Any point in using a mortgage broker?

Bacchus

The place I work has a financial adviser/broker that is available to employees. I'm looking at applying for a mortgage at the moment and I've spoken with 1 bank and the broker. I found the broker much easier to deal with and TBH, I'm not sure I'll bother going to any other banks myself.... I'll probably also end direct contact with the bank I did speak too.

The big difference for me was that the broker was able to give an open, honest assessment of our situation (savings, repayments, budgets) and took me through how the process will work. The bank rep kinda expected me to know everything going in (perhaps a fair assumption, but this is my first time) and just tailored an application to what my expectations were. There was no feedback if this was affordable, could I afford more (I can it turns out, quite comfortably), what repayments would look like, etc.He was very friendly and all that, but I wasn't getting the feedback or sense of confidence that I was getting the best deal for me, that I got from the broker.

farrerg

farrerg wrote: »

many mortgage brokers are ex branch managers or mortgage reps and have years and years of experience and great contacts. Unfortunately, a lot of the branch staff that are handling applications now have little or no experience,

Indeed, a reflection of banks downgrading their staffing in recent years. The guys who know their stuff have left and those in the branches now have no autonomy and don't have the knowledge or experience to be given any.

alibab

I also had a bad experience with a broker . Lots of mis truths and one major one where he failed to tell me AIB don't deal with brokers . There branch Haven do but for some odd reason decided not to try there and out ruled BOI also .

I was messed around for months and eventually one talked walked into AIB . 2 days later I has all my paperwork and 4 days after that approval . All went smoothly. He then went back and applied to haven getting me approval straight away too little too late but expected me to pay the fee . I ended up with approval with 2 banks in the end

irishguy1983

Thanks for all the replies!

So if anyone knows a decent broker in Cork could they PM me???!

If not how do I go about finding a good broker if you follow me??!

Dapos

Great to find this thread, trying to figure out will I go with a broker also.

Likewise, if anyone has any good recommendations for brokers in dublin, please PM me.

Thanks!

akelly02

Hi, if you have a deposit of say 10k and got it off a family member, but dont have long term savings, is it a no hoper for getting a mortgage?

Michael D Not Higgins

akelly02 wrote: »

Hi, if you have a deposit of say 10k and got it off a family member, but dont have long term savings, is it a no hoper for getting a mortgage?

Not necessarily but it certainly doesn't help.

akelly02

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

Not necessarily but it certainly doesn't help.

thanks. would only be looking for 70k but i reckon i need a year of hard saving

efb

Dapos wrote: »

Great to find this thread, trying to figure out will I go with a broker also.

Likewise, if anyone has any good recommendations for brokers in dublin, please PM me.

Thanks!

Get killers1

efb

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

killers1

he's still active and has contact details on his page

This guy

rosser44

Another vote for killers1 here. Used him very recently (in the last 2 months) to purchase my home. He made the process very pain and hassle free, couldn't recommend him enough.

efb

I didn't go through him but he gave me great support on boards while I was buying - his faq was invaluable

MaryMD

I went through a broker in Cork and was definitely worth it in that he gave us a lot of advice. One thing I did find was that it naturally slowed down a bit as he is essentially a middle man.

mrsWhippy

I'm in a position where i'm trying to decide whether to use a mortgage broker or not for a self-build mortgage. I have a recommendation for someone who I've spoken to and he's very knowledgeable, but there are fees attached. I know there is more admin involved since it's done in stage payments and from a financial point of view, this project is not all that straightforward.

I don't think I'll have any problems going directly to the banks, but am thinking this might simplify the process and get me some independent advice. The fees are not much over the course of the term, but I just can't decide whether it's worth it or not.

Parchment

Maybe if you have a trickier application (contract work etc). We managed fine approaching all the banks ourselves but we have zero debt (we are very boring people) and are both PAYE employees.

