What is a mortgage broker
A mortgage broker represents individuals or companies looking to broker mortgage loans. The job of a mortgage broker is to identify banks or direct lenders that would make the actual loan an individual seeks. With a mortgage broker in Bell-Green, you’ll have an easier time procuring the mortgage loan you need at the best possible terms. The right broker will also improve your chances of getting a mortgage, even if you have a poor credit score or are subject to any other circumstances that could complicate your mortgage application.
There are regulations in place to guide professional mortgage brokers and make sure they adhere to banking and finance laws in the jurisdiction of customers, so you can be sure you’re in good hands.
What Is A Mortgage?
A mortgage is in effect a loan. As opposed to personal loans, a mortgage is tied to a piece of property, acting as a security against the loan. The property can be rightfully taken from you (repossession) by your mortgage provider if you do not make payments on time.
While shorter or longer terms are available, mortgages are usually set for a 25-year period. As soon as you borrow the money, a plan for repayment is implemented. While there are various mortgage options, the most popular one requires a monthly capital repayment plan.
As well as paying back the money you initially borrowed (the ‘capital’), you’ll also be charged interest on that sum. A mortgage is a debt instrument that is acquired using the collateral of a particular property that the loanee must repay in predetermined amounts. Large properties can be bought by individuals and businesses via a mortgage facility, whereby they don’t have to pay the entire cost immediately. The property can be owned by the borrower without a mortgage after the loan plus interest are repaid by them over a period of time. If the borrower defaults in making mortgage payments, the property on which the mortgage is secured can be repossessed by the lender.
The property can be repossessed by the lender if the home buyer fails to make mortgage payments, since the bank has a charge on the house. The home’s tenants may be evicted by the bank, the property sold, and the equity used to clear the mortgage debt if there’s a repossession.
Mortgages come in many forms. With a fixed rate mortgage, the borrower pays the same interest rate for an initial term (i.e. two, three or five years), although longer fixed rate terms are available. Monthly payments remain constant during the fixed rate term. The borrower’s payments will not change on a fixed rate, even though the market interest rates increase. The mortgage repayments the borrower makes won’t differ if the interest rates in the market change if they are on a fixed rate.
At the end of the fixed rate, your mortgage would revert to a ‘standard variable rate’ put in place by the lender, bank or building society from whom you borrow the money. If you have a diary system in place or a switched-on broker, you must remember to re-mortgage or contact your existing lender and change the rate three months before it increases to the variable rate. This is because the rates can increase or decrease as the lender sees fit, which will help you avoid higher monthly payments.
A mortgage can seem less costly than it really is, with the initial interest rate often being a low rate. If interest rates rise later on, the monthly rates may become too high for the borrower to pay. After the initial term, variable rates can be adjusted at any time, making the monthly payments unpredictable.
Other less common types of mortgages – such as interest-only mortgages, tracker rates, offset mortgages, buy to lets, bridging loans and secured loans – could also be available to you, so speak with an independent broker to determine your options. Our mortgage brokers in Bell-Green can provide help for getting the best mortgage deal to suit your personal specifications and requirements.
Handy Tools and Calculators
You can easily plan your future once you have an idea of the maximum you can borrow and how much the loan will cost. Take advantage of this handy calculator to determine exactly how much your mortgage repayments will be, based on your total loan figure and interest rate. Just fill in those values, along with your term and press ‘Click to calculate’ to immediately see the amount you will have to repay per month.
Why Use A Mortgage Broker?
In Bell-Green, working with a mortgage broker on your mortgage application is beneficial in a number of ways. Some of the more obvious benefits include:
Save Money
The most visible benefit of choosing to work with a mortgage broker is that you will likely save money. You don’t have to handle the hard work, as this can be managed by an expert with ample experience, who will make sure your best interests are addressed. All you’ll need to do is fill out some details.
Some people are not fully convinced about this, what with the concept of a mortgage broker still vaguely understood universally. So, there has to be a catch somewhere, surely? As understandable as such thoughts are, it’s important to understand that mortgage brokers have nothing to gain by not working in your best interests.
In truth, brokers have to provide viable reasons to you, their regulatory body, the Prudent Regulation Authority or the Financial Conduct Authority for recommending the mortgage they have. To not do so could lead to them facing significant problems. Many mortgage brokers can obtain exclusive mortgage deals not found on the high street, potentially making the total loan cost lower for the client. Reputable mortgage brokers communicate how they expect to be paid for their services, as well as outline the details of the entire loan. Filing the pockets of a broker is of little value to a mortgage advisor company when compared to making sure customers have a positive experience.
