Should I Use a Mortgage Broker

Securing a mortgage has previously been likened to a rite of passage, being something nearly all of us have to pass through when becoming responsible homeowners. Despite this, the long journey to meeting that milestone can seem a treacherous one, for some more so than others.

As the mortgage market continues to prove an unpredictable terrain, prospective homeowners are being flooded by mixed-signals on when the right time to do so is, not to mention the best practices. As such, taking the plunge can be daunting, especially for market newcomers stepping onto the first rung of the property ladder.

With the thousands of products and lenders now available, securing the right mortgage can be baffling and, despite popular belief, can be even more of a challenge for a high net worth individual with a complex financial profile.

Many will believe the process is easy to undertake by themselves, or will simply opt for the cheapest broker available. Yet, the cost of these choices can be great, with just one mistake burning a hole in your pocket or inhibiting your chances of securing a mortgage altogether. So even if an upfront fee seems steep, engaging with the best possible broker is always the most beneficial way to save money in the long run. With the ability to lift the weight from your shoulders and leave the pennies in your purse, here are 5 of the many reasons why you should use a mortgage broker when securing a mortgage…

Expert Knowledge & Experience

A good broker will have the most knowledgeable outlook of the market and will keep you informed as a consequence. With the ability to offer an unbiased view on the options presented to you, it is our job at Enness to ensure clients are kept in the loop of any market activity or trends and the effects they may have on your finances. With years of experience sourcing the best solutions for complex cases, a broker will act as your market tour-guide, ensuring that dipping your toe in the property market or exploring its depths further is stress-free and manageable, so you can achieve the best solution tailored to your circumstance and affordability.

Solve More Complex Cases

Stringent tick-box criteria mean mainstream lenders tend to only understand and approve cases with “vanilla” income structures or those borrowing smaller amounts on just one property. If your circumstance is more complex, be it as a self-employed individual with multiple income sources or someone with a large amount of bonus income, for example, a broker is always the best option for securing the right finance for you. At Enness, we have built valued relationships with many niche lenders that will determine each case on a personal basis, considering the entire wealth of a client when calculating affordability. With no fixed criteria, this holistic approach will consider the specific goals and prospects of a client and provide bespoke products as a result.

True Whole-of-Market Access

One key benefit of using a broker is the lender accessibility this relationship will offer. This does not apply across the board, however, as most brokers will use a panel of lenders ‘representing’ the market and still call themselves whole-of-market. Rather than be a true whole-of-market broker like us, who will work with anyone lending in the UK. Whereas using a whole-of-market and independent broker, allows you to take advantage of unrestricted contacts in the industry and find the most accurate mortgage product to fit your needs. Going alone, on the other hand, will mean you have less leverage in a negotiation, as well as restricted access to rates beyond high street lenders. Equally, Private Lenders and Challenger Banks offer much more bespoke products than those on the high street. This is primarily due to their interest in establishing long term relationships with their clients, thus offering greater flexibility in return. As such, we at Enness have contacts with every type of lender (a total of 147 at last count) and are able to find you the best one for your needs.

Contact the Right Lender

Similar to the benefits of a broker’s access, the broker will work together with a lender to evaluate the total cost of your mortgage. Consequently, you will have a full picture of potential outgoings and costings presented on multiple options prior to a decision. Misleading rates are often advertised by high street lenders, which tend to come with hidden fees – only revealed to the client when it’s too late. The biggest reason behind contacting the right lenders, beyond financial cost to you, is that a single rejection by one lender can significantly impair your ability to borrow altogether. By firstly talking through your financial situation to determine every aspect of your affordability and circumstances, a broker will then be able to determine which lender will suit your requirements and be most likely to offer the best solution for you. With the whole picture of your case to present to a lender, a broker will work with you from the initial conversation right through to completion, presenting a case based purely upon its genuine merits, overcoming any of the issues you may normally face. In line with this, we also have relationships with underwriters whom we can negotiate with and chase on your behalf should anything go awry – we have no hit or miss results when it comes to forming submissions here.

The Quickest Solution

A huge majority of clients come to Enness because they need to secure necessary funds in a timely manner, which is something a private individual will have no control over in the majority of cases. Using a broker will offer a much faster solution than anywhere else, providing a consultation immediately and introducing you to the right lender almost as fast. Although it may seem convenient to pop down the high street, you will nearly always have to wait at least a week for a consultation alone, solely to determine if you can even access the necessary finance. By having a broker in your corner during this highly dynamic process, you are not simply standing at the back of the line with blind hope. Working with a broker will result in a swift solution and lucrative deal to go with it – here at Enness, a large number of our cases fully complete in just a few weeks from the enquiry.

In case we haven’t made a compelling enough argument above, to avoid being turned down by a lender and risking your credit score, we always recommend you contact a broker to offer some expert advice – even if you do still go it alone. Most brokers will not charge you for this, but rather, see it as an extension of their role to help the individuals across the board.

We believe strongly in keeping our clients as informed as possible, so we hope you have found this useful. For more details, please do have a flick through our guide library, where you will find in-depth, market-leading whitepapers on the mortgage process, as well as specific product-related information.