Seeking independent online mortgage advice
If you are seeking independent online mortgage advice, you may well already understand the benefits of using an independent mortgage advisor – the importance of independence when seeking your mortgage advice cannot be understated.
- You want independent mortgage advice covering the whole of the market
- You want your mortgage advisor to be independent, without bias to a particular lender
How our independent mortgage advice is provided
Most independent mortgage advisors work face-to-face on a two or three meeting process.
That is fine for those with the time and inclination to put aside several hours and perhaps travel in order to attend meetings.
At A Mortgage Now, we provide our independent mortgage advice online and discuss your needs and options over the telephone in a few minutes.
This means
- No meetings
- No paperwork
- No fuss
What is an independent online mortgage advisor?
An independent mortgage advisor is clearly defined by the regulator. In order to market themselves as independent, the advisor must provide advice on mortgage products across the whole of the UK market in the following areas:
- Residential purchase mortgages
- Residential re-mortgages
- Buy-to-let mortgages
- Buy-to-let re-mortgages
- Secured loans
A mortgage advisor who is not independent will be selecting your product options from a limited panel of lenders and may not even be considering the full range of options available to you on a re-mortgage.
Now, more than ever, it is important to obtain independent mortgage advice when seeking a mortgage.
What does a mortgage advisor do?
Mortgage advisors assess your situation and requirements, then identify the most suitable lender and product for your circumstances. They help you prepare your mortgage application in a way that makes it easiest for the lender to say yes.
Is it worth getting a mortgage broker?
If you want to identify the best mortgage rates available to you on the market and have a smooth mortgage application process, then yes, it is worth getting a mortgage broker.
Where to obtain independent mortgage advice?
Your first port of call on a property purchase may be your local estate agent’s office, but this is the wrong place to obtain independent mortgage advice. Even if the mortgage advisor in your estate agent’s office carries the word independent on their business card, you need to remember they are not independent of the estate agent with whom they work, and the estate agent is working for the vendor, not for you. Hence, you are likely to find a conflict of interest when using an in-house mortgage advisor.
You cannot obtain independent mortgage advice from your Bank, as by definition, their mortgage advisors will only advise on one range of products, those marketed by their Bank.
The majority of independent mortgage advisors are small businesses run by individuals who understand that their businesses rise and fall off the back of their customer care. It is perhaps therefore, a good idea to get a personal recommendation from a friend or colleague when seeking independent mortgage advice.
Is it better to get a mortgage from a bank or broker?
If you approach a bank, you will be offered mortgage rates from that bank’s range only. If there is something about your situation that does not suit the bank, the bank will say no.
A mortgage broker will consider the whole of the market and is best placed to secure the lending for you.
When should you talk to a mortgage advisor?
Talking to a mortgage advisor gives you the best chance of getting a suitable mortgage rate and lender for you from the whole of the market.
Does it cost to use a mortgage broker?
Costs when using a mortgage broker will vary depending on the broker and the type of work you ask them to undertake. Some work and brokers will not charge a broker fee, whereas, in other situations, you may expect to pay anywhere between £300 and £1,000 to your broker.
What about specialist independent mortgage advice?
There are some areas of the market where you need a mortgage advisor who is not only independent but is also a specialist.
Typical areas could be:
- Mortgages for Professionals
- Mortgages for the self-employed
- Mortgages for those with a bad credit history
- Mortgages for those on temporary visas
- Mortgages for Contractors
- Mortgages for Locums
Independent Mortgage Advice – what does it mean?
Independent mortgage advice is what you receive from an independent mortgage broker, but what actually is ‘independent mortgage advice’?
Let’s break it down into its three component parts to see.
Mortgage
A mortgage is a legal agreement by which a bank or building society lends money in exchange for interest. The lender holds the tile of the lender’s property via a ‘mortgage’.
The condition is that the mortgage becomes void on the repayment of the debt and the title (ownership) reverts to the borrower in full.
If you are buying a property but don’t have the full funds to pay cash, a loan via a mortgage is what you need.
Advice
“Advice” is a word built from two others.
The first part of “advice” comes from the old French avis, which was based on the Latin word ad, meaning ‘to’. This was used with the Latin ‘visum’ meaning ‘to see’.
The original sense of the word “advice” was ‘a judgement’, or ‘way of looking at something’, and later became “giving an opinion”.
Therefore, if you want an opinion on your mortgage, ‘mortgage advice’ seems a good place to start.
Independent
Independent has a number of meanings:
free from outside control
capable of acting for oneself
not depending on something else for strength or weakness
Clearly, whilst you can get mortgage advice in a bank, that advice is not ‘free of outside control’, as, by definition, bank advice is controlled by the bank.
An independent mortgage broker will be free from control, acting without interference, and not relying on a single bank or building society.
Independent Mortgage Advice
If you seek a loan to buy a property, would like an opinion on how to do it, and want that opinion to be free of outside interference, then independent mortgage advice is what you need.
This is the service provided by A Mortgage Now.