What is a mortgage broker
A mortgage broker is sometimes considered a middle man who brokers loans in favour of people or businesses. Mortgage brokers function to find banks or lenders that will willingly make the exact loan an individual requires. Finding a good deal for a mortgage loan in Cranham will be easier if you work with a mortgage broker. If you work with a reputable mortgage broker and have a poor credit score or any other issues that could affect your mortgage application, your chances would be greatly improved.
With regulations in place to make sure professional mortgage brokers follow banking and finance laws in the relevant customer jurisdiction, you won’t have to worry about being in the wrong hands.
What Is A Mortgage?
A mortgage is in effect a loan. Unlike personal loans, a mortgage is specifically tied to a piece of property, so that it acts as 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.
Mortgages are nearly always set for a 25-year period, but long and short terms are also available. A repayment plan is arranged as soon as you borrow the money. While there are various mortgage options, the most popular one requires a monthly capital repayment plan.
You will be required to pay interest on the loan Secured using the collateral of a particular property, a mortgage is a debt instrument the borrower must repay via a predetermined structure of payment. Individuals and businesses use mortgages to buy property, without having to pay the total value up front. The borrower will repay the loan and interest over an extended period of time, until they completely own the property, without any mortgage. 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 tenants can be evicted in a repossession case and the property sold by the bank. Subsequently, the equity from which would be used to cover the mortgage debt.
There are several types of mortgages. Borrowers must still pay the same interest rates on fixed rate mortgages as they would for the initial terms of two, three or five years, even though fixed-rate mortgages are available in longer terms. During the fixed rate term, monthly payments remain the same. An increase in interest rates in the market won’t change the payments of the borrower if they have a fixed rate. The mortgage repayments the borrower makes won’t differ if the interest rates in the market change if they are on a fixed rate.
When the fixed rate is over, your mortgage return to a ‘standard variable rate’, which is usually set by the bank or lender from whom you borrow the money. You must remember to re-mortgage if you have a good broker or diary system in place. Alternatively, call your current lender to adjust the rates around three months prior to it being raised to the variable rate. This way, you can avoid paying too much on monthly payments, because lenders can adjust the rates as they deem fit.
In short, the initial interest rate is often a low rate, which can make a mortgage seem more affordable than it really is. An increase in interest rates later on could mean that the borrower would not be able to continue with payments. Variable rates after the initial term can be changed at any time, causing monthly payments to be rather unpredictable.
Other types of mortgages exist that are not so common. However, they may be available to you, so talk to an independent broker about such options, which include offset mortgages, interest-only mortgages, buy to lets, secured loans, tracker rates and bridging loans. To match any needs and requirements you might have, our mortgage brokers in Cranham can help to find the best possible mortgage deal for you.
Handy Tools and Calculators
With an estimate in mind – in terms of how much you can borrow and cost of the loan – you’ll be able to plan your future more easily. With this handy calculator, get a better understanding of how much your mortgage repayments will be, based on your full loan and interest rate. Simply fill in the values plus your term and press ‘Click to calculate’ to immediately discover the amount you must repay monthly.
Why Use A Mortgage Broker?
Working on your mortgage application with a mortgage broker in Cranham comes with many different benefits. Of these advantages, some of the more prominent include:
Save Money
The most obvious benefit of choosing a mortgage broker is the potential to save money. You’ll just need to fill out some details and an experienced professional with your best interests in mind will deal with the hard work.
With limited understanding on the concept of mortgage brokers, some people don’t fully trust this, believing there must be a catch at some point. Although such reservations are not entirely invalid, you should be aware that there is no benefit for mortgage brokers who do not work in your best interests.
If the broker cannot provide genuine reasons for recommending the mortgage they have (to you, their regulators, the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulation Authority), then they could be in serious trouble. 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 will usually inform you how they get paid for their services, as well as disclose the details of the entire cost of the loan. For a mortgage advisor company, a positive user experience is higher on the value chain than lining the pockets of an individual broker.
Finds The Most Advantageous Deal
Your interests – and not those of the lending institution – will be represented by the mortgage broker. They shouldn’t just play the role of your agent, but also those of problem solver and knowledgeable consultant. You can get the best value as per interest rates, loan products and repayment amounts thanks to the wide range of mortgage products to which a broker has access. To ascertain your goals and needs (both short and long term), you’ll be interviewed by the mortgage broker. Amongst the benefits of working with experienced mortgage brokers are innovative mortgages and sophisticated solutions, because regular 15 or 30-year mortgages aren’t usually sufficient. These include money for children or carrying out much needed renovations, mortgages to raise capital for repaying debts or even money to buy other properties like buy to lets.
Has Flexibility Expertise to Meet Your Needs
Any problems that may arise can be dealt with by a mortgage broker, who will oversee the whole process, guiding the client through any situation along the way. 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. The knowledge and capability of a broker to successfully source financing will be of great benefit to a borrower who realises the loan they need may be too large for a bank to approve.
