Mortgage Rate Rises

We used a broker and worth the money IMO. Others with more finance knowledge would probably be fine without one, but he really helped us.

Our 5 year fix ends in May 2025, we'll wait for our renewal to come in, see what the mass market is offering and then give him a shout to see what he can do for us.
 
Fixed mine for 5 years @ 4.02% last September (worked out going 2 years with renewal fee's, etc and it worked out cheaper) however if the rates continue to come down I may have made an error of judgement, particularly as that wasn't even a year ago...
I guess I'll have to keep an eye on the market and work out if/when it would be better for me to pay any exit fee's and hop onto a new deal...
 
We've got a call booked in with our broker tomorrow. Not due to renew until October 2025 but I think they got their dates mixed up as when we tried to buy, delays happened so we had to re-do our application.

We had a good ride though. 5 years fixed at 1.7%. Going to ask a few questions about a house we've seen recently but otherwise we'll try and hold on this for as long as possible. If we can renew at ~3% next year I'll be happy with that
Mines due Dec-25 and i'm currently on 1.45%. Dreading the renewal
 
Do Brokers have access to more/special rates that Jo Public doesn't? That's the only reason I can think of to use one. We used one as first time buyers as were new to it all and it was "free" via the estate agent. He was a nice bloke, but ultimately just ended up picking the same HSBC product we found ourselves online. Surely it's all about the best rate and fee? If you can do maths...that's literally it? What other value do they add? Time saving (if you trust that they will get better than you can find yourself or the same including any incentives they get).
 
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On my last few remortgages to a different lender, brokers have been able to do slightly better than I have on overall package. They also do all the chasing for you, as long as they are decent, which helps - it's more hands off than moving to another lender yourself.
 
Do Brokers have access to more/special rates that Jo Public doesn't? That's the only reason I can think of to use one. We used one as first time buyers as were new to it all and it was "free" via the estate agent. He was a nice bloke, but ultimately just ended up picking the same HSBC product we found ourselves online. Surely it's all about the best rate and fee? If you can do maths...that's literally it? What other value do they add? Time saving (if you trust that they will get better than you can find yourself or the same including any incentives they get).
Time saving, ease, one less thing to manage / worry about. Some have access to special only rates, but you'll normally find they are similar to what you can find. They do come into their own if you have strange circumstances or you need help with explaining your I&E with the bank(s).
 
Just spoke to Nationwide - they reckon their system is showing £816k for the house - which means no chance of me getting back to 80% LTV quickly. Their mortgage manager shows £830k which is a slightly more manageable £2.6k shortfall to find.

They also reckoned the rate has dropped from 4.84 to 4.24.... I am less convinced. I have asked for the mortgage advisor to call; they seem to be infinitely more educated than the regular CSRs.
Update to the above - it isn't that good. I can get 4.7% instead of 4.84% for "doing nothing". I can get 4.64% on an 80% LTV. Their auto valuar is coming in at 816 so a 16k top-up.

She said a valuation will only ever be upside from the £816k figure, and renovations, garden room etc may add value.

I've suggested its worth £850k so if they come back at 830k lol.

Question is whether to fix for 5 years now or ride it out a bit......
 
Fixed mine for 5 years @ 4.02% last September (worked out going 2 years with renewal fee's, etc and it worked out cheaper) however if the rates continue to come down I may have made an error of judgement, particularly as that wasn't even a year ago...
I guess I'll have to keep an eye on the market and work out if/when it would be better for me to pay any exit fee's and hop onto a new deal...
Same rate for 5 years but June 2023.
Hoping I didn't make a terrible mistake but also have piece of mind, knowing what I'll pay for the next few years.
 
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Do Brokers have access to more/special rates that Jo Public doesn't? That's the only reason I can think of to use one. We used one as first time buyers as were new to it all and it was "free" via the estate agent. He was a nice bloke, but ultimately just ended up picking the same HSBC product we found ourselves online. Surely it's all about the best rate and fee? If you can do maths...that's literally it? What other value do they add? Time saving (if you trust that they will get better than you can find yourself or the same including any incentives they get).

A mortgage is a loan, and you will get the best deal if you do all the research yourself and look at the whole market. As well as the repayment terms, you need to check all the charges on the loan product. This will of course take up your time. You will be able to find a better deal than a broker can offer you.

A broker is a salesperson who is paid by selling you a financial product. They will get commissions depending on what products they can sell you, so they are biased in what they sell you, as they will also consider what's in it for them as well as you. They will however have experience of finding mortgage deals, and will find the product for you, meaning you don't have to spend your time researching.

Personally, I would always find the deal myself, because I am happy to spend time learning and researching. I would be able to get a better deal than from a broker this way.
 
Brokers get soemthing called a proc fee, short for procuation, typically around .35% of the loan but that can depend.

They get that from the lender.

Then some brokers charge people broker fees on top of that, you'd want to have your head examined but I guess people just dont know....

I saw one broker charge someone for a straightforward remortgage a £2000 fee, thats on top of whatever the lender gave them as a proc fee.

My personal opinion of most mortgage brokers isnt great, there are a few out there that are genuinely decent people, not many though.
 
A mortgage is a loan, and you will get the best deal if you do all the research yourself and look at the whole market. As well as the repayment terms, you need to check all the charges on the loan product. This will of course take up your time. You will be able to find a better deal than a broker can offer you.

A broker is a salesperson who is paid by selling you a financial product. They will get commissions depending on what products they can sell you, so they are biased in what they sell you, as they will also consider what's in it for them as well as you. They will however have experience of finding mortgage deals, and will find the product for you, meaning you don't have to spend your time researching.

Personally, I would always find the deal myself, because I am happy to spend time learning and researching. I would be able to get a better deal than from a broker this way.
This can be true but like I said, some brokers will pay you. And you get the best market rate you can find.

Also for more complicated arrangements, a broker will have access to specialist products.
 
But the broker would have been better off, how selfish of you.
It was march 2022.. It was the advisor we used when getting our first house.
I rang him, he was like.. You should wait until renewal, it'll be fine. Don't waste money on the erc.

I did not wait.

He called again a few months before renewal where I told him I ignored him.. I was surprised he congratulated me I made the right call.
 
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Just use them if you feel it will save time or to your benefit. Do your own research however. I just did it as rates fluctuating a lot and can't be asked having to reapply for lower rates. Doesn't cost me any money so thought why not :D

I don't take their advice however. Not that my guy has given any dodgy advice as of yet.
 
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