Finds The Most Advantageous Deal
A mortgage broker will always be in favour of your own interests and not those of the lending institution. They should act not only as your agent, but also as a knowledgeable consultant and problem solver. For terms like interest rates, repayment value and loan products, you can get the best possible value from a broker, who has access to a wide array of mortgage products. The mortgage broker will talk with you to get a clear picture of your needs, as well as short and long term goals. Sophisticated solutions and innovative mortgages are distinct advantages of working with experienced broker, because simple 15 or 30-year mortgages aren’t enough in some situations. These include mortgages to raise capital for debt repayment, money for your children, important home renovations or even the purchase of other properties like buy to lets.
Has Flexibility Expertise to Meet Your Needs
A mortgage broker will work with the client in any situation, as well as manage the process and take care of any bumps in the road that may occur. For instance, a broker will have knowledge of the lenders who offer the best products to meet the needs of a client with a credit issue. Borrowers who find they need larger loans than their bank will approve can also benefit from a broker’s knowledge and ability to successfully obtain financing.
Save Time & Hassle
Money isn’t the only consideration. Your time and sanity are just as important as saving a bit of extra cash. Think of the amount of time you’d spend researching multiple loan types from multiple lenders. You’d be required to fill out just one application with a mortgage broker, unlike completing one for every different lender. The loans recommended can be formally compared for you buy your mortgage broker. This will serve as a guide to the information which correctly shows cost differences, with present rates, points and closing costs for each loan illustrated. To find the best deal in terms of lower rates and overall cost, your broker will make comparisons between popular and less popular lenders.
Outsourcing the work to someone who can provide an expert opinion is a great way to relieve yourself of the burden involved. To be of assistance throughout the entire application and approval process, mortgage brokers do the bulk of the work. This includes handling all the paperwork, helping with applications for government ski schemes, answering questions and providing insight on other options and loan features you may not have given thought to. A few of the features may include options to make extra repayments, as well as drawdown facilities and offset accounts. These features can make a massive difference to your mortgage experience and overall costs. Better still, if you’re not well versed with these concepts and how they could affect you, your broker can clarify answer questions you may have over the phone.
Access to exclusive non-advertised deals
Exclusive deals not advertised by banks can accessed by mortgage brokers. The deals are pushed by the banks on to the brokers, who are then charged with overseeing the sale of products. Speaking to a broker unlocks these extra perks you would otherwise miss out on by going directly to a bank.
Brokers can search the whole market for the finest deal, whereas individual banks can only offer their own deals and not those of other banks.
Better chance of pre-approval success
Whenever you request an Agreement in principle / Decision in principle of a loan, this leaves a mark on your credit rating if you’re refused. Brokers have the knowledge and experience required to give you the best shot at being approved at the first attempt.
Access to expert knowledge
Helping people secure loans is what mortgage brokers do for a living. Helpful information and exclusive deals you won’t find yourself are accessible to them. There are small details accompanying loans that you might miss if you’re not looking for them. In fact, it is these small details that can make a difference to your mortgage in the long run. It’s beneficial to have an experienced professional to point out these things for you.
You can avoid spending valuable time to research numerous loans and lenders (while perhaps missing fundamental key subtleties) and instead give the work to someone with key industry experience. The same way you would contact a plumber to fix a leaking pipe or a hairdresser to work on damaged hair, contacting a mortgage broker is an ideal option for your home loan needs.
About Mortgage Saving Experts
Contrary to how they might seem initially, mortgages and insurance are not so difficult. For this reason, it’s necessary to find an honest and knowledgeable adviser, with ample experience. Your entire journey can be made stress-free and simple by our mortgage savings experts. After all, why make things more difficult than they need to be? Allow us to secure the best deal possible for you and make everything straightforward.
Mortgage Saving Experts provide our clients with honest and transparent services that leave you feeling mortgages and insurance are less complicated than they first appear. Here at Mortgage Saving Experts, we treat all mortgage and insurance applications as our own. This is what we do. Mortgage Saving Experts are available whether you’re a first-time buyer, a landlord, moving on to a new phase or just re-mortgaging. We’re here to help! Fundamentally “Search 1000s of mortgage deals by taking 15 minutes to speak to 1 adviser.”
