Sarnie Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 TBH it's like any advice - mortgages, recruitment, estate agents, betting tips etc........ You make your decision off the back of it. There will be the unscrupulous, well intended, mentally challenged, able, exceptional people that offer all sorts of advice. As has been said reccommendation is often the best way and anyone wanting to build a business / reputation will work hard on that. But just the same way we try and mod our cars ourselves we'll try these things too. My best mortgage was one I bought and arranged myself. So far, I've used two mortgage advsiors, both have cause me pain. I'm a qualified bean counter so I understand the figures better than most of them do - still hasn't stopped it. Sarnie, you want some business in a couple of months?! Yes mate we can count beans together Drop me a PM when your ready mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest prescience Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 That's fine for an educated man like yourself who knows what to ask. What about the average Sun-reader? Well based on the comments in this thread, putting yourself in the hands of a broker is no guarantee to success - quite the opposite. I know what point you're making though - devil and deep blue sea spring to mind Agreed. It all comes down to recommendations IMHO. Agreed. That is a good way forward for anyone in any line of business broker, solicitor (noted your kind offer earlier ), plumber, builder, car tuner etc etc. Supplementing that by educating yourself about a subject to the best of your ability and with the time you have available is even better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarnie Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Some customers are so naive it's only common decency that prevents us taking the pxss. When I worked at Perrys I once signed someone up at 55.9% APR which was ludicrous. ...and these people will be trying to sort their own mortgages on t'internet! Exactly mate, not everyone is as clued up as people on here. There are unscrupulous companies out there who will charge a fortune for their services. A pal of mine charges £3995 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest prescience Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Is one of the qualifications for doing either of these jobs, is to be totally f**king useless and to make enless stupid mistakes which results in me constantly ringing them to correct them on their errors!! And with the fees they charge as well. I am FSA qualified and used to work as a financial advisor. My experience of this industry is that a broker will sell you the product that is best for him, in terms of commission and bonuses, and not the product that is best for you. We used to get incentivised promotions through from certain companies for selling one particular product over another so of course if your interested in earning money thats the product that you push. To be honest I don't see the need to employ a middle man these days when it's so easy to shop around with the internet etc and the high street banks practically giving money away ! Dan, I made your last point recently, but sarnie did point out to be fair that he had access to a greater range of products than I (for example) could get to through say fool.co.uk and also might get a better rate (which presumably would be passed to the end-user?) But for straightforward advances with no CCJ history, reasonable mortgaged percentage of property value etc, I think the internet is hard to beat personally Isn't this how folk with an eye on the most competitive rates end up tied into products or with huge redemption penalties? Its like doing your own conveyancing - if you f@ck it up who do you sue? No not really, it's a starting point and you are in a better position (with no baggage or targets if you like) to make an informed decision by asking the right questions. All the site is doing is putting you in touch with a likely provider direct - and you take it from there. Yes Dorian but what your getting is tied advice. What that means is that any lender can only give information on their products and no one elses. Therefore their advice is limited. Also they will only give you the answers to the questions you ask. Legally they are not 'allowed' to advise you in anyway shape or form. If they were to give you advice then they would have to give 'whole of market' advice and would therefore 8 out of 10 times would be advising you go to another bank as they have a better product! Are they going to do that? NO. If you don't ask about something eg Is the mortgage portable? Then when you want to move house and find that you've got to pay a whopping penalty then there is no come back as they have given you an 'Information Only' service. I, on the other hand, am completely independant and can legally advise on the whole of the market and not just a range of products from one lender The internet sites are a load of tosh really too. How can a top 10 table be formed when there are over 28000 different mortgage products to choose from. Someone like Halifax will have about 800 products on their own Also if you think that these comparison sites are 'independant' then think again. The site will get a referral fee from the lenders that subscribe to be placed on their tables actually i could be knocking on your door too come October if current options don't work through - if that's OK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 I wanted to borrow on my property over here to finance a project abroad but couldnt find a lender that would do it. I used a mortgage advisor who sorted me out very quickly. I got the right product at the right price. He even cut his fee because I knew exactly what I wanted so his job was easier. Just to balance the discussion a little. Know what you want and what you dont. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmmackfc Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Last two times I went via an independent through Countrywide estate agents. Spot on TBH He doesn't demand a fee from the client either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarnie Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Last two times I went via an independent through Countrywide estate agents. Spot on TBH He doesn't demand a fee from the client either. He'll be using a panel of lenders, maybe 10 or 12, that pay him enhanced comm for using their panel. Using such a panel will mean limited advice as he is only using a limited amount of lenders from which to give you advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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