The Mortgage Store

I’ve actually done both roles earlier in my career – I’ve worked in high street banks. The difference is that back then I could only talk about that lender and their deals. It was either our deal or nothing else. We couldn’t look outside of that.

The beauty of the brokerage world is that we’ve got those banks and many others. If a client wants something niche, or their income requirements are a little bit different compared to a standard 9-to-5 office employee, we can shop around to find a lender that will fit.

It might be the property that’s a little bit different, or your income or the deposit is coming from various different sources. It might be the credit rating. It’s all down to what the client wants and what their needs are.

We can have conversations with the bank before we submit applications, and we’ve got a wealth of experience within our team. I’ve done this for a long time, so we can try and place the mortgage to the right lender.

Yes, an Agreement in Principle or Decision in Principle basically takes a snapshot of your details – what you do for a living, how long you’ve been there etc., – and gives you an idea of what a bank would in theory lend you.

The bank will want further information at the application stage, but the Agreement in Principle states how much you can borrow and what the payments will look like, and that lenders will potentially lend you this money.

With some banks that will be valid for a month, with others it’s three months. But the bank always reserves the right to change their minds as their appetite to lend can change from time to time.

First Time Buyers need an Agreement in Principle to go and start viewing properties. Estate agents want to know that the client can afford this property and they aren’t just nosing around.

It doesn’t take long to do an Agreement in Principle – it’s a quick process. A lot of people think they know what they can afford based on their income and the amount of rent they are paying. Our job is to give them a little bit more detail within that.

Yes, we get that a lot. I’ve provided financial advice for about 23 years and I have picked up a lot of clients that stay with me. They’ll pass family members on to me too.

We do a lot of remortgages. Sometimes it’s just a product transfer where they want to stay with their lender and get a new rate for a two year or a five year deal, for example.
There will be various options depending on the lender.

Some customers come to us to borrow additional money to make improvements to their house, consolidate their debts or pass some money to the kids. As long as it’s something that the lender is happy to support, we can arrange it as part of the remortgage.

Customers may want additional properties to get rental income. There’s big demand for rented properties in the right area. Sometimes people become accidental landlords by inheriting a property or deciding not to sell their property when they move. They might not want to let go of their original property for sentimental reasons, or perhaps it’s not a great time to sell.

We’ll have conversations to make sure that they’re fully aware of the legal requirements for a landlord. I’ll pass them on to local estate agents for a chat about the legal side, what the costs will be and even how to manage potential nightmare tenants. If there was a period of time where there was no rent coming in, you will still have to pay the mortgage, do repairs and make sure the property is fit and proper for the people living in it.

Yes, we can. Protection can mean life insurance or income protection. There are also other insurance policies for the property as well.

We have Protection Matters, which is a specialist team that deals with life insurance, critical illness cover and income replacement. We’ve also got Safe & Secure who deal with buildings and contents insurance.

I would have an initial chat with you to find out what you’re looking for and then pass that information to my colleagues to help you.

It’s not one size fits all. With some customers I’ll speak to them a year before they’re even looking – because they want to understand how much deposit they need, and perhaps whether some money from their parents will be acceptable.

I think a brilliant time to get in touch is when you have a deposit ready – be it a 5% or 10%. No banks out there currently do 100% mortgages. So when you’ve got a deposit ready and are looking to purchase a property, come and see me, definitely before you start viewing properties.

A lot of customers go and start viewing properties that they can’t afford or where the payments are going to be very steep – and they’re not ready for it. It’s always good to see a mortgage adviser a couple of months before you even start viewings.

We can give you an idea about what you can borrow. It doesn’t take long – about 20 to 30 minutes on the phone.

Sometimes it’s a chicken and egg situation. Customers might just fall in love with an area, see a property up for sale and ring me. Do it soon as you feel comfortable. I’m here whenever that moment is.

From working in an estate agent I know that often people genuinely think that they can buy a property – they’ll have a viewing and make an offer. The owner thinks they’ve sold their house, but then the bank says no, they can’t borrow that much money.

It can take a couple of weeks – and everyone has been waiting. So speak to a mortgage broker before falling in love with a property.

We are here to assist the process. You’ve got various gatekeepers along the way – that’s why estate agents will ask if you have an Agreement in Principle or a mortgage promise. It’s making sure you’re ready and you have the right product for you.

The last thing we want is for a bank to say to somebody you can borrow this amount, they find a house, make an offer, instruct solicitors and arrange surveys and then the bank says they can’t lend this much. We always keep a couple of options available. We’ll confirm that a few banks will lend between a range of figures, so there’s always a backup plan.

No, not at all. We have conversations all the time with potential customers. We’ll have in-depth conversations to make sure that we can help with what they are looking to do.

We’ll look at whether it’s something that the lending industry will support – sometimes we do have weird and wacky conversations where somebody wants to remortgage and put money into a business, for example. A remortgage won’t allow you to do that. We’ll be straight to the point – so having a quick chat is really important.

It doesn’t necessarily just have to be one conversation. We have multiple conversations before a client is ready to go ahead.

These days, everyone shops around – we do it in all aspects of life. Even if we book a holiday or buy car insurance, we don’t just go to the first company that comes to mind.

The days of people just going to their bank are long gone. You’ll be treated exactly the same by a new lender as the bank you’ve always had an account with. I would always recommend people to see a mortgage broker – having been an advisor in a branch, I know the difference.