We take a realistic approach on this. If you are straight forward, comfortable speaking to estate agents and underwriters and have a decent understanding of Mortgages, why would you use a broker?
There are a few reasons why you may want to use a Mortgage Broker even if you think at firs that you may not necessarily need one.
What can a Mortgage Broker do?
- At Mortgage Success we have access to over 80 lenders at the last count. This means if you don’t fit the lending criteria with the banks on the high street, we have plenty of other options to look at. No matter what complications we need to overcome.
- Whilst we do not see ourselves as a price comparison service, part of our job as a broker is to find you the best deal possible. That may be cost, (such as interest rates). But it may be something else such as speed. Speed can make all the difference to some sellers, particularly for completion were there is pressure from a chain. As such, for some people, getting a Mortgage quicker is more important than the overall cost (within reason).
- We “package” your application up to give it the best chance of getting through without any delays.
What does that mean?
A simple example is that not every lender will ask for a reason as to why you have a Default and bad credit as a result. For some lenders, providing that information upfront may cause delays. For other lenders, not providing it upfront may cause delays. No two lenders are the same so it pays to be in the know. Whilst it will not usually alter the outcome of an application, it can help to speed things up from 2-7 days on average.
Another example is that we can sometimes get cases agreed that do not necessarily fit the lenders criteria. The last one of these we had was someone who was self employed and had been for 1 year. The lender we applied to needed 2 years accounts. However, with an explanation and some discussion upfront we were able to save the customer over 2% on the rates he was eligible for compared to what he actually managed to get. - We keep the Estate agent up to date with your application. That means they will not be chasing you for updates and instead, we take that little job away from you making the process that bit less stressful.
- We speak to the underwriters. This can be stressful as you do not want to say something that may compromise your application. But at the same time you want to be open so that problems do not arise further down the line. As a broker we are on your side, and in your corner so to speak. We deal with the lender for you and throughout the application.
- We hold your hand (figuratively speaking). We do this daily, we know you will be a little stressed and have a million and one questions throughout. We are there for you to ask and advise you on what to expect and when, we can also help to advise you on what sort of time frames we will be working to as every lender is different.
- A broker can save you time. Some lenders if you go direct to, will want a 2-3 hour meeting with you. We can send you the paperwork to complete at your leisure or complete it face to face or over the phone with us. Generally speaking this takes around 45-60 minutes. Add in a 10-15 minute follow up phone call and we may take up far less of your time. When you factor in that we can reach all the lenders, not just one, the efficiency speaks for itself.
- Some products and/or lenders can only be accessed via a Mortgage broker. If you need one of those specialist lending products then it means you are forced to use a broker rather than it being a choice. In such circumstances hopefully we can help to add some extra value into the process rather than you only using us because you have to.
Should you use a Mortgage broker?
Well, as mentioned initially we are not for everyone and there have been times where we have told the customer they would be fine going direct to their lender of choice. But as per the list above, there are reasons why you may need to use a broker.
For example the product/lender needed only being available via a broker or by choice – because it saves you time and/or money or it helps offer some reassurance you will be accepted for a Mortgage.
or example the product/lender needed only being available via a broker or by choice – because it saves you time and/or money or it helps offer some reassurance you will be accepted for a Mortgage.
The key point to remember is that as a whole of market broker we can source the entire market for you and we are not tied to, or affiliated with any lender so we act in the interests of our clients, i.e. you.
If in doubt, lets have a chat.
We will never say you need a Mortgage broker if you do not. We will happily discuss your options and if you are debating going direct and want to know our thoughts on it, we will give you an honest answer as to whether or not we think you will need a Broker.