Mortgage Broker V's Direct with Bank

Francob

Hello All,

Myself and GF are watching property market avidly and wish to arrange mortgage approval and be ready to pounce if the right house comes along.

We have very little financial savy and from the rumour mill, hear that getting a mortgage through a broker will save time/work/effort/sweat
but result in higher interest rate. Is this really the case ?

If so, then presumably we a better off dealing directly with bank.
Which brings us to the next few questions. Which bank ?

We are considering 1) Interest Rate 2) Amount offered 3) Term offered

Anything we are missing? Also are we able to get approval from multiple
differernt banks at the same time ?

Thanks

Francob

astrofool

It's no problem to do both and compare the rates. A good broker will always beat what a bank will offer you though.

jdivision

astrofool wrote: »

A good broker will always beat what a bank will offer you though.

that used to be the case but banks are squeezing or withdrawing business from brokers and now most brokers are charging a non-refundable upfront fee - up to e500 in cases I've heard - before coming back to you with rates. OP, with interest rates changing regularly you're better off doing the research yourself as it could well be out of date within a couple of months.

earlyevening

National Irish Bank don't deal with brokers at all and offer some of the best rates. Pay them a visit and see if they can help you. In my case, a broker I consulted couldn't beat them.

The_Conductor

In all probability you will have to go and do a degree of legwork yourself.
The days of Mortgage Brokers doing the legwork for you, in exchange for a slice of the interest charged on the loan, are pretty much over.

You will need to get your paperwork in order- P60s for the past year or two, a note stating you are in permanent employment (and for how long, and if it involves a salary scale- what point you are on, and how the progression of the scale goes), details of your monthly outgoings (its always a good idea to do this intermittently anyhow), details of any other loans (overdrafts, term loans, credit card debt, credit union loans etc).

Its nowhere near as easy to get a loan now as it was 2 years ago (unless you are the type of person who really doesn't need to borrow money).

Some banks and institutions are probably not worth the hassle- people may give you their experiences here perhaps. Bank of Ireland have pretty much slowed right down- and will give you the third degree (which is what should have been happening right along). NIB- may have some of the best rates in the country- but their customer service is appalling, even to ask simple questions is an exercise that would try the patience of a saint. AIB- seem to know their stuff, but treated me with disdain when I was dealing with them (so I went elsewhere).

The interest rate alone is not the only factor to be looking at- look at the flexibility the different products from the different vendors afford, the clauses which might be employed if you try to move from one type product to another, whether the products suit what you are looking for etc.

Finally- as any estate agent will tell you- hang on until after the budget. If the new mortgages from the government of up to 288k come on stream- it may very well inject a little competition into the lower end of the mortgage equation for the financial institutions- things might get interesting. Also- with the current global and local financial situations- house prices are unlikely to trend in an unfavourable direction for buyers.......