Questions to Ask Mortgage Brokers / Providers

W

WarrenBuffett

Guest
Hi,

At the moment I am looking into getting a mortgage as a FTB. However I am not entirely sure what I should ask.....does anyone have a list of questions that they would always ask? It would be great if it was posted up here as i cant seem to find it on the site anywhere.

Also, some mortgage providers offer various "financial incentives". Here is what I have come up with so far by way of a list....

- €320 Cash Gift (from Omega financial)
- A Free Valuation, to the value of €127
- Discounted Legal Fees (what is the max / best deal people have heard of?)
- If you organise your Life cover with a broker they will pay the first year of your Mortgage Protection policy.

Is there anything else that people have been offered?

Once again thanks for any help,
WB (multi-billionaire)
 
If you have a read of the key and other topics in this forum you will get a good idea of the sorts of things to consider/ask about. Don't be distracted by offers that are irrelevant in the greater scheme of things. For example, don't be distracted by the offers above into taking out a loan that is more expensive than alternatives on offer. Note that arranging mortgage protection life assurance and home insurance through the lender or perhaps broker on a one stop shop basis may not yield the best deals.

Read up on things. Shop around!
 
Reply

Clubman,

I'm aware of that.....please dont assume i am an idiot....(and in doing so you totally missed the point of my question).

The reason I asked about "promos" offered by various brokers is that once i have the best mortgage for me I can then bargain for these additional offers.....

I think a list of these would be very useful for those trying to get the very best mortgage / deal they can.

WB
 
Re: Reply

I'm aware of that.....please dont assume i am an idiot....(and in doing so you totally missed the point of my question).

I didn't assume that you were an idiot - at least not until now.
 
List of promos

I am not sure that a list of promos could be easily kept up to date and normally these are offered on an individual basis

ie If I went to a broker today they may offer me one deal, tomorrow the deal offered to my colleague could be different.

Bit like when you shop around for insurance, depending on what time of day/day of week/wind direction you can get quotes varying by hundreds of Euro.
 
Re: Reply

You said:

For example, don't be distracted by the offers above into taking out a loan that is more expensive than alternatives on offer.
Click to expand...

Clubman, you assumed that people applying for mortgages are swung by these offers....that they cannot see the bigger picture. Give people some credit....

I asked a valid question but you dismissed it out of hand / missed my point / generalised.

However i dont want to engage in a slagging match - I post questions and read this site because I want to learn more about the intricacies of various financial matters.....

I just want to save as much money as i possibly can during this process......wriggle as much as i can out of the lender
 
Re: Reply

Clubman, you assumed that people applying for mortgages are swung by these offers....that they cannot see the bigger picture. Give people some credit....

I asked a valid question but you dismissed it out of hand / missed my point / generalised.

I didn't assume anything of the sort or dismiss any query out of hand. I just mentioned that such offers should be seen and evaluated in the broader context. Sometimes stating the bleeding obvious is necessary and it can be presumptuous to assume otherwise - especially when a relative newcomer to the site states that they are a first time buyer and seemingly a little confused by the whole mortgage selection/buying process...
At the moment I am looking into getting a mortgage as a FTB. However I am not entirely sure what I should ask.....does anyone have a list of questions that they would always ask?
Click to expand...
... in which case, it seems reasonable to me to err on the side of caution and point out stuff that may seem obvious to more experienced individuals.
 
Re: Reply

Warren,
The most pertinent question you can ask a broker (speaking as one!) is "How much of your finders fee are you going to give me back?"
As I am sure you are aware, us brokers make money from the finders fee we get from the banks (almost uniformly 1%) We are quite prepared to give some of this back to the client, particularly when it is a relatively straightforward case, which isnt particularly time consuming. I suggest that you might try that. The other "offers" are to be honest, not normall that great a deal. Free valuation saves you €130 tops. Cheap legals can be organised by yourself. Mortgage protection policy can be organised cheaply by yourself also. We are not brokers for any life companies, but I would stongly suggest that you speak to some sales person directly. If you fail to complete there questions absolutly correctly, the policy can be voided. Any other questions?
 
Re: Reply

Clubman, you assumed that people applying for mortgages are swung by these offers....that they cannot see the bigger picture. Give people some credit....

Well lets put it this way we signed for our house yesterday and the solicitor said it was only the third time that dealt with someone getting a mortgage from NIB who has the cheapest tracker mortgage. Now either people are love all the free offers from the other banks or they have something against NIB.
 
Re: Reply

I read somewhere a while back that something like 40% of mortgages are sold on the basis of one year discount rates which often come from lenders who don't offer the most competitive standard variable/tracker rates from year two onwards. This is further evidence that many consumers are swayed by offers which distract them from the bigger/longer term picture and suggests that pointing out the seemingly obvious is no harm.
 
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