You will find yourself paying all sorts of added expenses and add on costs when you come to take out your mortgage. Most of these costs will take the shape of some kind of fee, which will normally come from the lender, for example, a higher lending charge, which you could have to pay if you are borrowing a lot of money. Another cost you will inevitably end up paying will be a fee for the actual mortgage advice you are given, which could vary between a couple of hundred pounds from anything up to thousands. It all depends on what size mortgage you are taking out and what kind of mortgage. A mortgage broker may charge you more for advice if you take out a sub-prime mortgage, this is because this type of mortgage will mean the broker has to do more work because your credit history may not be so good. They may also charge you more if you want to take out a self-cert mortgage, as this will also take up a lot more of their time.
A lot of people think they are being clever by going direct to a lender instead of a mortgage broker as they think the lender will not charge a fee for advice because you are going direct. You could end up saving yourself money by going direct to a lender but you also may not. By going to a broker you are getting to see all of the products in the market, so the deal you get in the end could work out as a cheaper one compared to going direct to a lender. It is common for a lot of mortgage brokers to give advice for free, they will then make their money by getting commission form the lender whose product they have recommended. You may also find that a lot of larger brokers will charge for advice if it is face-to-face, but not if it is done over the phone or on the internet, so it is worth checking that out before you go.
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In some rare cases you may also find that a mortgage broker will charge you for advice even if they can’t help you, or you don’t end up using them in the end. You may go and visit a mortgage broker, who will look at your finances and realise that you are not eligible for a mortgage, but they may still charge you for this advice. Always phone up the firm before you go and visit, as you do not want to find yourself being charged for advice if they cannot help you. An adviser may also disguise their fee as something else, or on advertising say that you pay no initial fee, but then charge you something later on, so always make sure you know what you are paying for.
When it comes to being charged for advice, a lot of people don’t mind this, as long as they are given good advice. If you go to a mortgage adviser then this will be how they make their living, so they may need to charge you, but it is still important to shop around and try and find someone who will give you advice for free.
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