Save Time & Hassle
Money isn’t the only consideration. Your time and sanity are just as important as saving some extra money. 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. A formal comparison of the loans recommended can be provided by your mortgage broker to act as a guide for the information that accurately illustrates the differences in cost, showing present rates and points, as well as closing costs for each loan. Major lenders and those not so popular will be compared by your broker to seek out the most suitable deal for you, in terms of lower rates and total cost.
By outsourcing, you can reduce the workload and get someone else’s professional advice. Mortgage brokers do the legwork for you by supporting you throughout the application and pre-approval process. This includes completing all paperwork, answering questions, helping you apply for government schemes and shedding light on options and loan features you may not have considered or even known about. These features can include drawdown facilities, the option to make extra repayments and offset accounts to name a few. A noticeable difference can be made to your overall experience and the cost of your mortgage. If you don’t know much about these concepts and how they can work for you, reach out to your broker over the phone for clarification and answers.
Access to exclusive non-advertised deals
There are exclusive deals that aren’t advertised by banks to which brokers have access. These deals are passed by the banks to the brokers, who then have the responsibility of selling the products. Contacting a broker will unlock these extra benefits you would miss out on if you were to approach the bank yourself.
A bank can provide access to their own deals (not those offered by other banks), but brokers can gain access to the entire market to find the best deals.
Better chance of pre-approval success
When you request an Agreement in principle/Decision in principle of a loan and are refused approval, this shows up on your credit rating. You’ll need the necessary knowledge and experience a broker has to secure approval on your first attempt.
Access to expert knowledge
A mortgage broker’s job is to help people obtain loans. They have access to information and select deals you wouldn’t discover by yourself. Loans come with certain subtleties you could miss if you’re not looking out for them. In fact, it is these small details that can make a difference to your mortgage in the long run. If you have an experienced professional who can show you these things, you’ll be at a distinct advantage.
Instead of removing a chunk of your day to conduct voluminous research of loans and multiple lenders as well as possibly missing important subtleties, why not give the work to a person who has ample 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. Making the process as straightforward and seamless as it can be is something our mortgage experts will do for you. After all, why make things more difficult than they need to be? Let us simplify everything for you and ensure we get the best deal possible.
Mortgage Saving Experts offer honest and transparent services to our customers, making them feel that mortgages and insurance are not as problematic as they first appear. At Mortgage Saving Experts, we handle every single mortgage and insurance application like they belong to us. This is what we do. At Mortgage Saving Experts, our services are available regardless of circumstances, whether you’re a landlord, a first-time buyer, moving onto a new chapter or simply re-mortgaging. We are here to assist! Approximately “Search up to a thousand mortgage deals by talking to an adviser for roughly 15 minutes.”
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 team of mortgage insurance experts, who are enthusiastic, passionate and widely experienced.
Our mortgage and insurance experts are particularly good at listening to your current and future goals. These goals will be achieved when we work with you intently.
Why chose Mortgage Saving Experts?
For the first few years after taking out a mortgage, you’ll be subject to an initial rate. The lender’s variable rate is implemented after the initial rate is complete. 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:
- You can save extra cash, because you’ll get a preferable deal to the bank variable rate.
- You don’t have to remember when your deal finishes, as we will do 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 compare, advise and arrange the best mortgage for you from thousands of available deals.
- You’ll receive expert advice and support throughout the entire mortgage process.
Our Approach to Mortgage Advice
We offer a personalised service that takes into consideration your unique needs. Three simple steps are taken 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:
The things that make our services the best amongst mortgage brokers in Cranham include:
- Find out what your needs and circumstances are through fact-finding.
- Spell out the costs buying and selling involves.
- Ask for related documents to help with the application.
- Make relevant suggestions and provide explanations about the prospective mortgage.
- Get answers to any questions you might have.
- Get an agreement in principle.
- Send in your entire mortgage application.
- We will collaborate with your estate agent, solicitor and mortgage lender and reply to any questions through to completion.
Mortgage Types We Provide Expert Advice On
We provide professional advice on a broad range of mortgage products. Working together with us, finding the most suitable mortgage product to suit your needs won’t be difficult at all. Amongst the mortgage types we’re commonly asked to handle are:
First time buyers
First Time Buyers are classified by the majority of mortgage lenders as those 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.
Different lenders have different ideas and rules regarding this. There usually are no issues in being a First Time Buyer. First Time Buyers must not have owned property anywhere in the world before to be eligible for stamp duty relief for stamp duty purposes.
Mortgage processes may look tough to negotiate, but they really don’t need to be. The purchase of your first home can be filled with excitement, so if you discover a well-respected broker to manage the process for a reasonable price, then use one. The reason you should use one is fairly obvious. After all, if your car broke down and you knew nothing about cars, you wouldn’t try to fix it yourself. Instead, you would take it to a mechanic. With mortgages, it is exactly the same. With mortgage brokers, you can cut down on money, effort and time, so you should use one. You won’t have to pay for the initial consultation.
