market less than a specialist in that area or even a jack of all trades.
Specialist Mortgage broker Overview
So, why use a specialist Mortgage Broker?
This is not a post aimed at blowing our own trumpet, it is just to explain that a specialist in their perspective field is going to be far better in that part of the market than a generalist. You would not want brain surgery from a heart surgeon for example (not that I am comparing a Mortgage broker to a surgeon).
It is not to say we are any better or worse than any other broker, but I would like to think if you came to us with bad credit we would do a better job than 99% of other brokers out there. That is not limited to finding the deal, but I would like to think we would also “package” your application better than a non specialist as we can normally pre-empt what the specialist lenders underwriters will likely ask for.
If you are employed, no credit issues and buying a home without any special schemes, we can help and we would do a good job, but we would probably be on par with any other good broker out there – we would just try to have a laugh and joke along the way rather than treating you as a number. We know it can be a stressful time buying a new home so we try to make it enjoyable, but bad credit and I think that is where we would shine.
Why use a specialist Mortgage Broker?
As the term specialist applies, we are a specialist in bad credit and complex cases and because we specialise we have the resources, the relationships with bad credit and complex case lenders and we have the experience of getting results.
A specialist in anything usually ensures a far greater chance of success and with mortgages, this is no different.