What is a mortgage broker
To broker a mortgage loan, a mortgage broker will act as a link on behalf of an individual or business. The purpose of mortgage brokers is to look for banks or direct lenders that will willingly provide the specific loan an individual would need. With a mortgage broker in Lingfield-Common, you’ll have an easier time procuring the mortgage loan you need at the best possible terms. Even if you have a poor credit score or any other issues that could affect your mortgage application, working with a reputable mortgage broker will still boost your chances considerably.
Professional mortgage brokers are bound under strict regulations and required to comply with banking and finance laws in the customer’s jurisdiction, so, you don’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. If you default on your payments, your mortgage provider has the right to take back (repossess) the property.
Typically, mortgages are laid out for a set period – usually 25 years, although shorter or longer terms are also possible. Once you’ve borrowed the money, a repayment plan is then set in place. Even though the available mortgage plans vary, those that involve repayment plans on a monthly capital basis are very popular.
Aside from repaying the money you borrowed initially, you will be charged interest on the amount you’ve been loaned (the ‘capital’). A mortgage is a debt instrument that is acquired using the collateral of a particular property that the loanee must repay in predetermined amounts. Mortgages allow individuals and businesses to purchase sizable properties, without paying the entire cost at once. Over time, the loan and interest included can be repaid by the borrower, before the property can become theirs without any mortgage. The property the mortgage is secured on can be taken back by the lender if the borrower discontinues mortgage payments.
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. In the case of a repossession, the bank may evict the home’s tenants and sell the house, using the income from the sale to clear the mortgage debt.
There are various types of mortgages. 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. During the fixed rate term, monthly payments remain the same. The borrower would continue with the same payments if they have a fixed rate, even if the market interest rates go up. Changes in market interest rates have no effect on the borrower’s mortgage repayment if they have a fixed rate.
As soon as the fixed rate ends, your mortgage will be returned to a ‘standard variable rate’ set by the bank, lender or building society that lends you 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.
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. Monthly payments after the initial term are usually unpredictable, since the variable rates could be changed at any time.
Talk to an independent broker about other types of mortgages that could be options for you, such as buy to lets, interest-only mortgages, secured loans, bridging loans, offset mortgages and tracker rates, which are not so common. To match any needs and requirements you might have, our mortgage brokers in Lingfield-Common 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?
Working with a mortgage broker for your mortgage application in Lingfield-Common can be beneficial in various ways. Some of the most prominent benefits are:
Save Money
The possibility of saving money is the most obvious advantage of working with a mortgage broker. An experienced expert can take care of the hard work and see to it that your interests are protected. You’ll only need to provide a few details.
For some people, there are doubts regarding this, mostly because mortgage brokers are not fully understood worldwide, so it’s generally thought there must be some sort of catch. 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.
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. 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. A reputable mortgage broker will disclose details of how they take payment for their services and convey the components which make up the entire mortgage cost. 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
A mortgage broker represents your interests, rather than those of a lending institution. In addition to being your agent, they should also be knowledgeable consultants and problem solvers. 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. You will be interviewed by the mortgage brokers to determine your needs and goals – both in the short and long term. 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. If a borrower has credit issues for instance, the broker would know about lenders who have the best products available to meet their needs. If a borrower requires a loan too large for the bank to approve, a broker can be of benefit by providing the knowledge and ability to successfully source financing.
Save Time & Hassle
It’s not all about money. Your time and sanity are just as important as saving a bit of extra cash. Take into consideration the time you would need to research different kinds of loans from multiple lenders. Unlike working with different lenders – which would require you to complete different forms every time – you’d only need one form with a mortgage broker. 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. Comparisons will be made by your broker between popular and less popular lenders to get you the most suitable deal, with lower rates and total cost.
By outsourcing, you can reduce the workload and get someone else’s professional advice. A mortgage broker can do a lot of the work by providing you with support throughout the application and approval process. This might involve completing all paperwork, helping you with applications to government schemes, answering questions and explaining the options and loan features, about which you may not have been aware. These features could include things such as drawdown facilities and options for making extra repayments and offset accounts. A noticeable difference can be made to your overall experience and the cost of your mortgage. In fact, if you don’t know so much about these concepts and the effects they could have, you can find clarification and get answers to any questions you may have during a phone call.
Access to exclusive non-advertised deals
Exclusive deals not advertised by banks can accessed by mortgage brokers. These deals are passed by the banks to the brokers, who then have the responsibility of selling the products. Going to the bank directly could cause you to miss out on added benefits such as these, which you can procure by speaking to a broker.
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
A mark is left on your credit rating if your request for an Agreement in principle/Decision in principle of a loan is turned down. Brokers have the knowledge and experience required to give you the best shot at being approved at the first attempt.
Access to expert knowledge
The job of a mortgage broker is to help people secure loans. There’s much information and numerous exclusive deals available to them that you won’t find by yourself. Loans come with certain subtleties you could miss if you’re not looking out for them. At the end of the day, these subtleties tend to improve your mortgage chances. Having the services of an experienced professional who can point these out for you is a huge benefit.
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? Just as you would contact a plumber for a leaking pipe or a hairdresser to replenish damaged hair, a mortgage broker is an excellent choice for all 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 everything more stressful than it ought to be? Let us make things easy for you and make sure we find you the most suitable deal.
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 treat each mortgage and insurance application as if it were our own. 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. Assisting you is the reason we’re here! In essence “Take 15 minutes to talk to 1 adviser and find out about 1000s of mortgage deals.”
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 our customers and regulators why we make the mortgage recommendations we do, so you know just why you have that mortgage.
Down to Earth Mortgage
We are an honest, passionate, enthusiastic and very experienced team of mortgage and insurance experts.
