What is a mortgage broker
A mortgage broker represents individuals or companies looking to broker mortgage loans. The purpose of mortgage brokers is to look for banks or direct lenders that will willingly provide the specific loan an individual would need. Working with a mortgage broker in Royal-Holloway will help you get the mortgage loan you require at a favourable deal, without any unnecessary stress. 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.
Also, you can rest easy knowing that professional mortgage brokers must work within regulations that require their compliance to banking and finance laws in the jurisdiction of the consumer.
What Is A Mortgage?
Simply put, a mortgage is a loan. A mortgage is not like a personal loan, as it is specifically attached to a piece of property used as collateral against the loan. Failure to pay when due can result in your mortgage provider taking back (repossessing) the property, as would be their legal right.
Mortgages are nearly always set for a 25-year period, but long and short terms are also available. As soon as you borrow the money, a plan for repayment is implemented. Even though the available mortgage plans vary, those that involve repayment plans on a monthly capital basis are very popular.
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, secured by the collateral of a specified property that the borrower is obliged to pay back via a predetermined set of payments. 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 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.
If the home buyer does not keep up with mortgage payments, the lender can take the property back, as there are bank charges against it. If there is a repossession, the tenants can be evicted by the bank and the property sold to repay the mortgage debt.
Mortgages come in many forms. While there are longer fixed rate terms provided, the borrower will pay the same interest for the initial term; that is, two, three or five years, with a fixed rate mortgage. Monthly payments remain constant during the fixed rate term. The borrower’s payments will not be affected by any increase in the market interest rates if they are on a fixed rate. An increase or decrease in the market interest rate will not affect the borrower’s mortgage repayments if they have 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. The rate can increase or decrease as the lender decides, so with a good broker or diary system in place, do not forget to re-mortgage or call your existing lender, so you can adjust the rate sometime around three months before it’s increased to the variable rate. This will help you avoid paying higher monthly payments.
In fact, the initial interest rate is usually a low rate, which can make a mortgage appear less expensive than it is. The borrower might not be able to keep up with higher monthly payments, should the rates be later increased. After the initial term, variable rates can be adjusted at any time, making the monthly payments unpredictable.
There are other types of mortgages, such as interest-only mortgages, offset mortgages, tracker rates, bridging loans, secured loans and buy to lets, which are less common but may be available nevertheless. Therefore, you should contact an independent broker to know your options. To match any needs and requirements you might have, our mortgage brokers in Royal-Holloway can help to find the best possible mortgage deal for you.
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. 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?
There are a wide range of benefits to be enjoyed from working with a mortgage broker in Royal-Holloway with regards your mortgage application. Of these benefits, some of the most evident include:
Save Money
In working with a mortgage broker, the most noticeable benefit would be the opportunity 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.
Some people are sceptical about this – especially with the concept of a mortgage broker not yet universally understood. There must be a catch somewhere, surely? 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.
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. There are various inexpensive, exclusive mortgage deals that a number of mortgage brokers can find for their clients that could possibly reduce the total loan cost. Detailing the entire cost of the loan and letting you know how they get paid for their services is the duty of any reputable broker. 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. A broker has access to many different mortgage products and can therefore offer you great value in terms of relation interest rates, loan products and repayment amounts. You will be interviewed by the mortgage brokers to determine your needs and goals – both in the short and long term. Simple 30 or 15-year mortgages are not sufficient in many cases, which is why innovative mortgages and sophisticated solutions are distinct benefits of working with experienced brokers. These include mortgages to raise capital for repaying debts, money for marital needs or children, home renovations or the purchase of other properties such as 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 example, borrowers with bad credit issues can find great products that will suit their needs through brokers who know lenders that offer such products. 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
It isn’t only about money. Your time and sanity are just as important as saving a bit of extra cash. Consider how much time it would take you to research multiple loan types from multiple lenders. You’d only need to complete one application with a mortgage broker, instead of filling out forms for every individual lender. A formal comparison of the recommended loans can be made available by your broker to provide information that would clearly show the differences in cost, including current rates and the costs of closing each of the loans. To find the best deal in terms of lower rates and overall cost, your broker will make comparisons between popular and less popular lenders.