Try approaching banks yourself first, most banks are very helpful. AIB were the best of the ones we approached but also an honourable mention for EBS. (we also approached Permanent TSB, BOI & KBC). We wanted to see the difference in what the could offer.

mrsWhippy

I have approached a couple of banks already (AIB, BOI). There appears to be no issue with getting the money we need but I suppose I'm finding it hard to compare their offerings - I'm not financially minded! Not every bank does self-build mortgages either, KBC don't for a start.

Does anyone know of a broker who doesn't charge fees for a self-build mortgage?

Parchment

mrsWhippy wrote: »

I have approached a couple of banks already (AIB, BOI). There appears to be no issue with getting the money we need but I suppose I'm finding it hard to compare their offerings - I'm not financially minded! Not every bank does self-build mortgages either, KBC don't for a start.

Does anyone know of a broker who doesn't charge fees for a self-build mortgage?

Im not financially minded either - KBC were the lowest interest percentage rate (when we checked) with AIB being second cheapest. KBC offered us the lowest mortgage amount though - with AIB being a far better deal for us. EBS offered us the most money but the repayments were high.

Consumerhelp.ie has good info/comparisons

youcancallmeal

mrsWhippy wrote: »

I have approached a couple of banks already (AIB, BOI). There appears to be no issue with getting the money we need but I suppose I'm finding it hard to compare their offerings - I'm not financially minded! Not every bank does self-build mortgages either, KBC don't for a start.

Does anyone know of a broker who doesn't charge fees for a self-build mortgage?

Good info here about mortgages http://www.askaboutmoney.com/threads/which-is-the-best-lender.197714/

GhostyMcGhost

Sorry to dig up an old post but are there any good resources for brokers in Dublin (South)

From what I read here it seems hit and miss whether or not we should pay for one. There's one who was OK who gave us a consultation but he does charge.
Don't have a problem paying if the cost isn't really high because from what I read they're redundant in some cases

It would be best for us to save any extra few quid towards our deposit to be honest. I see some cost upwards of 1k and to me that's mad money spent when he's probably also getting money from the bank. My brother in law thinks we're mad to pay for one

I searched google but hard to tell which ones charge and which ones don't.

Thanks!

Parchment

We applied directly to all the banks - we were approved in all of them.

We both are on the lower side of salary scales. I am a lower ranking public servant. We both had decent savings (but nothing like the savings i see people mention here), no credit card debt (ever), no car loan and no kids. I think no dependants is a huge thing too.

I think if you have a "clean" history that means a huge amount. I dont think you have to have a large salary as noted here - as we dont. We just turned up with what they looked for - statements etc and had no issues. I dont think its the nightmare people make it out to be here sometimes.

If you have had credit issues in the past - sure the bank will not see you as a good "investment". Then maybe a broker can help. But we went into it clueless about mortgage applications and after filling out the first one we were pro's & had no issues.

athtrasna

Mod note

Reminder that recommendations are only permitted by pm as per forum charter

dbagman

I can recommend one I used myself only last year. And she didn't charge us a thing. In her own words "I have no need to charge you. I get my fee from the banks". Now I do know she moved jobs in the middle of our application, but we stuck with her in new place and wernt charged. Was delighted with all she did for us to be honest. My sister put me in touch with her and so happy she did. I can PM name and number if you wish. Iv no links to her whatsoever and never even met her in person. All our dealings were done via email,post for anything that needed actual signatures or over the phone.

Idioteque

Just be aware they don't have access to any special mortgage rates/deals. In most cases you're paying them to remove the hassle of filling out application forms, chasing things up etc.
I use a broker for my car insurance and they got a deal I couldn't find myself so I'm not anti-broker but personally I found the process of applying and getting a mortgage very easy so felt no need for a mortgage broker.
Any friends I have that used one paid between €250 - €350 from memory. I think they might be useful if you have unusual circumstances when applying as they probably know a better way to present that to a bank. In saying that, I did find the bank we went with to be very good anytime we had to chat to them about stuff.

youcancallmeal

If there is anything unusual at all about your application an experienced broker can invaluable. Otherwise better off applying yourself directly. Never heard of mortgage brokers charging clients directly, the bank pays them for bringing them a customer basically. Also worth noting that some of the better deals like the 2% cashback with EBS can only be gotten if you apply directly to them.

