One of the sectors most affected by the current economic turbulence is the housing market. The rise in interest rates over the past year, an effort from the Bank of England to tame rising inflation, has meant that mortgage base rates have risen sharply. This has made it more expensive to borrow money to buy a home across the board. As a result, less people are buying houses and not getting mortgages, meaning that house prices have begun to reduce as demand lessens.
Mortgage approvals are at their lowest rate since 2014, while prices have fallen at their fastest rate in a long time.
Buyers face something of a catch 22 at the moment, where they might scoop up a bargain on the property they buy but end up with a much more expensive mortgage. One way to mitigate some of the negative side of this equation is to enlist the expertise of an experienced mortgage broker.
What is a mortgage broker?
A mortgage broker is a professional with an indepth understanding of the mortgage and property markets, who can help clients find better mortgage deals and even help them secure access to products they wouldn’t otherwise be able to.
What does a mortgage broker do?
A mortgage broker will use their expertise and knowledge of the current market to give mortgage advice and endeavour to get the best possible deal for their client by shopping around the entire market place.
In the current market, going to a mortgage broker is likely to be advantageous. All of the usual pitfalls of looking for a mortgage are heightened due to the interest rate rises.
So what are some of the benefits of using a mortgage broker or advisor?
Better rates
Mortgage brokers are constantly surveying the market for the best rates and will be able to match the mortgage to the client’s financial situation, using their product knowledge to suit buyers to the best possible deal.
Technicalities
Many mortgages have complex sets of requirements or technicalities which can be difficult to understand to the average home buyer. A mortgage broker can help explain these in detail and also establish whether a buyer could get a better deal because they fulfil requirements for a more niche mortgage product without even realising it.
Hidden fees
Going straight to a bank or other mortgage provider can incur hidden fees that only become apparent when the process has progressed so much that it becomes difficult or expensive to go back on the deal. A mortgage broker can help buyers avoid these fees through their detailed knowledge of mortgage products and the various options.
Saves time as well as money
Buyers can spend a lot of time and effort on finding deals and evaluating them, having to fill in gaps in their knowledge to determine the specifics of each deal in order to even begin to compare them, let alone make a decision! A mortgage broker already has all of the necessary knowledge as well as software to enable them to match mortgages to different clients and situations, and with therefore be able to report back with the best deals in far less time than it would take a buyer on their own. The results of which lead you forward with the purchase to enable you to get in to your new home much faster.
Save on the paperwork
The legal and mortgage paperwork when acquiring a mortgage can at times be very dense and often difficult to fill out. A mortgage broker will be able to advise on how to complete the paperwork and may even be able to do some of it for you!
David Williams IFA Mortgage & Insurances Services provides tailored mortgage advice and services.
Contact us online or give us a call on 01604 250280 to find out how we can help you find the best mortgage deals to suit your needs.
A mortgage is a loan against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.