Mortgage Brokers
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Nitro182

Original Poster:

115 posts

51 months

Monday 1st September
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So in the position to remortgage with 59% LTV , been offered 3.88% 5 year fixed by current lender ,

Checked Money Supermarket for rates offered by other lenders , 3.88% is very competitive so happy with that so far.

Is it worth going through a broker ? can they possibly offer a much better deal?

Also , the 59%LTV is going by the house price index (HPI) , if we were to go with a different lender would they revalue the house too? i gather the current lender would not ?

Thanks

wiggy001

6,821 posts

288 months

Monday 1st September
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A good broker should re-do the paperwork for you if the rate drops between your application and completion so for that alone they are worth it. They may also have access to offers not available on the open market.

In my recent experience the “valuation” is done using Zoopla and Google Street view rather than actually coming out to your property. I guess that would depend on how easy your property is to value (ie have similar properties sold recently?)

fat80b

2,952 posts

238 months

Monday 1st September
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I think for a simple situation (as the one described), my opinion is that there's generally little benefit to re-mortgaging through a broker.

They might be able to find a slightly better deal from a different lender but in my experience (with Santander), the broker could access exactly the same rates as I could by clicking through myself.

In Santander's case, there was no revaluation as such, I think it was all done online (we are at ~40-50% LTV)

Fastpedeller

4,062 posts

163 months

Monday 1st September
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My opinion (for what it's worth) is to explore all avenues. I always thought broker (of any profession) were middlemen who 'took their cut', and therfore how could they be cheaper than going direct. This doesn't appear to be the case (as someone has said above, they can get a good deal). An example:-
A couple of years ago our Daughter was looking to buy her first house. She works in the NHS, and was at an early stage and hadn't found a property. She was introduced to a broker who said he specialised in getting a great deal for teachers and NHS workers. His first bit of advice over the phone was "when you find the property you want offer 20k more to make sure you get it". When teh call ended, she said to us "I'm not going to trust him!". Scroll forward a few weeks and she'd found a property, and the Estate Agent introduced a Mortgage Broker. I was suspicious, however we did our own research, so knew the going rate. This guy was good - He recognised the NHS annual increase at the time had been a political bone of contention and been delayed. He agreed a deal with (one of the big 5 banks) pending the wage increase so the rate was held until Daughter received the boosted salary which helped the deal. In the meantime the rates had increased slightly, so she got a good 5 year fixed deal. This guy earnt his commission (I don't know how much), was transparent and up-front all the wa. Our Daughter got the best deal IMHO. During the facetime calls we shared, he said 'Your Parents are clued-up, it's refreshing to see"

Nitro182

Original Poster:

115 posts

51 months

Tuesday 2nd September
quotequote all
Great replies thanks a lot

I think i will phone a broker on Thursday to see what they say ! as we have some cash savings too im hoping that a broker will give good advice on if we were to pay say another 10k off the mortgage in a lump sum this would further bring down the interest rate without paying a product fee !

Sarnie

8,241 posts

226 months

Tuesday 2nd September
quotequote all
Nitro182 said:
Great replies thanks a lot

I think i will phone a broker on Thursday to see what they say ! as we have some cash savings too im hoping that a broker will give good advice on if we were to pay say another 10k off the mortgage in a lump sum this would further bring down the interest rate without paying a product fee !
You've hit the nail on the head on what you should expect from a broker "good advice".

Using a broker isn't solely about finding a cheaper rate. A good broker will have access to the whole market, so whether they can find you a cheaper rate will essentially depend on where you have been looking versus what the broker can source from. Sometimes lenders will offer special broker only rates but you are talking circa not 0.10% rather than 1% cheaper than direct rates.

Using a broker is about advice, service and taking the stress away from what for a lot of people is a daunting, stressfull process.

If you have complicated circumstances then a broker is the way forward. If they are straight forward then doing it yourself can be straight forward. Saying that, we have hundreds of clients with straight forward details but just don't have the time or inclination to do it themselves and prefer to hand it off to a broker to do the legwork for them.

Good luck!

esuuv

1,384 posts

222 months

Tuesday 2nd September
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I'd always been sceptical about brokers and what you actually gained - we used one when we bought last time and it really was useful (I was going to say worth it - but as it didn't cost anything / cause anymore work then I can't really say that)

We first spoke to him while we were looking (this bit took the longest) so he knew the situation and where we were able to go price wise. This also meant he was able to provide us an agreement in principle on the house in a couple of hours after we had seen it - which helped massively in getting our bid accepted (this was 2023)

Our situation was reasonably complicated - and he just made the whole process much more straightforward, was able to give advice on what we should / shouldn't do - was able to tell us off the record it had all been approved a few days before we got the official nod. He then re-applied to get us a lower rate while the purchase was going through - so actively saved us money. It's all very transparent in the paperwork what the mortgage company is paying the broker.

g4ry13

19,840 posts

272 months

Tuesday 2nd September
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I bought a place recently and used a broker. I often found it was me contacting the broker to let them know that I saw a lower rate deal on the market which he then went and applied for. He wasn't always aware about these new deals which popped up.

I don't think he added a great deal to the process. Although he did take care of the paperwork and sort out all the admin stuff which would have been a headache.