Denny_Crane

youcancallmeal wrote: »

If there is anything unusual at all about your application an experienced broker can invaluable. Otherwise better off applying yourself directly. Never heard of mortgage brokers charging clients directly, the bank pays them for bringing them a customer basically. Also worth noting that some of the better deals like the 2% cashback with EBS can only be gotten if you apply directly to them.

I think it's fairly common to charge these days. I expect the commission has decreased and the oversight increased.

newacc2015

GhostyMcGhost wrote: »

Sorry to dig up an old post but are there any good resources for brokers in Dublin (South)

From what I read here it seems hit and miss whether or not we should pay for one. There's one who was OK who gave us a consultation but he does charge.
Don't have a problem paying if the cost isn't really high because from what I read they're redundant in some cases

It would be best for us to save any extra few quid towards our deposit to be honest. I see some cost upwards of 1k and to me that's mad money spent when he's probably also getting money from the bank. My brother in law thinks we're mad to pay for one

I searched google but hard to tell which ones charge and which ones don't.

Thanks!

I would just phone a ton of brokers and ask if they work off commission from the bank or they expect a fee. There are so many brokers, I would not bother with one who wants a consultation fee. If you aren't suitable for a mortgage, you arent suitable for a mortgage. Paying a broker €1k wont solve that

Also brokers will likely sell you overpriced income protection, home insurance and life assurance. Price all of them before you say yes to the broker

Don't pay a broker for something others do for free.

Denny_Crane

The problem with that logic is, no one works for free. So do you really expect independant advice from the one working solely on commission or do you expect them to push you towards the one offering the most commission?

Having said that, it may happen anyway and some banks don't deal with brokers at all so perhaps you have a point.

I'm not really sure what a broker adds anyway - a bit of advice? The advice given in this forum re savings, neg equity etc. seems pretty solid to me, so you're left with some form filling. In a small number of cases I can see where they might be useful, self-employed, maybe a number of investment properties etc. For that type of situation I wouldn't be looking for someone who works only on commission to fill in some forms you'd want to be getting recommendations based on results regardless of whether they charge a fee or not.

Paddytheman

For us the broker was instrumental, went to our Bank and they offered X, mentioned creche fees and it quickly became X- €40,000. Went to broker who advised us on what info we actually needed to share, such as to apply immediately before creche fees show in current account and boom approved for X++.

He doesnt charge a fee and we got the best rates available from any bank. Also following up when we bid on properties offering his experience on how to understand estate agents and their tactics.

Possibly we were very naive or got lucky but glad we got his help to go through the process.

Denny_Crane

I'm not sure advice on how to circumvent the bank's lending policies is the best advert for brokers given the history. Also it's bizarre to me that a bank wouldn't be looking over a period as to catch things like creche fees.

As for the best rates available, as has already been said here brokers generally mean you can't avail of special deals, so I'd be dubious of whether you got the best deal or not, however fair enough if a broker was helpful to you, it does seem that many people seem to have a hard time dealing with EAs and the advice here seems pretty split on that front.

Paddytheman

Dunno Denny, in my case our mortgage will come in under our current rent which we have been paying for 5 years so know what we can and cant afford to pay back regardless of the banks calculations. The extra is the difference in buying a house in an area where I will happily bring up my family, a house I now consider to be fit for life and buying a house/in an area that I wouldnt be fully comfortable rearing a family. Its basically that clear cut for me but I understand every case is different.

Had several friends apply for mortgages on the same timeline as us and we have achieved the same rates as them, so Im pretty confident we havent lost out.

Im just offering my experience here and believe we have done well with the broker but hey Im a first timer and new to the game so you could be right.

PS Creche fees were starting the month we were applying so would have shown up in any statements.