You don’t have to burden yourself with all the work, as outsourcing is a viable option to take in order to gain expert advice. A mortgage broker can provide an array of support throughout the application and approval process. This can include assisting with paperwork, responding to questions and helping with government scheme applications, as well as explaining all the available options and loan features you may not have considered or been aware of. These features can include drawdown facilities, the option to make extra repayments and offset accounts to name a few. Features like these can make a huge difference to your mortgage costs and overall experience. 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
There are exclusive deals not made public by the banks that brokers have access to. The brokers are charged with selling the products, as the deals are pushed on to them by the banks. Talking to a broker can release these extra perks, which you’d otherwise not enjoy by contacting the bank yourself.
Unlike brokers who have access to the whole market to search for the best deals, banks can offer their own deals alone – and not the deals offered by other banks.
Better chance of pre-approval success
If you’re knocked back after requesting an Agreement in principle/Decision in principle of a loan, this will leave a mark against 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
Mortgage brokers help people secure loans for a living. They have access to information and select deals you wouldn’t discover by yourself. There are small details accompanying loans that you might miss if you’re not looking for them. In the long run, subtleties like these are significant to your mortgage. An experienced professional to point you in the right direction is extremely beneficial.
Rather than sacrifice a chunk of your day researching thousands of loans and lenders (and still potentially missing out on key subtleties), why not let someone with industry experience handle the work? For home loan requirements, a mortgage broker is the best ways to go, just as a hairdresser is for replenishing damaged hair and a plumber for fixing leaking pipes.
About Mortgage Saving Experts
Contrary to how they might seem initially, mortgages and insurance are not so difficult. This is why it’s very important to find honest advisers, who are knowledgeable and experienced. Your entire journey can be made stress-free and simple by our mortgage savings experts. Besides, why complicate things more than necessary? Let us simplify everything for you and ensure we get the best deal possible.
You’ll be left thinking that mortgages and insurance are not as difficult as they appear, because of the reliable and transparent service Mortgage Saving Experts provide our customers. All mortgage and insurance applications are handled like they’re our own at Mortgage Savings Experts. This is what we do. It doesn’t matter what the situation is – whether you’re a first-time buyer, a landlord, re-mortgaging or moving on to a new phase altogether – Mortgage Saving Experts are here to help. Assisting you is the reason we’re here! Essentially “Take 15 minutes to talk to 1 adviser and find out about 1000s of mortgage deals.”
Our Team of Brighton Mortgage Experts
As we are bound by regulations of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), we must ensure we get you the best available deal on the market. You’ll get to understand why you received the mortgage you did, because we have to justify the recommendations we make to both you and our regulators.
Down to Earth Mortgage
Our team of mortgage insurance experts is made up of honest, passionate, enthusiastic and widely experienced individuals.
Our mortgage and insurance experts will pay attention to you and understand all your current and future objectives. These goals will be achieved when we work with you intently.
Why chose Mortgage Saving Experts?
After taking out a mortgage, you’ll get an initial rate for the first couple of years. After this initial rate finishes, the rate increases to the lender’s variable rate. You will be contacted by our team approximately three months prior to the renewal time to agree a new deal, before the monthly payment and rate are increased. Other advantages of working with us are:
- You’ll get a better deal than the bank variable rate and subsequently save money.
- You don’t have to remember when your deal finishes, as we will do this for you.
- You can take time to relax, while we handle the stress for you.
- We are good at what we do, so you’ll always be advised by professional mortgage experts.
- Comparing, advising and setting up the best possible mortgage deal from amongst the many available is what we do.
- You’ll be supported and expertly advised throughout the whole mortgage process.
Our Approach to Mortgage Advice
Your individual needs will be duly considered, as we provide fully personalised services. The approach we take to mortgage advice involves three simple steps:
- 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 Royal-Holloway includes:
- Understand your needs and circumstances via fact-finding.
- Point out the costs that come with buying and selling.
- Request applicable documents to aid the application.
- Provide explanations and recommendations for the prospective mortgage.
- Provide answers to your questions.
- Get an agreement in principle.
- Have your full mortgage application submitted.
- Communicate with your solicitor, mortgage lender and estate agent to respond to any questions through to completion.
Mortgage Types We Provide Expert Advice On
We provide professional advice on a broad range 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 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. Being a First Time Buyer is usually not an issue. 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. It is abundantly clear why you should use one. 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. You can cut down on cost, effort and time with mortgage brokers, so why not use one? The initial consultation will cost you nothing.
Buying a home
If you’re considering a home purchase in the near future (or even within a few years, you should certainly brush up on your mortgage knowledge. Learn what to do when applying, within the application process and even how to use a mortgage after buying your home. If you’d prefer a different approach, then speak to an adviser who can guide you through it.
