What Does A Mortgage Broker Do?
At JB Mortgages we offer the personal attention required to find a perfect fit at the lowest interest rates available for your circumstances.
- Access to competitive rates and some you can't get direct
- Specialist Mortgage Advisers
- You'll experience an unrivalled customer service
What's On This Page?
Get In Touch
Home » What Does A Mortgage Broker Do?
What Does A Mortgage Broker Do?
What does a mortgage broker do?
If I were to answer that in one word, it’s ‘everything.’ Clients approach us to get advice on getting a mortgage, so we find the most suitable mortgage for their circumstances and deal with the lenders.
Then we look after the whole application and any underwriting questions – and if clients get stuck with solicitors or filling out paperwork we help with all that as well. So we help with everything connected with mortgages and buying a home.
What’s the difference between going to a mortgage broker like yourselves versus your local high street lender?
I actually used to work as a mortgage adviser for a high street lender, Halifax, so I’ve got a good idea of the difference. If you go and see your local bank, you might spend an hour and a half with them and they will confirm if they will give you a mortgage with one of their products.
But if you come to see a mortgage broker like myself, we will check over 1,000 different mortgage products to find you the cheapest deal on the market. That’s the main difference – we can shop around to match your circumstances.
Everyone’s different. You might be self-employed. You might have some credit history issues – whatever your situation, we will find the most suitable product available to you from across the whole market.
What services does a mortgage broker offer?
We don’t just look after the mortgage, we liaise with estate agents and solicitors and other professionals in the industry. I was actually on the phone to an estate agent yesterday.
Taking the example of a First Time Buyer, when you make an offer on a house the first thing an estate agent will want to know is that your offer is financially viable. They would contact us as the broker at that point to ask about a Decision in Principle (also known as an Agreement in Principle). That’s something we can easily arrange.
It’s important to get a Decision in Principle as early as possible if you’re looking to buy a house. It means you’re ready if an estate agent asks for that document.
Can you also help with remortgaging and Buy to Lets?
Often we have clients who we have helped as a First Time Buyer that come back when they want to move or remortgage.
That’s part of what we do as a mortgage broker. I’ve got clients now who took out two or even five year fixed rate mortgages. We have a diary system to make sure we contact our clients six months in advance of their interest rate finishing. We’ll review it and make sure they’re on the most suitable deal – that’s all part of the service we offer.
But there’s millions of people in the UK that are just stuck on their lenders’ standard variable rate, paying high interest rates – but that would never happen with us. We’re always on top of it.
The other thing we do is make sure that the mortgage is protected. Death, sickness and various other things are all reasons why houses get repossessed – but that’s completely preventable by having policies in place. You take them alongside your mortgage, based on the advice we give as part of the process.
Think carefully before securing other debts against your home.
You may have to pay an early repayment charge to your existing lender if you remortgage.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate most Buy to Let Mortgages.
Speak To an Expert
Everyone’s different. You might be self-employed. You might have some credit history issues – whatever your situation, we will find the most suitable product available to you from across the whole market.
When should I see a mortgage broker?
Straight away. If you’re thinking about buying a house, pick up the phone and speak to a mortgage broker like ourselves. A lot of people want to start looking on Rightmove to find their dream home.
But there’s no point looking at houses worth half a million pounds if you can only get a mortgage of £200,000. When you have an appointment with us, we’ll run through your affordability and explain exactly how much mortgage you will get and what deposit you need. Then you can start looking for properties straightaway, knowing exactly what your budget is.
You don’t want to find the perfect house and then find out you can’t get a mortgage for it. So do the work up front. We’ll also do a credit check to make sure that there’s no issues with your credit history, and we’ll get you that Agreement in Principle certificate.
Then you’ll know that you’ve got the mortgage agreed in the background, you’re good to go – it’s just about finding the right house.
Tell us a bit more about JB Mortgages?
James: I started as a mortgage adviser in February 2003 so it’s just gone 20 years. Similarly to Samuel, I’ve also worked directly for banks. Then I joined a small brokerage in 2013 and learned the trade there.
I founded JB Mortgages because I reached the point where I wanted to do this for myself. That was in March 2017 and initially it was just me. Then Samuel joined about a year later. We’re actually brothers as it happens.
Sam: I was working for banks to start with. Then like James I joined a mortgage broker firm and did a few years learning the ropes. So we’ve definitely had similar journeys.
Does it cost for an initial consultation with you?
No, absolutely not. We will arrange an appointment with you and run through all your circumstances. We give you some initial advice on how much you can borrow, and what deposit you need, all in the first initial consultation. There’s absolutely no cost to that.
Clients do have many questions and as far as we’re concerned there are no silly ones. Feel free to contact us if there’s anything you’re not sure about. We’re here to help. Whatever the circumstances are, we’ve probably already seen it before. Let us help you get your dream home.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up with your mortgage repayments.