First and foremost, using a whole of market mortgage broker will take the leg work out of looking for a mortgage; they’ll search the market and compare the different deals that are available to you, looking at not only the interest rates on offer but other charges such as booking fees. These may affect the overall cost of your mortgage.

When a mortgage broker makes a product recommendation to a client, he or she gives financial advice. This means that mortgage brokers must have qualifications in order to operate within their field – and that they have a duty of care to their clients to give the best advice possible.

Is there anything I need to watch out for?

• If you use a mortgage broker, it’s important to know whether or not they are ‘whole of market’ or tied to a particular lender or group of lenders (usually called a panel).
• If your mortgage broker isn’t able to recommend deals from the whole of market, he or she won’t be able to tell you about some deals – even if one of them might be the cheapest option for you.
• Some mortgage products simply aren’t available to brokers. These tend to be called ‘direct only’ deals, and are offered by banks and building societies directly to their customers. A mortgage broker – even one who is able to access ‘whole of market’ deals – is unlikely to be able to advise you about these.
• Mortgage brokers are will give you an Initial document (terms of business) at outset. This document will explain their service and if they are ‘whole of market’ or not, it will also explain how much their work will cost and how they will be paid (and when). Always check it and ensure you’re happy with the contents before signing on the dotted line.

What does a mortgage broker do?

There seems to be a misconception of what mortgage brokers actually do. Ultimately, it’s a mortgage broker’s job to find you the right mortgage for your needs, and here’s how they can help you do just that.

1. Assess your requirements

As mortgage brokers, we start by arranging one of our expert mortgage advisers to assess your requirements. This includes listening to your needs, looking into your current financial situation and taking the time to understand your personal circumstances. We understand that your time and money are precious so we try to take up as little of your time as possible.

2. Make recommendations that put your needs first

Once we’ve assessed your situation, we go away and search the market. Using our nationwide contacts, we come up with a product recommendation for you.

3. Deal with the application, so you don’t have to worry

Once you’ve decided on a mortgage product, you can leave the rest in our hands – it’s that simple. You don’t have to waste any of your time filling out paperwork – we manage the whole application process for you. This means you can be left to concentrate on what really matters; whether that’s planning the move or creating new boards on Pinterest for your dream decor!

They can also save you time

We understand that life is busy, so we like to offer our customers flexibility when it comes to appointments, these can be done either face to face or over the phone, so you don’t have to worry if you don’t have the time to see us, we can get all the information we need with a phone call.

Some mortgage brokers can help you find mortgage protection too. We offer advice on various kinds of protection – including critical illness cover, income protection, buildings and contents insurance. We want to make sure that, if the worst was to happen, you’d be able to stay in your home and your loved ones would be looked after.