Would you be willing to pay a broker fee?

[Sarah W]

One thought has just struck me - how many bank employed mortgage advisers (or general bank staff for that matter) regularly post impartial, expert and free advice on AAM in the way that Liam has for so many years? I really, really think that the demise of customer driven independent advice - be it for mortgages, travel or any type of insurance - would be to the huge detriment of all consumers.

Sarah W.

 

[Thomas22]

I think most people would be willing to pay a fee for a mortgage broker as it can be a valuable service.

The problem is it wouldn't be anywhere close to what you currently get.
The average mortgage must be around €300k so with 1% commission that equates to around €3,000. There isn't a chance in hell I would pay anything close to that for the services currently offered by brokers. Max I would pay at the moment is €250.

Can brokers survive on these margins?

 

[LDFerguson]

I think most people would be willing to pay a fee for a mortgage broker as it can be a valuable service.

The problem is it wouldn't be anywhere close to what you currently get.
The average mortgage must be around €300k so with 1% commission that equates to around €3,000. There isn't a chance in hell I would pay anything close to that for the services currently offered by brokers. Max I would pay at the moment is €250.

Can brokers survive on these margins?

Don't forget that commissions haven't been abolished. In the worst cases they have been halved. In others, they have been reduced by a lower margin. So the question is not if a broker could survive on €250 per mortgage, but if they could survive on 0.5% or perhaps more.

 

[demoivre]

Don't forget that commissions haven't been abolished. In the worst cases they have been halved. In others, they have been reduced by a lower margin. So the question is not if a broker could survive on €250 per mortgage, but if they could survive on 0.5% or perhaps more.

Personally would prefer to see all lenders pay the exact same commission to brokers . Ulster bank is no longer selling mortgages through brokers and NIB never did so you have to research those lenders' products yourself. Substantially different commission rates paid by the other lenders to brokers may well jeopardize the public's view of the brokers willingness to impart independent advice imo.

 

[Thomas22]

Don't forget that commissions haven't been abolished. In the worst cases they have been halved. In others, they have been reduced by a lower margin. So the question is not if a broker could survive on €250 per mortgage, but if they could survive on 0.5% or perhaps more.

I thought the question was would i be willing to pay a fee and i said yes and gave an amount . If the question is would i be willing to pay a fee on top of the lower commission the broker now receives then the answer is a definite NO. If commissions aren't equal across the board then i can't see how brokers can remain neutral as it is very likely that banks with the lower rates for me will also have the lowest commissions for the broker.

 

[irishpancake]

Don't forget that commissions haven't been abolished. In the worst cases they have been halved.

Have Ulster Bank not abolished Broker Fees altogether by ceasing to sell mortgages through Brokers?

 

[money man]

Unfortunately i have to agree with Demoivre... what chance has a client of getting impartial advice from a broker who gets 1% commission from some banks, .5% commission from other banks and cannot offer other banks mortgages (often the most competitice e.g NIB) at all?

A broker is going to be left with those who have greatest risk attached and who need biggest loan to value.

I would say that for some reason or other Irish people do not want to pay for independent impartial advice and prefer instead to come to ask about money for their advice. I dont know why more people dont seek professional, independent financial advice on matters like mortgages etc and just have commissions refunded to them. That way they could make up their mind on all products / most suitable products available to them instead of whichever ones give the broker the best commission or are available to them.

 

[MortgageGuy]

be sure to thank a broker even if you have an NIB loan, NIB are often touted as 'best value in the market' actually 50-70% of all people are on variable rates and that goes for NIB's book as well! their variable is about the worst there is, so really their customers on the higher rate (who are usually not financially literate) are subsidising those on the good rates.

but i digress, why thank a broker if you are an NIB customer on a good tracker? because brokers actually brought tracker mortgages into this country, go back in time and look at NIB's proposition before the dawn of trackers and it will tell you an interesting story.

NIB only brought out trackers due to market competition that was created because of brokers, there is a lot of anti-broker sentiment, that's o.k. but you can't have a tracker mortgage and not like brokers, trackers after all, only exist because of brokers