Mortgage Advice

[cul8tr]

I am due to start year 3 of my IVA. My mortgage is at the end of it's fixed term period and would like to renew to another fixed term until the end of the IVA period. I am getting conflicting advice from mortgage lenders - some say as I have been in the IVA for over 3 years I should be able to get a mortgage from a mainstream lender, as opposed to the one I am with currently that already has a high interest rate.

Can anyone advise or point me in the right direction of a mortgage broker who isnt going to abuse my present financial situation.

BTW - Great Forum, lots of great advice only wish I knew of it esarlier as it has been a difficult and testing three years. [:)]

[JulianSampson]

I have seen some shrewd advice from the site's resident brokers so I am sure one of them will come on soon. Unfortunately I am seeing a lot of lenders increase rates at the moment so please bear that in mind in case the rates you get offered arent what you were hoping for! Its not just because of your IVA!


Julian Sampson
Solicitor
Wright & Wright LLP
www.wrightandwright.com
See my article in Clean Slate magazine

[Andrew Graveson]

Hi cul8tr,

Welcome to the forum.

I wouldn't concern yourself with which lender or which type of lender you borrow from. Money is money whatever the source.

What's important is that you get the very best mortgage arrangement that is available to you. By taking the time to thoroughly understand your circumstances and preferences the broker has the best possible chance of getting you the best deal.

Your question about the abuse of financial difficulties is a good one. There are some companies perceived to be doing this. The brokers that post on this site (there are Mike and Tony as well as myself) do not come from that school.

Andrew Graveson
Independent Mortgage Broker & Bright Oak Debt Management
andrew@brightoak.co.uk
www.brightoak.co.uk

[cul8tr]

Thanks for the advice, having navigated round the forum a little more, I have come across a couple of brokers who I will contact in the next few weeks as the advice they have given appears to be great and professional as opposed to what I have been receiving to date.

[Andrew Graveson]

Hello,

Have the lenders that you've been speaking been the High Street banks? Is so their advisers are restricted by only being able to look for the best deal amongst their in-house range.

Independent mortgage brokers who cover the whole of the mortgage market do have access to these High Street products. They also have access to a great number of more specialist lenders. Many you will not have heard of as they do not advertise nor do they accept applications from the general public. They don't have the costs that operations with huge branch networks and advertising have which helps their ability to offer competitive deals.

Much lending in IVA-connected cases falls into the second sector of more specialised lenders. The actual rate you get will depend on your unique circumstances but it is fair to make the general statement that there is competition amongst lenders to win your business.

Andrew Graveson
Independent Mortgage Broker & Bright Oak Debt Management
andrew@brightoak.co.uk
www.brightoak.co.uk

[mikebdomain]

Hi cul8tr and welcome to the forum, just to add to what has already been said, please seek the advice of at least a couple of brokers.

Look for one that specialises in IVAs, adverse (sub-prime) mortgage products and has access to the whole of market.

Also look out for brokers who offer no valuation fee, or offer to add the valuation fee to the loan, or only ask for a small application fee (only to confirm your commitment). Most brokers who specialise in offering full advice to people in IVAs understand the difficulty of you funding your own valuation.

And last but not least, please ensure the advice you receive is from a properly authorised and regulated advisor / broker. You can tell this by asking for their FSA registration number and checking this number on the www.fsa.gov.uk/register/ site to confirm their information and current advisory status.

The rates you could achieve will depend on your personal circumstances, if you have been in an IVA for three years your credit file should not be in too much of a state, and if you have also kept up with your mortgage payments, there is no reason why you could not achieve close to high street rates.

FREE ADVICE IS THE BEST ADVICE

LEYBRIDGE LIMITED
Mortgage Broker & Mortgage packager
Specialising in adverse credit.

Firm FSA No:313790
Personal FSA No:MJB01557

see feedback and testimonials at:
http://www.leybridge.com/testimonial.php
Check out my blog at:
http://mikebdomain.blogs.iva.co.uk/
Please read our Initial Disclosure Document(IDD):
http://www.leybridge.com/Leybridge-IDD.pdf

[Andrew Graveson]

Mike's right. Most mortgage brokers spend their time dealing with standard high-street type cases. Mortgage cases connected to debt solutions require different knowledge and skills.

Andrew Graveson
Independent Mortgage Broker & Bright Oak Debt Management
andrew@brightoak.co.uk
www.brightoak.co.uk

[MelanieGiles]

Mike

I notice that you refer to "whole of market" in a lot of your posts. I must be dim, or walk round with my eyes closed, but this is a terms I am not really familiar with. Could you explain what it actually means?

