Experiences with REA?


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MoneyMate and Investor Magazine Awards 2007 - Winners Announced

Mortgage Broker of the Year in association with ICS Mortgages - REA Mortgage Choice
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MoneyMate and Investor Magazine Award Winners...2006

Residential Mortgage Broker of the Year in association with IIB Homeloans - REA Mortgage Choice
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QED...
 
Hi Ubiquitous

Just on a final point of clarification in two matters and I will close off on my contribution

1. REA clearly states on our Terms of Business that fees are paid directly to the clients solicitor and this matter has been discussed on this forum ad infinitum...

2. MoneyMate/Investor Magazine choose their sponsors - as its a mortgage award, one would assume it should be a mortgage company thats chosen as a sponsor!

As a side issue, REA is the only mortgage broker that lists on its website where its business goes, we are client driven, not lender driven

regards

Deirdre L

www.rea.ie
 
Hi Deirdre,

Again thanks for responding. I don't really have any quibble with REA as a company, I'm just concerned about possible conflicts of interest among the solicitors on their referral panel(s).

I take your point about the awards sponsors, but as industry awards sponsored, and presumably adjudicated, by heavy hitters within the industry, I'm not sure of their exact relevance to consumers, as opposed to awards by consumer groups or agencies?
 
I dealt with REA recently

I found them to be good, helpful etc.

BUT

the solicitors they use/recommend are not. And I am not alone in saying this either.

AND

I have had problems with the mortgage because I didnt deal with the provider directly - some details were missed out on etc. This was probably not REAs fault, but as someone said, it just adds a layer of procedure and red tape to the process, and unless you are getting the most simple bog standard mortgage, I dont think using any broker (be it REA or anyone else) is worthwhile.
 
the solicitors they use/recommend are not. And I am not alone in saying this either.
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Have you told REA about the issues you had with the solicitor? This is a very strong statement to make and isn't reflected in previous posts about REA. There have been posts complaining about low-cost solicitors in general, but most of the issues seem due to unrealistic expectations on the part of the purchasers.

I had the opposite experience with REA. I got good independent advice from the panel solicitor that cost REA their fee (as I decided not to go ahead with a purchase at that time. No reflection on REA!).

I agree with your final point. Brokers are most useful for people who are not confident about approaching financial institutions directly, or who need to maximise their borrowing potential.
 
At the risk of repeating myself - Inputting salary/income details into mortgage calculator of the lender of your choice (after determining lender providing best rate in market from bestbuys on AAM/newspaper) is also a good way of knowing maximum borrowing potential - or am I missing something?
 
The mortgage calculators on lenders' sites are, in my experience, very pessimistic and do not reflect what institutions may offer borrowers with "special" circumstances. Good brokers often know more about bank central office mortgage approval policy than bank staff in branches.
 

Exactly. The calculators are useless and are just marketing tools. Otherwise why do the banks pay good money for teams of underwriters. (whether they do any better is open to debate!)
 
So how do you find the good brokers who are more au fait with bank central office mortgage approval policy than bank staff in branches? Especially for those lenders that offer the best rates?

Are the mortgage calculators on the broker websites any good?
 

You are assuming that everyone is looking for the best rate. Alot of FTB's are looking for the maximum amount that they can borrow rather than the best rate per se. If you deal with a broker that deals with all or most the financial institutions, they should know the different underwriting standards of each one and what they look for in applications. There is nothing to stop you from doing the leg work yourself though.

Personally I used a broker because I didn't want to be filling out loads of applications with supporting docs and checking rates etc and dealing with 10 different banks. I found that Rea saved me alot of time and it suited my personal circumstances but I perfectly understand people who don't use brokers as well. Rea basically told me who they applied to, what amounts I could borrow and rates from each institution and let me choose. Suited me as I say but some people might just call me lazy.
 
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