Getting mis-advised by broker?

Finavd

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Hi,

After spending months unsuccessfully trying to jump through hoops to get thought AIBs mortgage application I decided to get some "professional" advice and use a mortgage broker. We compiled all the documents, did the applications for multiple banks and sent it off with bated breath.

At the time we had no particular property in mind so we were advised to ask for 280k, which the broker felt would be the max we would get. In his words it was best to aim big and "we'd see what they came back with".

A month later and we heard that we'd been approved in principle for 280k by haven. Initial reaction was yay to approval, but a bit concerned that we weren't being approved by one of the main banks (cue hasty googling of sub-prime banks). When I asked them what the other lenders had offered it turned out they had only applied to Haven!

Is this normal!? Surely the point of a broker is to check out multiple lenders? I tried to pin them down on why they had only applied to one lender and i got fobbed off, saying it would have been "a waste of time".

Any advice?
 
Haven is not a sub-prime. It is the broker arm of EBS which is part of AIB. The mortgage rates should be the same as AIB. Your broker will get paid commission by them.

You should also apply to KBC which has the lowest rates, who also pay commission.

It may be that your broker has personal contacts in Haven to smooth the way. If you did not get approval by AIB, then your broker's approach is reasonable.
 
There wasn't one specific problem with AIB, partially it was because I found the mortgage advisor in our local branch unhelpful, everytime I went in with all the documents requested, she would request new documents, which it felt like she should have told us about at the start (I wasn't bringing any new information). Perhaps this is just par for the course with a mortgage application, but it felt like we were dealing with shifting goal posts.

The other factor was we had previously spoke to one of their phone advisors who initially said we'd be no problem for 230k then rang us back ten minutes later, saying he forgot to check childcare costs. Once we told him our crèche fees he dropped the offer by 100k.

All in all, I got the feeling that AIB were not going to be the easiest bank to deal with so decided to go with a broker. I guess I was using a broker as a short cut to checking multiple lenders in one go. Which was why I was so surprised when they only checked one lender.
 
You have to approache a mortgage application as an obstacle course. And every obstacle put in your way you must navigate around. Best to understand what they want, in the first place, and make your circumstances suit that. Rather than you telling them what you want, you find out what they want and fix yourself to suit that model.

Time for you to go to another broker, and confirm that a) he thinks you are eligible for a mortgage and b) that he will apply to a few banks

Why don't you try KBC yourself, they seem particularly keen on gaining market share at present.
 
I guess the issue is, even though we've got approval from haven for 280k, under stressed conditions (interest rate hike, me or my husband losing our job) I don't think we could really afford it, so we don't intend taking more than 230k.

I feel that we would have got approval from another lender for 230k but the broker aimed for the biggest option. So the question is, is it worth going back and forcing the broker to apply to others like KBC and PTSB (bearing in mind they are currently ignoring my calls). Or should I just be happen we got approval from Haven and run with it?
 
Why dont you just apply direct yourself you have all the paperwork. It makes sense by your notes you have your doubts about your broker-so why should you go along with him and make the biggest purchase of your life with someone you are unsure of.
 
The paperwork is with the broker at the moment but we could certainly get it back and make our own application. That said, we currently have approval in principle from haven for more than we need. If haven is AIB, then their rates appear to be better or comparable with the other banks.


In this case is it better to take the bird in hand or chase an alternative bank? Is one bank as good as another or are there other factors besides rate that I'm not aware of which would make it worthwhile to pursue another bank?
 
The paperwork is with the broker at the moment but we could certainly get it back and make our own application.

That's not good, you should have a copy of everything you give to the broker/bank etc. People should always keep a paper trail.
 
In this case is it better to take the bird in hand or chase an alternative bank? Is one bank as good as another or are there other factors besides rate that I'm not aware of which would make it worthwhile to pursue another bank?

So your original question is no longer relevant becasue you are happy now with the offer from Haven?

Of course it's worth getting a better offer with a lower interest rate. It's the most important financial decision you will ever make.
 
At the moment we've started looking as our current lease expires in the next few months, as we're also seeing house prices actually increase in our area over the last year. We're not desperately hasty, but we'd like to get moving on looking, and these days estate agents won't even open the door if you don't have approval in principle. So effectively, we're running with the Haven offer for now.

That said, is it possible to have more than one open application? Can you get approval in principle from more than one bank? My friend told me she was stopped from applying to other banks while her application with her own bank was being considered. Could we start the application process ourselves for PTSB, and then go with whoever had the best rates when we found someplace. Or would we lose the Haven offer then?
 
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