Estate Agent Mortgage Advice in London
When you start your mortgage process, if you choose to use a large estate agent, they will want you to use their in-branch Mortgage Advisor and their recommended conveyancers.
You don’t have to use their in-house advisor however, in fact you can still get the same or better deals from somewhere else! Unfortunately, first time buyers are often the ones that get caught out and end up coaxed into using their internal services.
Searching for an external Mortgage Advisor in London could be the best path for you to take. An estate agent’s advisor will be biased, only encouraging you to see their side as they just want you to stay on with them.
A dedicated mortgage broker in London will be able to give you more perspective and see different sides. If you do your research and still end up back with your in-house advisor, that’s fair enough, though you should always remember that you have other options out there.
Our view consists of both transparency and efficiency, as we want to provide the best possible experience and the best advice for your personal and financial situation, whilst still delivering a fast yet friendly service.
Sales tactics of estate agents
If you end up choosing to use your estate agent’s in-house mortgage advisor and conveyancer, you need to think about where the cost of their service is coming from. Maybe they are charging you for their services without asking you and adding it to other fees, so that you don’t notice. Taking the route of a trusted mortgage broker in London will eliminate these concerns, as you know exactly what you are paying for. Your dedicated advisor will break each cost down for you and answer any questions of uncertainty you have with what’s going on.
Even though it is an illegal tactic, if you have opted not to take the estate agents in-house mortgage advice, they may refuse to put your offer forward on a property. For example, you could be using a broker and they may push another offer to completion over yours, purely on the basis that you aren’t using their services. Once again, these situations are illegal.
Estate agents may get even craftier and try to charge you with extortionate in-house conveyancing fees. Even with a straightforward purchase, they could try and charge you with fees upwards of £1,500. If you encounter anything like this during a purchase, you have all rights to ask them where they have got these prices from and for them to provide a full breakdown of everything.
An experienced mortgage broker in London only has your best interests at heart, and all of this can be avoided by going to one over an estate agent for mortgage advice.
How can I get a Mortgage in London?
Finding the right Mortgage Advisor
Choosing the right Mortgage Advisor can be hard; but is there a way to make it easier?
Sometimes your case will be specific and might require specialist care and attention. An estate agents in-house advisors don’t care about this and just want to make money off you. When you get in touch with a mortgage broker in London, you can be matched up with a specific advisor who has experience in that field.
For example, we have specialist buy-to-let mortgage experts who can be called upon if a buy-to-let enquiry is presented to them. Once you’ve had a free mortgage consultation and an agreement in principle (usually turned around in 24 hours or less), you could be linked with your perfect advisor and get a head start on your mortgage process..
We have years of experience providing mortgage advice in London and have been helping struggling customer take that leap into the mortgage market for over 15 years now as a company. You can find out more about our excellent mortgage advice service by looking at our fantastic customer reviews.
Getting behind the wheel to start your own mortgage journey
If you would rather “go it alone”, you should know that it’s perfectly okay to do so. The majority of things you need can now be done online! Along with the use of price comparison websites, you may be able to find yourself the most appropriate deal.
The benefit of doing things online is that you have the chance to save money on additional fees. As long as you are confident in what you are doing and know what you are looking for, you could complete the process very quickly.
One thing to note though is shopping around and comparing online may be a little harder than you think. You will need to make sure that you’ve found the most appropriate fit before agreeing to anything. Here are some things you should be wary of when choosing to find a deal by yourself:
- Do you have the ability to match the criteria for the “Best Buy” rates? Check before applying, as if you are declined, this could negatively impact to your credit score.
- Have you researched properly? Many of these comparison sites earn a commission from lenders and where there is no commercial relationship with a lender, they may choose to just not include certain deals on their list.
- If it goes wrong, it could cost you a lot of money. Be aware of valuation and applications fees if you are not 100% certain that you have been accepted. These fees will not be refundable.
- You will solely be responsible for progressing your application and also sorting out any problems if you encounter any future issues.
Should I use my Bank or a Mortgage Broker?
Using your bank’s Mortgage Advisor
It isn’t difficult to make an appointment with your bank’s Mortgage Advisor, however, it may not be the right choice for you to make. If you do choose this route, here are a few things you should keep an eye out for:
- They won’t shop around for the best deal; they can only offer their own deals; some of their deals may not suit you at all! They also won’t tell you about other mortgage lenders cheaper rates.
- You might be declined, even if you’ve been a longtime customer of that bank, regardless of length of time. We’ve seen customers of 20 years still get turned away for “lack of information”.
- There can often a long waiting list for a mortgage appointment, with some lenders making customers wait around 6-months for an appointment.
- Your bank may have inexperienced advisors on their team and therefore are unable to help with more complex cases. This is why many people get declined, as instead of solving the issue, banks instead just turn customers away.
Using a Mortgage Broker in London
Working alongside a mortgage broker that is not associated with the estate agent ensures you have someone working purely on your behalf as an inexperienced first time buyer in London. This also ensures there’s no conflict of interest risks.
Everything will be kept between you and your designated Mortgage Advisor in London. We have no external ties to any building societies, banks or estate agents. When we work, it’s solely for you and only you. Whilst we have lenders on panel, they’re purely there for the deals they offer, allowing us to find the most appropriate case for your case.
Our team have your best interests at heart. Managing Director Malcolm Davidson is here to explain the pros & cons of using a dedicated mortgage broker:
Date Last Edited: January 19, 2023