Buying a home
If you’re thinking of a home purchase any time soon – or even within a couple of years – you should familiarise yourself with everything involved with mortgages. Study what you should do before the application, during the process of application, and how to utilise the mortgage after buying your property. If you can’t deal with all of that, talk to an adviser who will provide guidance accordingly.
Your credit is vital.
A mortgage is serious issue. Banks risk a large amount of money and have been steadily more careful since the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008. For mortgage eligibility, good credit helps, but isn’t vital. 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. In addition to assisting you with the purchase of your dream home, we will also help with financing at minimum cost and the most agreeable mortgage available.
Re-mortgage your home
Effectively, all you’d be doing with this is changing to a different lender to find a better or more affordable deal. They don’t always sit well together. Let me explain. If your mortgage isn’t so big, you might consider it not worthwhile to pay an arrangement fee to a new lender for a low rate. You may realise that it’s less expensive to go on a slightly higher rate than paying any lender an arrangement fee. It’s always best to speak with someone before deciding which deal to go for, as you don’t want to be caught out by being tied to a more expensive deal overall, even if the rate is much lower. Be careful.
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. Any reasoning depends solely on your circumstances at the time of re-mortgaging. So, please ask your adviser about it.
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
- Depending on your individual circumstances, such as…
- Mortgage debt is relatively small.
- The financial disposition is now different.
- Costly early repayment charge.
- A drop in the value of your home.
- Existing credit problems.
- Present rate is very agreeable.
- We will advise you whether to re-mortgage or not.
Buy to Let
‘Buy to let’ properties are those you wish to purchase and then rent to tenants. According to the law, you cannot live in the property. If you’re a First Time Buyer, the number of available lenders will be restricted if you’re purchasing a buy to let, while extra checks would be carried out by the lender in such cases.
- When purchasing a buy to let property, there are a few things you’ll need to know.
- The rental income you receive is a primary factor when determining the size of the loan you can borrow.
- You’ll be required to pay a 3% stamp duty after 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.
- Get in touch with our advisers to see if you’re eligible.
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. This is usually around 0.33%, although this does vary massively, depending on what mortgage you require. For example, this would take into account buy to let or residential mortgages and whether you’ve had any credit problems in the recent past. Most independent brokers charge a flat fee, which is typically around £500. Be sure to enquire about how to make payments to brokers. They should be honest and up front, telling you the amount owed and the fee structure they have in place.
The fee structure we adopt is based upon charging the client £695 and deducting from that figure any commission paid by the mortgage lender. Our client will be asked to pay the difference between the commission we are paid and £695, if the amount of commission is less than £695. For instance, if the commission we receive is £495, then we would require you to pay £200 to make up the difference. This can be paid when your mortgage offer has been produced, meaning we only get paid on results.
How Much Can I Borrow?
A lot of factors influence this, like the number of children you have, the deposit amount, your income and any debts you might have in the background. How much a lender is willing to lend is based upon a full affordability assessment, whereby they will look to understand your income, as well as any loan or credit card commitments and regular essential household expenditure. In addition, they will perform a credit check to ensure your credit rating is sufficient for the purpose of a mortgage.
To get an idea of the amount you can loan, get a decision in principle before applying for a mortgage in full. Arrange to see one of our qualified mortgage experts today. Without the need for credit checks, we can at least provide an initial estimate.
The Latest Best Mortgage Rates
We can help, whether you’re seeking to re-mortgage, purchase a buy to let, move home or find a mortgage for a first-time buyer. We make comparisons on thousands of recent mortgage deals to help you find just what you’re looking for.
What Our clients say About us
Our list of satisfied clients in Cranham is lengthy and diversified. If you doubt that we are the professionals most capable of finding you the best mortgage deal in Cranham at the lowest price, check out what some of our customers have to say about their experience with us. Contact us today to get a first-hand experience of the excellent services we provide.
Latest Mortgage News
The more information you have to hand in your search for the ideal mortgage arrangement, the greater advantage you’ll have. To provide insight and help you get started, find recent news on mortgages below.
Mortgage Regulatory Information
Most mortgages in the UK are provided by building societies, banks 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.
Even with regulations in the UK that closely guide banks and building societies, a regulatory scheme was set up just for mortgages (as a result of the Financial Services Act 2000) by the FCA (the former Financial Services Authority).
The professional services of mortgage providers are monitored by the FCA. 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. Regulations were initially documented in the rules for Mortgage Conduct of Business (MCOB), but were overhauled because of the 2014 FCA Mortgage Market Review (MMR).
Regarding their financial conduct, organisations that take deposits in the UK fall under the FCA’s sister organisation’s jurisdiction, the Prudential Regulation Authority. They make sure firms have capital large enough to cancel out their lending risks.
The first step in tackling any issue you have with regards your mortgage provider is to take it up 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.