When visiting a mortgage broker there are a few things you'll need to consider, for example:
- Some brokers offer products from a limited number of lenders and some brokers may offer products from the whole of the market. Make sure you are clear about what the broker can and cannot offer to you. Consider carefully the range of lenders and products that a firm is offering. This will be set out in the about our mortgage services document.
- Some lenders provide products direct to consumers via their own branches, websites and call centres – so there may be products available that your broker is not in a position to offer. Shop around to see what else is out there.
- Mortgage advice is not normally free and the way that you pay for a broker's services can vary enormously. Some brokers are paid commission - a set fee paid to the broker by a lender for selling one of their products. An 'independent' broker has access to mortgages from the whole market and will give you the option of paying a fee for his services to avoid any risk of product bias. Details of any fee you will have to pay or whether the broker will be paid by commission will be set out in the about our mortgage services. Shop around and consider the payment options available to you - see Fees and costs.
- Will you need advice on other products, such as an investment product? There is a difference between advising on mortgages and advising on investments. For example, in an interest-only mortgage, advice on an investment or savings plan to pay off the loan at the end of the term is investment advice. Check our Register to see whether your adviser can advise on both. Paying two sets of advisers can be expensive.
If a firm provides you with information or advice on other products in addition to mortgages, you will get a combined about our services document setting out the level of service, fees and other information that you can expect in relation to each.
