Potential benefits of using a broker

The regulation changes in the mortgage market since 2014 have made all of us adapt our processes; however, in truth, for brokers it has merely honed the values and principles we already held. For some banks and building societies however it has been quite a culture change.

Historically, they have leaned towards targeting existing clients when their deals come to an end and have been known to offer better deals than they would through brokers. With the increased cost of training staff to the required standard and other various matters leading to branch closures, mortgage lenders tend to turn to brokers more often now, as their preferred advisory option and to promote their products.

This is great news for customers; it means they can use their preferred adviser to get the full, whole of market, picture; including what they can expect from their existing lender, when they remortgage.

With us this service is free of charge, with 24-hour access via our portal – far more flexible than booking an appointment at the bank, who will only promote their own products; not give you whole market advice as we do.

At least one bank now offers better rates through brokers than if you were to go to them directly. Some specialist lenders even only offer their products via brokers, so getting advice from a broker is a winner all round.

It has been suggested that lenders who write to their customers shortly before their deal is due to end, with a sheet of options, may actually not be acting in the spirit of the rules. However, most customers do have the option to shop around for their mortgage rates and these days there is more than one route to facilitate this.

Naturally, those with issues which may prevent them from switching lenders will be likely to welcome their current lender’s offers; tending to be competitive, the process is easy and can even be a market leader.

The moral of the story is: make sure you discover all that’s on offer; we can do this for you.

February 2019