Mortgage advice/experience

[Rxt156]

My mortgage advisor was £150. They get some money from the lender as well. Well worth the money as it takes all the stress out of it and you know you’re getting a good deal.
Not sure I’d pay £500 though.

 

[Tommyb]

Try first direct. Fantastic customer service and they win lots of awards. Free mortgage advisers who are fully qualified. Plus unlimited overpayments. Free standard valuation. Open 7 days a week. Really great to.deal with. Usually lend.4.75 x salary

I can second this. No wait times for customer service. Mortgage side of thing was very smooth and fast. You can fill in most details online. Gave us the best rate and we didn't even use a mortgage adviser given my bf used to work as one.

 

[Fizzwhizz2020]

If it’s any help, I bought a property on my own. I went through an independent mortgage adviser who looks at whole of market, they are usually paid by the banks so they want to get you the best deal. The mortgage adviser at the banks are useless. Funny enough the mortgage he got me was with my own bank and it was more than they’re offered to lend me. I had a good deposit so lower LTV ratio. But he got me more than 4.5x salary which helped. But one thing to absolutely do, is get rid of any debt and make sure your credit score is tip top. Good luck

 

[mcfeez]

Sorry for jumping on this thread but has anyone got any knowledge on whether mortgage lenders will include child / working credits within your income? Or do most lenders base it purely on your income from employment only?

I think they count anything that qualifies as regular income.

Im not looking for expert advice or guidance, I just want personal experiences to help me. I will use a mortgage advisor once I’ve fully saved my deposit.

I’m going to sound so stupid but I honestly don’t understand how they work? All the mortgage calculators online say how much I would be able to borrow based on wages, but then I know friends/family who have managed to borrow over this?

For example, say I want to buy a house that is 500k. I have a 50k deposit, and based on my wages can borrow 300k mortgage. That leaves me 150k short. Is that a problem or would I be able to get a 450k mortgage?

Its about your income and your regular outgoings as well as your deposit/LTV ratio. You would possibly not be able to comfortably afford the monthly outgoings that 450k mortgage would bring about.

 

[Tree_]

I have spoken to a free one, but unfortunately they don't have the product that will enable me to get the mortgage.

It's a high street bank. The mortgage advisor is £500, which I think is pretty standard? Then the cost of the product in £1,000. Just would be nice to save that £500, but if mortgage advisors give better rates than going direct it's obviously more worth it. So wanted to see what people thought/their experience.

Try y-not finance. I can recommend Paul. He's absolutely fantastic

 

[Tree_]

I'd always use a mortgage advisor personally. I used a free one and they took all the stress out of it for me. I'm not sure about your situation. How much is their charge? Are you going to be borrowing from a high street or a sub prime lender?

 

[Ss1471]

So I used to work in underwriting, they will generally take child benefit etc but any responsible lender would do a separate affordability check for when this ends at time kids turn 18, but they would also generally speaking remove the cost of the dependant then also so it should balance out. My best advice is be as honest and transparent as possible throughout the whole application, you might think fudging income or trying to hide any outgoings might help but 9 times out of 10 anyone working at the bank will find it and that will only make your situation worse. Also no borrowing for a few months, especially going into overdrafts, payday loans klarna etc. just be as frugal as possible and save save save. It is such a minefield and a mortgage advisor is your best bet, they’re legally bound to find you the best deal and make sure it’s affordable for you. Good luck! We’re going to look to move this year and I’m dreading it already

 

[SquiggleWiggle]

Im not looking for expert advice or guidance, I just want personal experiences to help me. I will use a mortgage advisor once I’ve fully saved my deposit.

I’m going to sound so stupid but I honestly don’t understand how they work? All the mortgage calculators online say how much I would be able to borrow based on wages, but then I know friends/family who have managed to borrow over this?

For example, say I want to buy a house that is 500k. I have a 50k deposit, and based on my wages can borrow 300k mortgage. That leaves me 150k short. Is that a problem or would I be able to get a 450k mortgage?

 

[adviseplz]

Thanks everyone

Does the rate differ from the advisor vs if you were to go direct to the high-street lender?

 

[Former_Antelopee]

I just started looking now. I think I'll lock in a deal asap as I've seen they are due to rise again. Then if my current ones better I'll stick closer to the time.
The lowest I've found are

4.82% for 2 years
4.79% for 3 years
4.78% for 5 years

Have no idea which would be best.. I originally thought 3 years as it'll be a year after trump is gone. But then someone said about the UK election which if it's the latest it could be in August 2029 I'd be starting to look at remortgaging a month after that

 

[GiftedNotFree]

Oh wow, ok - I thought that was the standard. I'll have a look and see if I can find anyone cheaper.

Thanks everyone

I used an independent mortgage advisor for my first house purchase and he got commission from the lender and I paid £225 out of pocket. It was worth all that (and more imo!) because if took all the stress out of the process. I’ll be going back there when my remortgage is due.

 

[SquiggleWiggle]

This is great thanks everyone

 

[adviseplz]

It shouldn't do, as you'd still undergo the same hard credit searches upon application through an advisor vs direct. Just remember - the rate you're initially shown on discussion with an advisor/direct with the bank may not be what you're actually offered after your full application has been done. For example, I applied direct with Lloyds for a 95% mortgage, which is what the in-house advisor recommended me, but when my full application went through they would only offer me 85% LTV. I went with an advisor after that and applied elsewhere and managed to get a 95% LTV through Skipton.

Oh yeah, that’s a very good point. Thanks for the advice everyone!

 

[btw]

Sorry for jumping on this thread but has anyone got any knowledge on whether mortgage lenders will include child / working credits within your income? Or do most lenders base it purely on your income from employment only?

 

[Former_Antelopee]

When is the best time to look for a new mortgage after my current one runs out I've read 3-6 months? Is it also worth getting a mortgage advisor for a renewal? My current deal runs out March 2027 so I'm thinking end of 2026 I'll have to start to look?

 

[louderforthecheapseats]

I’ve never paid for a mortgage advisor. You need a whole of market one. And as others have said it’s definitely worth speaking to one early on so you can manage your expectations. Lenders are now offering less as they’re banking on rates going up so want to know you can still afford your payments if the rates went up significantly (can’t remember the %) and being very cautious. Depending on your occupation there’s a new mortgage available which lets you have 7 times your salary but you’re on a fixed rate for the whole term of the mortgage, so definitely worth seeing what’s out there

 

[PillowsofFluff]

Sorry for jumping on this thread but has anyone got any knowledge on whether mortgage lenders will include child / working credits within your income? Or do most lenders base it purely on your income from employment only?

When we recently remortgaged, I mentioned that I received child benefit and was asked to provide a copy of the benefit award letter, so I guess they do take things like that into account? Not 100% sure though

 

[Rxt156]

I have also remortgaged and stayed with the same lender, much easier and the advisor did it all for me even though there was no paperwork. Very little stress. Fab lady she is!!

 

[Former_Antelopee]

I am buying a house currently following divorce (gutted to have lost our 1.18% rate) and the rates hardly differ between 2 year and 5 year deals. My broker advised that although rates are due to drop in 2027, the predictions after that are rises, so in 2027 the rates being offered are likely to be higher than the rates being offered now to account for the rises coming.

I have secured 4.1% and quite grateful of that.

Oh thank you maybe I should start looking asap at 6 months then so around September next year

 

[adviseplz]

Oh wow, ok - I thought that was the standard. I'll have a look and see if I can find anyone cheaper.

Thanks everyone