I assume that it means that a broker has access to all mortgage companies in the country's products, as opposed for say if they worked for a bank and could only sell that bank's products, but I thought that all IFAs could work with all products that are available. Is this not the case?

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

To have me propose an IVA for you, please visit:
http://www.melaniegiles.com/ivaEnquiry.asp

See customer feedback at:
http://www.iva.com/iva_companies/IVA_Advice_Bureau.asp

[johnz]

Oooh, ooooh, Mike, let me answer that and then tell me if I'm right. If I'm not I'll be gutted, cos I'm supposed to have learnt all of this by now [:D]

Whole of market means (I think) that you can quote on all types of mortgage across all lenders. (and there are hundreds, and it takes ages - took me half an hour to source 8 quotes from mortgage brain today for testing. Doh!!)

So, do I pass or fail, Mike? [:D]

Johnz

p.s. I think some companies only source from certain lenders. I know we have some that do that.

[mikebdomain]

Melanie

Most brokers offer a selection of products from a panel of lenders, in some cases the selection is purely fee driven, in others it is target market driven, in some cases it is extremely restrictive.

Banks and building societies very often do not offer full advice, and only offer a selection of their products based on the applicants answers to a number of scripted questions.

Whole of market is; an expression that is well known in the industry, and refers to a broker or packager who is able to offer mortgage products that are representative of all the mortgage products available on the market.


FREE ADVICE IS THE BEST ADVICE

LEYBRIDGE LIMITED
Mortgage Broker & Mortgage packager
Specialising in adverse credit.

Firm FSA No:313790
Personal FSA No:MJB01557

see feedback and testimonials at:
http://www.leybridge.com/testimonial.php
Check out my blog at:
http://mikebdomain.blogs.iva.co.uk/
Please read our Initial Disclosure Document(IDD):
http://www.leybridge.com/Leybridge-IDD.pdf

[mikebdomain]

LOL - sorry johnz you fail - back to the testing

FREE ADVICE IS THE BEST ADVICE

LEYBRIDGE LIMITED
Mortgage Broker & Mortgage packager
Specialising in adverse credit.

Firm FSA No:313790
Personal FSA No:MJB01557

see feedback and testimonials at:
http://www.leybridge.com/testimonial.php
Check out my blog at:
http://mikebdomain.blogs.iva.co.uk/
Please read our Initial Disclosure Document(IDD):
http://www.leybridge.com/Leybridge-IDD.pdf

[johnz]

Doh!!! [:D][:D][:D]

Johnz

[MelanieGiles]

How many mortgage lenders are there out there, and is this the software package that you have been talking about which actually finds the best deals? If so, it must be very sophisticated!

So the companies that only source from certain lenders are not properly independent then? Or are there different types of brokers out there? I work with several different firms, for various products, both in my professional and personal life, and always felt that brokers all offered "whole of market products".

Is this the same for say pensions and life insurance? And how do consumers know they are getting the most beneficial quotes?


Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

To have me propose an IVA for you, please visit:
http://www.melaniegiles.com/ivaEnquiry.asp

See customer feedback at:
http://www.iva.com/iva_companies/IVA_Advice_Bureau.asp

[johnz]

The companies I deal seem to be able to get quotes from any lender that a particular sourcing tool deals with, however some of them will be on panel and some won't with that broker. I don't pretend to understand it really. I've just picked up bits and pieces from testing the various software over the past 6 months. Couldn't tell you the difference between Fixed and variable or trackers. Not a clue. Also, I noticed that mortgage quotes tend to be whole of market, but protection packages (life insurance, mortgage protection, etc) seems to be with a specific company).

Johnz

[MelanieGiles]

Mike

As a professional, often being in a position to make suggestions to clients as to firms to use for mortgage advice, are there any pointers you could give me to ensure that my clients are going to be assured that the whole market is searched for the best deal for them?

Or would you recommend using two or three different firms as is often recommended on this forum for insolvency advice? I have always thought that this could cause problems in the number of credit checks showing up on a clients records which might affect the application.

What is the usual number of lenders each whole of market firm might have access to, and who monitors that the products offered are representative of the whole of market? It seems that different options could be offered to a client (or dim insolvency practitioner!) that they feel are the best currently available, but are only representative of the best of a fraction rather than the whole.

I'm quite concerned that I have never considered this point before - or am I going off on a tangent? I have had a long day!!!

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

To have me propose an IVA for you, please visit:
http://www.melaniegiles.com/ivaEnquiry.asp

See customer feedback at:
http://www.iva.com/iva_companies/IVA_Advice_Bureau.asp