What Does A Mortgage Broker Do?

What is the role of a Mortgage Broker?

The main part of what we do is offer advice. We break property buying and mortgages down into plain English and tailor everything specifically to the client’s needs – because everybody’s different. Broking is searching the market for the best deal; that might be the cheapest lender for a client or a bank or building society that will lend the most amount of money.

What’s the difference between going to a Mortgage Broker versus your local high street bank?

A lot of people do visit their bank, regardless of what stage they’re at in the home buying process. But in fact the bank can only offer you their own products and services.

Plus, they don’t often give you any advice – they’ll ask you questions and take your instructions, but you might not be getting the best deal or even the most appropriate advice from your high street bank.

Meanwhile a Mortgage Broker can compare most banks plus all of the lenders that are not on the high street – some of which only deal with brokers. It’s often the non-high street lenders that are cheaper, because they don’t have the costs of running high street branches.

We specialise in giving you tailored advice and assurance that you’ve found the most suitable deal. You might even be able to borrow more with us than with a high street bank.

What other services does a Mortgage Broker offer?

A broker’s role is quite in-depth. We’re here to give advice to First Time Buyers about budget planning, plus we help people who are moving home or remortgaging.

We also support Buy to Let mortgages and council Right to Buy applications. There’s so many different areas that people need advice in. And we’re closely regulated and fully qualified to give you that advice.

We often start by helping a First Time Buyer, then they stick with us throughout the whole home owning process – we keep in touch and help them through the years with mortgages, insurance and more.

At what stage should I see a Mortgage Broker?

Talk to us right at the beginning before you do anything else. If you go to an estate agent first to view a property, you’re not in a position to actually make an offer. You don’t know how much you can afford to borrow. You might actually be able to borrow more than you think or, in some unfortunate instances, less.

The estate agent won’t take a property off the market until you’re in a position to go – usually with a Decision in Principle from a lender. You then need proof of deposit and a solicitor in place – those things can take time. So unless you have already spoken to a mortgage advisor, the chances are you’ll miss out on that property.

Do I have to live in Newark to access your services?

Not at all. The pandemic has changed that traditional need to have face-to-face meetings with advisers. With tools like Zoom and Teams you don’t need to be local any more, so I can help anyone anywhere in the country.

Why is Newark a popular location to live in and buy property?

Newark is popular along with Grantham, too, which is just down the road. We have good rail networks, good access to the A1 to reach major cities – including London, where we’re still in the commuter belt.

But it’s much cheaper to live here than even Stamford or Peterborough. A lot of people will come to these market towns because they are within reach of work and are traditional market towns.

We’re close to Lincoln as well, and Nottingham for shopping, going out and everything. Plus, now that so many people work from home, lots of them are looking to buy in a cheaper location and this area is perfect for that.

Tell us about Fiducia Mortgage Solutions?

I was an estate agent for many years, from when I left school. I then came into the financial side of things several years ago, working for a broker. So I have experience on both sides which helps a lot of clients and buyers.

Fiducia was founded 20 years ago by Marcus and Anthony who had been in the banking world for many years. The Fiducia group of companies provides not just mortgages but financial services and commercial finance as well. It’s a one-stop shop that helps a lot of people in different financial areas. We’re also part of a much bigger group, a network called Openwork which is how we have such broad access to the marketplace. So we’re a well established firm that’s backed up and supported by a bigger network.

What does it cost for an initial consultation with Fiducia?

Just as if you were to ring your bank, it’s not going to cost anything to have an initial conversation. But calling us will give you a much broader spread of advice.

It could be a 20 minute conversation, it might be five minutes, it can be an hour – we’re here to help you understand your situation and the options available to you. That initial part costs nothing. Once we get further on and you are ready to apply for a mortgage product then, yes, we do charge you a fee – but you will know exactly what this will be in advance.

What advice would you give to someone planning to buy a home?

Do have a chat with us. We’re not just here for mortgage advice – we help people from start to finish. We support you with estate agents, with solicitors and part of our role is to ensure that you are fully protected with home insurance, life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection. It’s the full package.

Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up with your mortgage repayments.