Our Team of Brighton Mortgage Experts
Due to regulations by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), we must do all we can to get you the most suitable deal on the market. We must justify to you and our regulators why we recommend the mortgages we do, so you know exactly why you have the mortgage you have.
Down to Earth Mortgage
We are an honest, enthusiastic and passionate team of mortgage insurance experts, with years of industry experience.
Our mortgage and insurance experts are particularly good at listening to your current and future goals. To achieve these objectives, we will then work hand in hand with you.
Why chose Mortgage Saving Experts?
You’ll get an initial rate for the first few years after taking out a mortgage. The rate is raised to the lender’s variable rate after the initial rate ends. Three months before this rate is up for renewal, our team will contact you again to put a new deal in place before your rate and monthly payments increase. Other advantages of working with us are:
- The deal you’ll get is better than the bank variable rate, which in turn saves you money.
- You don’t have to keep track of the timeline, as we will look after this for you.
- While we deal with the stress on your behalf, you can sit back and ease your mind.
- We know our business, so you’ll only be advised by qualified mortgage experts.
- We undertake comparisons and then advise and arrange the best mortgage for you, choosing from thousands of deals.
- For the entire mortgage process, you will be expertly advised and supported.
Our Approach to Mortgage Advice
Your individual needs will be duly considered, as we provide fully personalised services. We take three basic steps in our approach to mortgage advice:
- Let’s have an Initial Chat, so we can get to know You and What Your Requirements Are
- We Search the Entire Market to Find the Best Deal for You
- We’ll Present you with the Cheapest and best Deals Available for Both Mortgages and Insurance Cover
How Mortgage Saving Expert Brokers Can Help you:
What makes our services superior to those of other mortgage brokers in Bell-Green includes:
- Get to determine your situation and requirements by fact-finding.
- Explain the costs involved with buying and selling.
- Request all documents related to the application.
- Make relevant suggestions and provide explanations about the prospective mortgage.
- Respond to any questions you might have.
- Collect an agreement in principle.
- Have your entire mortgage application sent in.
- Answer any questions and work together with your mortgage lender, solicitor and estate agent until the final stages.
Mortgage Types We Provide Expert Advice On
We offer expert advice on a wide variety of mortgage products. You won’t have any difficulty finding the right mortgage products to suit your needs when working with us. The most popular mortgage types we’re requested to handle include:
First time buyers
First Time Buyers are classed by most mortgage lenders as people who have either:
- Never owned a property or
- People who have owned a property in the past, but not owned one for six months or more.
The ideas and rules differ from lender to lender. Typically, there are no problems with being a First Time Buyer. To qualify for stamp duty relief as First Time Buyers, you must have never owned a property before, anywhere in the world.
Mortgages may appear to be a rather difficult process, but they really don’t have to be. It’s rather exciting to be buying your first home, so if you find a reputable broker to get the job done for you at a fair price, then do use one. The reason you should use one is quite apparent. If you have no knowledge about cars and yours develops a fault, you would call a mechanic rather than attempt to fix it yourself. With mortgages, the same principle applies. With mortgage brokers, you can cut down on money, effort and time, so you should use one. There are no charges for the initial consultation.
Buying a home
If you’re considering buying a home in the near future or further down the line, you should get to know mortgages a lot better in the meantime. Learn what to do when applying, within the application process and even how to use a mortgage after buying your home. If you would rather avoid any stress, speak to an adviser, who will guide you accordingly.
Your credit is crucial.
A mortgage is of major importance. Banks risk a large amount of money and have been steadily more careful since the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008. To be eligible for a mortgage, good credit is useful but not absolutely essential. We can also offer guidance regarding how much you can afford to pay for your new home and how to set your limit, depending on your ongoing situation. Helping you buy your dream home is not all we do; we will also help you finance it with the lowest cost and most beneficial mortgage deal available.
Re-mortgage your home
In essence, the only thing you’re doing here is swapping one lender for another to get a cheaper deal or better rate. The two of them don’t have to go hand in hand. Let me clarify this. If your mortgage is a small one, you might find that it isn’t profitable paying an arrangement fee to a lender to secure a lower rate. You might find it cheaper by going on a slightly higher rate and paying no arrangement fee to the lender at all. Even if the rate is lower, you could find that you chose a more expensive deal when you add it all up, hence the need to speak to someone before deciding. Pay close attention.
One upside to re-mortgaging is that your usually not required to pay for valuation or solicitors fees, although some people don’t qualify for this. This is because it is dependent on your circumstances alone at the time of re-mortgaging. So, do find out from your adviser.
