More than one broker?

[Sarah W]

With all due respect Sarah, people need to shop around in this market as from my experience not all brokers are the same.

1. Not all brokers deal with all lenders.

Agreed.

2. Some brokers have more of an interest in sending you to a particular lender over another due to commission etc paid to the broker.

Agreed

3. If you can get the same rate from the bank directly and get your valuation fee etc waived by the bank, i dont see the need for using a broker at all.

Don't agree. Margins on mortgages are now so tight that there is a huge amount of pressure on bank staff to cross sell additional, and possibly unneccesary additional/add on insurances. There is a hard sell to take the lenders household insurance and not always good advice on personal insurance. I always recommend taking the cheapest and most basic mortgage protection (as required in 95% of cases by the mortgage conditions). Insurance = commission and lenders push more expensive cover and mortgage payment protection policies as a matter of course.

I am aware of REAs legal deal and it does sound good so that would be one argument for using REA as a broker but again not all brokers support such a deal.

I can't speak for other brokers but I find it interesting that in 10 years no other broker has followed own business plan of offering a completely independent, transparent service. REA are the ONLY brokers who willingly disclose our spread of business. I wonder why that is?

4. I have known colleagues who have actually paid a broker €400/500 for the service that others provide for free.

And that should be against the law but sadly isn't as yet.

5. On the point of filling out paperwork, it does become annoying after a while as would paying over the odds for your mortgage every month.


Final point: The more shopping around people do, the more clued in they become as to what their mortgage needs are and how best to satisfy them. When your happy that you have the best deal you can find, you go with that and thats the end of it.

I agree in theory. The problem is that every provider is looking for your business and therefore is not going to show your their products in a true comparison with their competitors. The ethos of REA (given that we do not have an agency with Irish Nationwide and NIB do not have a broker network) is to offer unbiased, professional advice based on the clients individual circumstances and the best fit for those circumstances.

My 2 cents...

And mine!

Sarah

www.rea.ie

 

[candyman]

BUt I've always been the type that does a lot of research before parting with my money....

its a pity more FTB's arent like this.

Petal - You should be able to get most banks rates over the phone or email without filling in a ton of forms for each one. My advice would be to start a spreadsheet with all the lenders/brokers in it and as you get the rates (ask for interest rate & APR & expected monthly repayment gross of mortgage interest relief) fill in your spreadsheet. In no time its becomes very easy to see who is offering what at what price. Once you get a decent offer, start round 2 of ringing back the ones who like and tell them upfront the best deal i have so far is x, can you do any better?

They are much less likely to mess you around when they realise you are well clued in and are not phased by the jargon they all use.

best of luck and sure let us know how u get on....

 

[candyman]

Just in reply to Sarahs post...

I always recommend taking the cheapest and most basic mortgage protection (as required in 95% of cases by the mortgage conditions). Insurance = commission and lenders push more expensive cover and mortgage payment protection policies as a matter of course.

Months of reading this site has taught me your exact point above.

The problem is that every provider is looking for your business and therefore is not going to show your their products in a true comparison with their competitors.

If you ring up AIB and BOI and ask for a quote (interest rate + APR + monthly repayment figure) for a 2 year fixed is that not comparing apples with apples?
If they want your business surely its in their interest to better their competitors offerings?

 

[icecool]

get quotes from more than one broker but dont start app;lying to more than one lender. This is not a good idea and is not needed. Rates are avaiable to brokers at the toiuch of a button these days. If you are actually applying for more than one mortgaeg and senidng forms to mortgaeg companies this could damage your credit rating significatnly as you will show multile credit searches and checks on your records. Sho around and use a broker you think you can trust and you feel comforablt with, listens to you and what you want. inh general mortgages dont pay commissions to advisers half as much as the assoiatec life cover and critical illness products. This is where they make their money

 

[icecool]

just saw a few comments on protection. if you are worried about your mortgage liability stuill being there in the event of you being diagnosed with the likes of cancer or an illness of that nature then you should look at talking out critical illness protection. it can be expensive there is no ones about it obviously it deepends on your age the term of the policy, if you smoke and your past health. if you are cost concious then the most simply plan will do the job ways to reduceing cost could be having propermium on a reviewable basis rather than a guarantede basis. This means the premiums are reviews every 5 years. They could go up at this stage but initially is cheaper. WHat cover you take depends on your futrure plans also. If you want to top cover with the most illnesses covered and the extras then you have to pay for it simple as that. BUPA is a very contrphensive contract.