Our mortgage and insurance experts are particularly good at listening to your current and future goals. We then work closely with you to achieve those goals.
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 you’re due to renew, our team will reach out to secure a new deal before your monthly payments and rate increase. Other benefits of working with us include:
- The deal you’ll get is better than the bank variable rate, which in turn saves you money.
- We can provide updates relating to the end of your deal, so you need not worry.
- While we deal with the stress on your behalf, you can sit back and ease your mind.
- We know our stuff; you’ll always receive pertinent advice from a qualified mortgage expert.
- 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
We make available personalised services and put into consideration all your unique needs. 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 Lingfield-Common includes:
- Learn about your situation and needs via fact-finding.
- Explain what costs buying and selling involve.
- Request applicable documents to aid the application.
- Recommend and explain all about the prospective mortgage.
- Respond to any questions you might have.
- Get an agreement in principle.
- Get your whole mortgage application submitted.
- 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. Some of the most commonly requested mortgage types we help with 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 rules and ideas on this are different across various lenders. There usually are no issues in being a First Time Buyer. In order to qualify for stamp duty relief, it’s necessary for First time Buyers to have never been property owners before; this applies anywhere in the world.
Mortgages may appear to be a rather difficult process, but they really don’t have to be. Buying your first home is one of the most exciting things ever, so if you find a reasonably priced, reputable broker to manage the process for you, do hire their services. The purpose of using one is straightforward enough. 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. It’s the same with mortgages. You can save on time, effort and even money with mortgage brokers, so you should use one. The initial consultation comes at no cost at all.
Buying a home
You should brush up your knowledge of mortgages if a home purchase is a viable option for you any time soon (or a few years down the line). Get to know what to do before your mortgage application, during the application process itself and the way in which to use it after buying the property. If you would rather avoid any stress, speak to an adviser, who will guide you accordingly.
Your credit is a necessity.
A mortgage is not to be taken lightly. 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. For mortgage eligibility, good credit helps, but isn’t vital. We can also guide you with regards how much you can afford to pay for your new home and what should be your price ceiling, based on your current situation. We won’t just facilitate the purchase your dream home, we will also help you fund it with the lowest cost and most favourable mortgage deal on offer.
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. They don’t necessarily have to be paired together. Let me explain. 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 may find it’s more practical to go on a slightly higher rate, without paying arrangement fees to any lender. 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. Take extra caution.
The potential absence of valuation or solicitors fees is one of the plus points of re-mortgaging, even though not everyone qualifies for this. The reason is that it is based on your disposition alone at the time of re-mortgaging. So please check or ask your adviser.
A re-mortgage completed on time is a smart way to significantly reduce the cost of your mortgage related bills. While a re-mortgage deal can be beneficial for some, it’s not the best move for everyone, as it all depends on your unique circumstances.
Reasons for remortgaging your property
- Based on your individual circumstances, like…
- Mortgage debt is considerably small.
- The financial disposition is now different.
- Costly early repayment charge.
- A reduction in home value.
- Existing credit problems.
- Present rate is just fine.
- We will guide you when deciding to re-mortgage or not.
Buy to Let
A ‘buy to let’ property is one bought with a view to renting to others. You are not allowed to legally 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.
- When purchasing a buy to let property, you’d be required to know quite a few things.
- 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: Ask your solicitor/conveyancer to work out how much you’ll have to pay if you’re buying a second property.
- To find the best mortgage to match your requirements, a good adviser will know which questions you need to answer.
- To find out if you qualify, contact our advisers today.
How Much Do Mortgage Brokers Charge?
Most mortgage brokers get paid commission from lenders, which will be a percentage of the mortgage loan you receive. Even though the figure isn’t set in stone, it is usually about 0.33%, based on the type of mortgage you require – for instance, a residential mortgage or buy to let. Also, any recent credit issues you may have had would be taken into consideration. Many independent brokers usually charge about £500 as a flat fee. Don’t forget to find out how brokers collect payment. They must be completely clear, letting you know the exact figure and fee structure in place.
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 the commission paid to us falls short of £695, our client will then be asked to make up the difference between the commission we receive and the figure of £695. If we receive a mortgage commission of £495, our client would be required to pay £200, which would be paid after the mortgage offer has been forthcoming, meaning we only get paid according to results.
How Much Can I Borrow?
This depends on several factors, such as the deposit value and how much you earn, how many children you have, as well as what debts (if any) you have in the background. The amount a lender would be willing to lend is dependent on a comprehensive affordability assessment that helps them understand your income, as well as any loan or credit card commitments you might have and everyday household expenses. 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 an appointment with one of our qualified mortgage experts today. Initially, we can at least give you an idea, without needing to conduct any credit checks.
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 compare recent mortgage deals in large quantities to help you find just what you want.
What Our clients say About us
In Lingfield-Common, we have long and diverse list of satisfied clients. If you doubt that we are the professionals most capable of finding you the best mortgage deal in Lingfield-Common 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 available when looking for the most suitable mortgage deal, the more beneficial this is for you. The latest mortgage news below will provide the insight you need to properly get started.
Mortgage Regulatory Information
Building societies, specialised mortgage lenders and banks provide the most mortgages across the UK. 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.
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. Strict rules are in place against using false or unfair adverts and promotions, in addition to checks to ensure the terms of contracts for financial services are fair for the consumer. 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.
With regards their financial conduct, deposit-taking firms in the UK come under the jurisdiction of FCA’s sister organisation, the Prudential Regulation Authority. They ensure firms have a high enough level of capital to offset their lending risks.
Taking up the matter with your mortgage provider is the first step to take if you have any complaints about 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.