A mortgage deal conducted at the right time is an effective way to cut the cost of your mortgage bills significantly. Depending on your circumstances, it might not be the ideal move for you – even though a re-mortgage arrangement certainly has its benefits.
Reasons for remortgaging your property
- Based on your unique circumstances, such as…
- Mortgage debt is fairly minor.
- There has been a change in financial circumstances.
- Expensive early repayment charge.
- A reduction in home value.
- You have credit problems.
- Present rate is just fine.
- We will advise you whether or not to pursue a re-mortgage.
Buy to Let
A ‘buy to let’ property is one you want to purchase in order to rent out to tenants. According to the law, you cannot live in the property. The number of available lenders will be restricted if you’re a First Time Buyer, purchasing a buy to let property. Also, extra checks are made by the lender in cases like these.
- There are some things you might want to know when purchasing a buy to let property.
- The loan amount you can borrow is dependent on how much rental income you receive.
- You’ll have to pay an extra 3% stamp duty on top of your normal stamp duty.
- An extra 3% of the purchase price will still be required of you, even if the value of the property isn’t high enough for the stamp duty to be liable.
- TIP: If you want to buy a second property, find out the amount you’ll be require pay from your conveyancer/solicitor.
- A reputable adviser will know just what questions to ask in order to figure out the best mortgage for your specific needs.
- To see if you’re eligible, reach out now to our advisers.
How Much Do Mortgage Brokers Charge?
The majority of mortgage brokers receive commission from lenders, which is a percentage of the mortgage loan you secure. Depending on the type of mortgage you need – whether buy to let or residential mortgage for instance – and whether you’ve had any credit problems of late. The figure is often set at around 0.33%, although this varies widely. Many independent brokers charge flat fees, usually around £500. Be sure to ask brokers how you can pay them. The should be totally transparent, disclosing the amount to be charged, as well as their available fee structure.
Our fee structure is based upon charging the client £695; any commission which is received from the mortgage lender is deducted from that figure If we are paid a commission less than £695, the client is then asked to pay the necessary difference to top it up to £695. If we receive a mortgage commission of £495 for example, we would ask our clients to pay us the difference of £200 after the mortgage offer is produced, so we are only paid on results.
How Much Can I Borrow?
Many factors affect this, such as how much you earn, the amount you deposit, the number of children you have, as well as any debts you might have in the background. The amount a lender will agree to lend is determined by a total affordability assessment, which will provide insight regarding your income, regular household expenditures and any credit card or loan commitments you might have. In addition, they also perform a credit check to make sure your credit rating is suitable for mortgage purposes.
Prior to applying for a mortgage in full, obtain a decision in principle to form a clear picture with regards the amount you can borrow. Arrange for an appointment with one of our certified mortgage experts today. Without the need for credit checks, we can at least provide an initial estimate.
The Latest Best Mortgage Rates
We can provide help in many different situations; for instance, re-mortgaging, first time purchase, moving home or buy to lets. We compare recent mortgage deals in large quantities to help you find just what you want.
What Our clients say About us
Our list of satisfied clients in Bell-Green is lengthy and diversified. If you’re still not sure that we are the experts to get you the most suitable mortgage deal in Bell-Green at the most affordable price, check out some of the things our clients have said about working with us. For a personal experience to discover how effective our services are, contact us today.
Latest Mortgage News
Having more information at your disposal when looking for the most ideal mortgage deal places you in a more advantageous position. The latest mortgage news below will provide the insight you need to properly get started.
Mortgage Regulatory Information
The majority of mortgages in the UK are made available by banks, building societies and specialised mortgage lenders. Although a big portion of the market share is owned by Lloyds Banking Group and Nationwide Building Society, all together there are 200 different financial institutions providing mortgages in Britain.
In the UK, despite there being tight regulations that guide banks and building societies, a regulatory scheme was implemented by the FCA (formerly the Financial Services Authority) in response to the Financial Services Act 2000.
The FCA regulates the professional behaviour of mortgage providers. Tough rules are in place concerning checks that ensure customers are fairly treated in terms of contracts for financial services, as well as misleading and unfair adverts and promotions. The original regulations represented in the rules for Mortgage Conduct of Business (MCOB) were reconstructed due to the 2014 FCA Mortgage Market Review (MMR).
