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Mortgage Best- Buy Comparison - Money Saving Expert

Join s of MoneySavers in the Forum's many discussion boards. For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes - join the 12m who get it. Lesley Edited by Johanna. But it can be a nightmare knowing how to get it spot on.

To help you navigate through the mortgage maze, here's our guide outlining step-by-step how you can find the best possible mortgage deal for you. Now you're ready to get a mortgage, you need to go about it the right way. There are several things you need to do before you're ready to check out deals:. If you pick interest-only, you NEED a separate plan to pay off your debt, as your payments only cover the cost of the interest.

A repayment mortgage, while it costs more each month, pays off the original debt too. Unless you have a compelling reason, repayment is the way forward. It's also the one you're most likely to get as some lenders just won't offer interest-only deals. Those that do will want evidence of a credible repayment plan and might limit the amount you can borrow. The most important thing to remember is with a fixed rate, you have the surety of knowing EXACTLY what your mortgage repayments will be for that time.

In years past, variable rates were often significantly cheaper but right now the pendulum has swung more towards fixed deals, which are at their cheapest ever. But always pick the right deal for you - our What type of mortgage should I get? Our How much will buying a home cost?

This may seem contrary to the point above, but mortgage rates drop in steps, known as loan-to-value LTV bands. So if you've a 9. If you've done all this, you're ready to follow the steps below to find the best mortgage for you. Remember that even if you've got an agreement in principle with a lender, you don't have to stick with it - especially if it is no longer offering the best deal.

Whether you're going for a fixed or variable mortgage, you need to start looking at what rates you can get. This will depend on the size of your deposit and the value of the property. Your existing bank will only give you its tiny range of deals, not the array of alternatives, meaning it's highly unlikely you'll stumble across the best one for you.

Only check what it's offering as a starting point. Then use our Mortgage Best Buys tool to check the whole market. Comparing mortgages can be confusing. There are over 6, mortgage products, so you need to know how to search through our comparison site to find the best deals for you. Click on the button below for a full how-to for mastering MSE's Mortgage Best Buys. The steps below help you benchmark a rate - to get a good estimate of what your rate and payments would look like. This is pretty straightforward and shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes.

No comparison site guarantees to show you all the deals available. This is because the mortgage market is complicated and some deals are only available through certain brokers, making it very difficult for a comparison site to know about every single deal at all times. But our Mortgage Best Buys tool has all deals available direct, and most available to brokers, so it's a great place to start.

At the top of the screen when you click onto best buys, you have the opportunity to select if you're a first-time buyer, remortgaging or moving home. You'll also need to put in how much you want to borrow, and how much the property is worth. This calculates your loan-to-value ratio LTV and so influences which products you're shown. There's a lot of information.

Some details are more vital to read than others. The most important information's prominently displayed; choices about your deal are on the left, information about the mortgage products is in the table.

Use the site to locate:. Use the filters on the left to choose between fixed mortgages and variable mortgages. If you're already certain, then select the type you want. If you're still not sure, leave all options selected. The initial deal length is how long your deal will stay at the advertised interest rate. For a fixed mortgage, this is how long the rate is fixed for.

For a variable mortgage, this'll be how long a discount applies to the rate. If you know how long a deal you want, pick that from the filter. If not, again, leave them all selected. We say realistic, because if you're looking at the product at the top of the table, it's probably not. You're probably looking at a lovely low rate with a fairly large fee. One way around this is to change the sort filter on the right hand side of the tool.

You're able to search products by monthly payment, initial rate, set up fees - and our MSE Total Cost Assessment. This combines the rate and the fees to tell you which will be the cheapest mortgage overall; invariably it's not one with a large fee. Once you've found some deals that suit your circumstances and budget, click 'key information' to find out more.

This will tell you other information about the product, such as how much you'll need to pay the lender for a valuation, whether you're allowed to overpay, and other information about the product. Once you're happy you can click on 'Next Steps'. This will then give you two main options.

The first is to contact a broker about the deal. The broker will be able to check that it actually is the best deal for you by doing a comparison with other deals out there. If you're confident you've picked a winner, you can go for the second option which is simply clicking through to the lender to start an application.

Once you've benchmarked a good rate from using our Mortgage Best Buys , see if a broker can beat it.

They scour the market to find you a good mortgage deal. By using one, you swiftly cover a huge slew of lenders, and get added clout with them to ease your acceptance as well as an extra layer of protection if things go wrong. Brokers will also be able to advise you on Help to Buy mortgages and other Government mortgage schemes NewBuy, shared ownership and more if you're eligible - tell your broker upfront if that's what you're looking for. Brokers are also worth their weight in gold, because they know key details about lenders' criteria.

So they would know if the lender you're thinking of doesn't lend on properties above shops, or in council blocks - so they'd be able to recommend a different lender who does.

But, the key is to find a broker you're comfortable with. The estate agents you meet when house hunting will often recommend brokers. They may even work from the same office.