The rates for 5 year seemed pretty good at the time. I did weigh up going for it and he was an advocate of the 2 year mortgage. I couldn't help but feel there was an aspect of his personal benefit at play of getting 2.5x the fee from me instead of taking 1x fee for 5 years.

AyBee

10,926 posts

219 months

Tuesday 2nd September
quotequote all
I went to a broker who gave me the best rate he could find but that wasn't the best rate that I could find looking myself because the lender I went with didn't use brokers.

It's worth spending a bit of time doing some research yourself, especially if (like me) your financials are fairly straight forward. It's also relatively easy to find out where rate boundaries are if you're near one by running a couple of comparisons online and then doing the sums yourself. I was close to a boundary so prepared to put in some money, but then the computer came back with a higher valuation, so I didn't have to in the end.

TheLurker

1,513 posts

213 months

Tuesday 2nd September
quotequote all
I used a broker both times (Sarine on here, as it happens) and the main benefit for me was taking the stress away from it. Watching some of my friends struggle with the paperwork in comparison made it an absolute no brainer. Plus the rate was lower from memory. It's a stressful time buying a house anyway, so anything that can make it easier is a win IMO.

I'm looking to move house soon and wouldn't think of doing it on my own.

geeks

10,600 posts

156 months

Tuesday 2nd September
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Sarnie said:
Saying that, we have hundreds of clients with straight forward details but just don't have the time or inclination to do it themselves and prefer to hand it off to a broker to do the legwork for them.

Good luck!
and I am one of them It's just one less thing I have to worry about and deal with. Drop Sarnie a line, get deal, sign deal, move on with day, exactly what I need smile

Fastpedeller

4,062 posts

163 months

Tuesday 2nd September
quotequote all
Nitro182 said:
Great replies thanks a lot

I think i will phone a broker on Thursday to see what they say ! as we have some cash savings too im hoping that a broker will give good advice on if we were to pay say another 10k off the mortgage in a lump sum this would further bring down the interest rate without paying a product fee !
You reminded me of when I got my first Mortgage - The rate had been 'agreed' ie I was informed of it, and I was putting down 5%. It then dawned on me...... Where is the 'break point'? So I asked the question, and was told 5%. Hmm "If I put another £100 into the deposit, will I get a better rate". The answer "Yes, but it's all going through now". My response, I'll won't be progressing then. Strange how I then got the cheaper rate the same day, saving me a few hundred a year (rate was over 14% at the time). Not buying would have been a better decision in hind sight as negative equity loomed.

Panamax

6,810 posts

51 months

Tuesday 2nd September
quotequote all
My tip - use a broker.

Why? Because the banks themselves are grossly inept. The brokers only rank one millimetre away from Estate Agents in this particular category of pond life but you'll get a better result than dealing directly with the bank. It's just a game of filling in forms and ticking boxes in a big world of "computer says".

supersport

4,480 posts

244 months

Wednesday 3rd September
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geeks said:
Sarnie said:
Saying that, we have hundreds of clients with straight forward details but just don't have the time or inclination to do it themselves and prefer to hand it off to a broker to do the legwork for them.

Good luck!
and I am one of them It's just one less thing I have to worry about and deal with. Drop Sarnie a line, get deal, sign deal, move on with day, exactly what I need smile
Another happy customer. It made it pretty effortless and meant I didn’t have to go chasing or working things out. I said what I wanted and Sarnie presented some options and then sorted it out.

the-norseman

14,541 posts

188 months

Wednesday 3rd September
quotequote all
When I moved in 2020 I spoke to several banks and this time the bank I have all my accounts with offered me the best deal.

I popped into the estate agents selling my house and the sales guy said go have a chat with our broker, initially I was like nah its ok, but I gave in and went to see him. Really glad I did in the end, he got my an even lower rate for longer term.

mikey_b

2,362 posts

62 months

Wednesday 3rd September
quotequote all
Nitro182 said:
So in the position to remortgage with 59% LTV , been offered 3.88% 5 year fixed by current lender ,

Checked Money Supermarket for rates offered by other lenders , 3.88% is very competitive so happy with that so far.

Is it worth going through a broker ? can they possibly offer a much better deal?

Also , the 59%LTV is going by the house price index (HPI) , if we were to go with a different lender would they revalue the house too? i gather the current lender would not ?

Thanks
Dare I ask which lender that is with? I am looking for a new deal with only a 25% LTV, and only about 1.5% salary multiple. Hopefully most lenders would look upon that pretty favourably.

Nitro182

Original Poster:

115 posts

51 months

mikey_b said:
Dare I ask which lender that is with? I am looking for a new deal with only a 25% LTV, and only about 1.5% salary multiple. Hopefully most lenders would look upon that pretty favourably.
Hi Mikey

Lender is with NatWest , actually took 3.83% 5 year fixed , went through a broker in the end who said the rate offered by our current lender is unbeatable really.

Was good too as we didnt pay them anything as they earn commission from the bank.

also had an email on Monday from the broker and they said we timed it perfectly as rates were going back up on the 10th sept.

alfabeat

1,337 posts

129 months

Yesterday (16:35)
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My mortgage provider (Scottish Widows) wouldn't deal with me direct when I wanted to remortgage. Had to use a broker. I'm not sure how common this is?

Used Sarnie, and it was a very easy process. Highly recommend him!!

borcy

8,118 posts

73 months

Yesterday (18:24)
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I think the coop only deal with brokers now.