Deposit-taking organisations in the UK are under the jurisdiction of the Prudential Regulation Authority (a sister organisation to the FCA) for their financial conduct. They make sure firms have capital large enough to cancel out their lending risks.
If you have a complaint about your mortgage provider, the first step is to take up the matter with them. If you don’t like how the issue has been dealt with, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Some mortgages are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority such as moist Buy to Let mortgages and if you make a complaint about these you are unable to take these to the Financial Ombudsman Service
What To Ask Your Brighton Mortgage Broker?
This is a logical follow-up question. Again, insist on a specific reply.
And once you’ve received answers to these questions, ask if the broker would be willing to put both claims in writing. That will indicate how seriously those claims should be taken.
If a problem arises during the loan application process, you’ll want your broker to respond quickly – hence this question.
Again, demand a specific answer – “Within three hours”, say, rather than “Quickly”.
The reason for this question is so you can discover whether the broker will closely guide you through what is a complicated and stressful process – or expect you to figure it out for yourself.
Organising finance and purchasing property can be complicated and stressful, so you want to know you’re in safe hands. That’s why, before you settle on a particular broker, you should challenge the broker with this question.
Don’t let the broker get away with vague statements like “Because I’m the best” or “Because I provide great service”. Use follow-up questions to demand detail. “What specific things make you better than other brokers? What, specifically, do you do to deliver great service?”
Another important question to ask. That’s because while most brokers focus on ‘plain vanilla’ clients, others might focus on, say, sophisticated investors or borrowers with credit problems.
Hypothetically; Broker A might have done 450 vanilla loans and 50 bad-credit loans, while Broker B might have done 50 vanilla loans and 250 bad-credit loans. So if you were a borrower with credit problems, you might be better off with Broker B.
Next, probe them about their customer service standards
A great way to utilise the knowledge and experience of a broker is to get them to work out the true cost of your home loan. Based on whether you’re paying Repayment or interest only, how much of a deposit you have, the length of your loan term and the rates payable your broker will be able to obtain a mortgage illustration which will have the true cost on it. This is normally depicted by the Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
By maximising your deposit amount and minimising your loan term, you stand to significantly reduce the overall cost of your loan. However, there is much more to answering what the true cost of your home loan will be. Upfront fees such as valuation fees, conveyancing and legal fees need to be added to the total cost. Ongoing fees such as those you can incur for using a drawdown facility.
While it’s impossible to forecast the entire cost of your mortgage to the penny – and let’s not forget how life circumstances and changes can affect your ability to pay your loan too – a broker can can help clarify the big picture details. Mortgage Saving Experts can recommend any protection or insurances to protect you and your family to cover life unfortunate eventualities and our team of advisers can use this information to help you decide which loan is best for your circumstances.
The big question plaguing home buyers tends to be, ‘how much can I borrow?’ Each lender is massively different in this area so as a maximum depending on many factors. In the majority of cases, you can borrow up to around 5 times your gross annual salary but in some instances, you may borrow up to 5.5 times your gross annual income
Once you speak to us, however, we’ll be able to give you a much more accurate indication of your borrowing capacity. Brokers act as the go-between for you and the lender. Lenders will need to know your living expenses, debts, credit score and whether you have dependents. A broker can factor all these things into the right loan.
A broker can also explain home loan terms you’ll need to know, such as LTV, which is the initialism for Loan-to-Value and refers to the percentage of the total loan amount you seek to borrow as a percentage of the property purchase price or value. They can also explain things like the differences in interest rates and repayment types such as Interest Only and Repayment (Capital & Interest)
This is a good follow-up question to ask, as it will give you a better understanding of the mortgage broker’s experience.
For example, imagine two brokers joined the industry in 2013, but that Broker A had written 500 loans during that time and Broker B had written 300. In that case, even though both parties would be able to claim five years of industry experience, there would be a clear difference in hands-on experience.
This is a good place to start, because a more experienced broker will generally be more knowledgeable than a less experienced broker.
Press the broker to give you a specific answer, such as “Eighteen years” or “I’ve been a broker since 2007 and in the mortgage industry since 2001”, rather than something vague like “I’ve got a lot of experience”.
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Barry Webb
After nearly 20 years in the financial services industry, I started Mortgage Saving Experts. I thrive on helping people save money and come up with simple and clever little ideas which make massive savings to my clients. I want the company’s core focus to be great customer service. You don’t get good customer service anymore and this is about time that changed, It’s about taking responsibility and always going the extra mile.