Mortgage Broker

A mortgage broker is the person who acts on your behalf to arrange a mortgage between you and a lender.

A good mortgage broker provides a personal service, getting to know you, and your personal circumstances, to match you to the best lender to meet your mortgage requirements.

An Independent and Whole of Market mortgage broker can search over 100 lenders to find the best mortgage deal available to you.

The cost for using a mortgage broker can vary from £0 to £1,000 but they usually sit somewhere in the middle. It sometimes depends on how complex your circumstances are.

When choosing a Mortgage Broker, it is useful to visit a review site to check out their past client reviews. An efficient, trusted broker, who works hard for you will always be a good investment.

When completing some research into Mortgage brokers in your area or meeting with a mortgage broker for the first time, it is important to find out their fee charging structure. All mortgage brokers charge their fees differently but will usually be in one of the following ways:

Some mortgage brokers charge a fixed fee, e.g., £495 for completing your mortgage application. They may have a tiered charging structure for example £495 for a standard residential application, £995 if your application is particularly complex or high risk, for example Specialist lending i.e., bridging loans, foreign currency mortgages, adverse credit Mortgages.

Some Mortgage Brokers, particularly large Nationwide firms can complete a mortgage application fee free as they receive a commission from the lender. It is important that you meet with your broker, so you can understand how they will prioritise your application and still offer a personalised service. You want to ensure that you feel confident that your mortgage broker can efficiently process your application and keep you updated throughout.

Some mortgage brokers charge a percentage of the mortgage you are taking out. For example, if you need a £200,000 mortgage, and their fee is 1%, you will have to pay a £2,000 charge.

Some mortgage brokers may charge a fixed fee of £495 for example, and also receive a small commission from the lender. It is important that the mortgage broker you choose, is upfront and transparent about their fee charging structure and will always disclose to you if they receive a commission on top of any fee that they charge you.

There are a lot of Mortgage Brokers out there and it’s important to find the broker that is best for you.

Make sure you use a mortgage broker who is on the FCA Financial Services Register.

Past client reviews and family and friend referrals are a good place to start. It is so important to check past client reviews to ensure that they have provided an excellent service to previous clients and have a good reputation.

Ask friends and family members if they have used a good mortgage broker in the past that they would recommend.

Most importantly, speak with your selected mortgage broker to check that you feel confident in the service they can provide you.

A good mortgage broker should offer to meet with you either face to face, via phone call, video call or even conversations via email if this is more suitable to you.

An Independent and ‘Whole of Market ‘Mortgage Broker can search over 100 lenders to find the best mortgage deal for your circumstances. If you decide to go directly to your bank for a mortgage, they can only provide you with one option. A Mortgage broker can provide several options and work together with you to tailor their mortgage recommendation to the final selected mortgage deal that perfectly meets your circumstances.

A good mortgage broker will endeavour to ensure that the mortgage process is completed as smoothly and efficiently as possible.