Looking as a first time buyer to get a mortgage. I have had a look at money supermarket and have been to see a mortgage advisor at John Francis estate agents.

The mortgage advisor claimed to be totally independent, doesn't charge a fee, searches the whole of the market and doesn't work of commission she just gets a salary.. Is this genuine or is there a catch somewhere?

Any suggestions of where to look for mortgages?

We have a 85%LTV ratio and are looking at fixed rate mortgages or the flexible ones where you can switch from tracker to fixed at any point during the course of the mortgage

I have always used London and Country, who are probably the leading fee free genuinely whole of market broker http://www.lcplc.co.uk/ . They have always been spot on in the work they do and will be assisting with the purchase of my next property.

They will be able to get you a decent rate at 85% however I think you will get better at 80%. It is always advisable to check the offers of the companies that do not use brokers as I know in particular HSBC often have decent products with switching facilities, however the best rates are at around 60%. Other companies that don't use brokers are Halifax and Nationwide, but im sure that L&C will be able to find something more competetive than those 2.

Try First Direct. I'm with them and they have a good reputation. No idea on rates for first timers.

Martyn Lewis' site is always a good resource for anything financial : http://www.moneysavingexpert.com

What is the best rate you have found?

Coventry Building Society and Cooperative Bank are both about to launch FTB mortgages.

http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/servl ... ixed#fixed

http://www.coventrybuildingsociety.co.u ... /home.aspx

Ask yourself who is paying them, then (And maybe ask them.)

1 Independent - so can recommend any Company's Mortgage?
2 No fee (from your goodself, I assume)
3 No commission form the recomended Mortgage Company.
4 Salary from whom? Oh the mortgage Company, or an Independent one.

So 1 is a lie, as they only get paid by the one provider, who will not be best pleased if they sell another Company's Mortgage, or one that their Independent Company is linked to, so in effect they can buy mortgages cheaper in bulk, and sell on to you.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortga ... s-cashback

This link is from money saving expert and explains the best way to go about things.

Its a really good summary

I'm a whole-of-market broker if you'd like some help.

I typically charge a fee of £299 but would make an exception for a FISOer.

It's good that you have a 15% deposit as anything less than that would mean punitive rates.

By all means PM me if you'd like me to have a look for you.

I think this is Stick's area.

He may be able to help you out if he isn't too busy.

Whatever you do, don't take advice from MM Is it really, really true that anyone is properly independent?

Hi Chrisharry,

I am a mortgage adviser at a large high street Bank at present. I used to advise in an Estate Agency, where I was Independant, did not charge a fee and did not directly receive any commission.

The adviser in the Estate agency will most likely be paid a basic salary and also receive a bonus related to commission generated or number of sales.

I would say that you should be confident that they are providing you with the best advice /deal based on your circumstances/requirements.

Cheers guys I'm going to have a good look at some of these suggestions!

My suggestion would be to ask a few "whole of the market broker" but don't feel obligated to go with what they suggest. Firmly thank them for their time and say you maybe back in contact.

Check online deals the against the best advice offered then go back to the broker you felt gave the best advice if you're feeling conscientious and give them the commission they get for referring you.

Just to clarify Chrisharry,

If the adviser has confirmed that they receive a basic salary then they will be employed by the estate agency. They will use a mortgaage sourcing system, Mortgage Brain/Trigold to source the deals for you.

The recomended lender will pay commission direclty to the Estate agency and not the adviser. Lenders do pay slightly different comission amounts based as a % of the loan size.

If you have any concerns ask the adviser to show you the sourcing system and how they are filtering the deals.

It may be worth seeing a couple of Independent Advisers who don't charge an advice fee and seeing what each comes up with.

Gary

Ok thanks for that. I imagine the advisor will be pushed by the estate agents to go for the deal that pays them the biggest commission? I have made contact with the independant advisors that chrispy posted but I missed there call back so will try again tomorrow

Very Unlikely. There is not much difference in the commission % that lenders pay, although for large mortgages this would obviously make a difference.

The Adviser will have to produce a Reson For Recommendation letter and there should be an Internal process where they will have to advise why a deal was selected above another that was at a better rate.

When I was advising we had to screen print the top ten deals and provide a detailed report if we were not recommending the top deal.

Gary

Above, I was merely pointing out that the Advisor would get paid for selling the mortgage, and to ask who was paying. Even salaried Estate Agent staff are paid for by the Mortgage Companies, and would get into trouble from their boss if they did not sell enough mortgages.

Indirectly from the commision they generate (obviously Estate Agents have other income streems) and yes every adviser is judged on their sales so would agree with your comments blahblah.

I remember someone posting along time ago that if you got your mortgage through the estate agent that you were buying from you could haggle a better price.