Your credit is important.
A mortgage is a serious affair. Banks put up a lot of money at their own risk. So much so, they’ve been very careful since the subprime mortgage crisis of 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 short, this means you’ll switch from one lender to another to get a more affordable rate or cheaper deal. They don’t always sit well together. Let me simplify this for you. If you’ve got a small mortgage, paying the arrangement fee to a new lender to go on a lower rate might not seem practical to you. It may seem cheaper to be on a slightly higher rate than pay an arrangement fee to another lender. 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. Be careful.
A notable benefit of re-mortgaging is the absence of solicitors or valuation fees, even though some people are not eligible for this. The reason is that it is based on your disposition alone at the time of re-mortgaging. So, please check with your adviser.
Performing a re-mortgage in time is a practical way to reduce your mortgage costs significantly. Although it can be a good thing – depending on your individual needs – a re-mortgage deal might not be the most suitable choice.
Reasons for remortgaging your property
- Depending on your unique needs, like…
- Mortgage debt is relatively small.
- Financial circumstances have changed.
- Expensive early repayment charge.
- A reduction in home value.
- You’re dealing with credit problems.
- Already on a suitable current rate.
- We will advise you whether to re-mortgage or not.
Buy to Let
A ‘buy to let’ property is one you want to purchase in order to rent out to tenants. You aren’t allowed to live in the property by law. If you’re purchasing a buy to let as a First Time Buyer, the number of lenders available will be restricted and there will be extra checks carried out by the lender in such cases.
- You may need to know certain things when purchasing a buy to let property.
- The rental income you receive is a primary factor when determining the size of the loan you can borrow.
- You will have to pay 3% stamp in addition to your normal stamp duty.
- If the value of the property isn’t valued at the amount for which stamp duty becomes liable, you are still required to pay the extra 3% of purchase cost.
- TIP: Ask your solicitor/conveyancer to work out how much you’ll have to pay if you’re buying a second property.
- A good adviser will know the exact questions to pose and will find a mortgage that fits your exact requirements.
- Contact our advisers to find out whether 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. While the figure varies widely, it is generally set at around 0.33%, depending on the type of mortgage you require. For example, this could be a residential mortgage or buy to let and would take into account whether you’ve had any credit troubles recently. Most independent brokers charge a flat fee, which is typically around £500. Remember to ask brokers how they want to be paid. They must be completely clear, letting you know the exact figure and fee structure 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?
This takes into account many factors, such as how much you deposit, the amount you earn, the number of children you have and what debts (if any) you 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. For mortgage purposes, they will also perform a credit check to be sure you have an adequate credit rating.
To get an idea of the amount you can loan, get a decision in principle before applying for a mortgage in full. Arrange an appointment with one of our qualified mortgage experts today. At the initial stage, we can give you an estimate, without needing to perform any credit checks.
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 happy clients in Royal-Holloway is long and diverse. If you doubt that we are the professionals most capable of finding you the best mortgage deal in Royal-Holloway at the lowest price, check out what some of our customers have to say about their experience with us. Reach out to us today for a personal experience of how effective our services are.
Latest Mortgage News
The more information you have at your disposal when seeking the best mortgage deal, the better the position you’ll be in. Below is the latest insightful mortgage news to help you get started on the right path.
Mortgage Regulatory Information
The majority of mortgages in the UK are made available by banks, building societies and specialised mortgage lenders. In total, there are roughly 200 financial institutions that provide mortgages in Britain, even though the biggest share of the market is owned by Lloyds Banking Group and Nationwide Building Society.
Although banks and building societies have always been closely regulated in the UK, the former Financial Services Authority (now the FCA) implemented a regulatory scheme specifically for mortgages as a result of the Financial Services Act of 2000.
The FCA regulates the professional behaviour of mortgage providers. There are stern rules that serve as a guide with regards using unfair, deceitful promotions and adverts, as well as checks for financial service contracts for consumers. Regulations were originally set out in the rules for Mortgage Conduct of Business (MCOB), but these were overhauled as a result of the FCA Mortgage Market Review (MMR) in 2014.
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 ensure firms have a sizeable enough capital to balance out their lending risks.
If there is something bothering you about your mortgage provider, talking to them about it is the first step to take. If you feel it hasn’t been handled properly, there is a procedure that can have your complaint referred 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.