But you are NOT tied to using these, even if you buy via that estate agent. Ask friends who've moved for recommendations - many local brokers are fantastic. The aim's to find you the best broker for the lowest possible price.

But not all brokers are the same. Some are limited in what they can offer you, so there are three crucial questions to ask. This finds out if your broker can source you ANY UK mortgage. Not all can so it's important to know which you're dealing with:. This makes it simpler and cheaper for them to operate.

This used to be called 'whole-of-market'. Many of these brokers will exclude lenders and products which are only offered directly to the public, mainly as they won't receive a commission.

On top, they may not be able to submit an application on your behalf. However, they are more likely to charge a fee. In reality, it's unlikely a broker could guarantee you access to EVERY mortgage, as exclusive deals can be arranged between lenders and brokers and clubs that brokers can join. Just be clear on what your broker is offering. Weigh up the need to check every deal, your willingness to do some legwork yourself, and if you're happy paying a broker fee.

Once you've found a broker you're happy with, you need to ask them the next questions to find out if they're the best broker for you. This tells you how the broker makes their money from your mortgage deal. Brokers have two possible sources of income:. They are obliged to tell you the exact amount they'll be paid before you apply. You can find this info on the Key Facts illustration, which they must provide before you apply. Brokers may also charge you a fee directly. This might be on top of the commission, or instead of it ie, they charge a fee and refund you the commission.

If they offer you the choice between fee or commission, then they can call themselves 'independent'. If they don't, they can't - which is a bit confusing. If yours charges more, walk away. Fees can be charged at any point in the process, providing you're told about them at the outset. Yet avoid using any broker who charges you big fees before completion. If the purchase falls through, you'll probably still have to pay.

As this is a MoneySaving site, we've always said our preference is not to pay a fee if you don't have to. For this, you're looking for a fees-free broker who can advise on the widest range of mortgages possible. This sort of broker will make its cash from commission but can search out a good deal from a wide range of lenders, then checking the non-broker deals on top yourself. If you want face-to-face advice.

Search your local area for a good broker. Just make sure they're whole of market, and that any fee charged is affordable and value for money. It's not the worst thing to spend money on, especially if it means you have someone you trust to get you a decent mortgage.

If you want one that finds 'non-broker' deals. When a broker recommends a mortgage they can't transact for you, they don't make commission. The brokers we've found which include ALL mortgages charge fees to compensate for the chance they won't get paid once they've found a deal.

If you value a face-to-face service, or you know a red-hot broker who charges a fee, then it's likely to only be a few hundred pounds. A small price to pay for a service you know you can trust. You need to find out whether a broker is qualified to advise you. Make sure you're getting advice from a qualified adviser the most recognised qualification is called CeMAP. Your broker should assess your needs and eligibility before recommending the most suitable product for you. This route also offers the most protection for you as a consumer.

If the advice turns out to be wrong, the Financial Ombudsman will be able to investigate any wrongdoing.

If you chose a product from an information-only service, you'd have no comeback if you made the wrong choice. Now you know what you're looking for, as we can't review every mortgage broker in the UK, we've concentrated on some of the big ones that have nationwide scope, plus ways to find smaller brokers.

Similarly, if you have any doubts about a broker, find a different one - there's nothing wrong with talking to several before you settle on one. The broker you talk to may also tell you about mortgages from lenders they don't deal with, but they don't have to. Trinity Financial, while an established broker, is new to this guide and so we have limited feedback.

If you've used Trinity Financial, please let us know about your experiences. The advantage of only dealing with lenders that make deals available through brokers is that Trinity Financial will be able to help you through the whole process, in terms of filling in forms, information and support. It guarantees to check all lenders' deals, even if they're not normally available through brokers - so this includes perennially cheaper providers such as First Direct, HSBC and Tesco.

Although it can check all lenders to find you the best mortgage, Which? But it will mean that you don't pay Mortgage Advisers finds a deal it can transact for you, and helps you apply for a mortgage. So beware that if something went wrong and you didn't complete the application, then that cash is lost. If you prefer face-to-face advice , try to find a local broker that offers it fees-free; there should be quite a few.

You could ask a friend or even use the phone book - but it's crucial you know what you're getting. Give them a call, and ask the three questions in the picking a broker section to ensure they fit your bill. Make sure each broker you look at can advise from the entire mortgage market, and is fees-free if that's what you're looking for.

For those wanting a more informal route, this website's forum includes a large Mortgage Board where some helpful mortgage brokers voluntarily answer questions - it's an easy, non-committal starting option. Many are fee-free mortgage brokers, so if they do help you, there's no reason not to ask them to sort your mortgage for you always ask them the three questions first, though.

If you've had credit problems, whether mild or severe see the Credit Scores guide , and are trying to sort a mortgage, be very wary of going to the 'specialist poor credit' brokers who advertise everywhere. These often charge very high fees as customers tend to think that's all they can get. There's absolutely no need to go to a specialist though; most normal brokers including the ones listed above also deal with what's called the 'sub-prime' market too, and at the same fee rates that they normally charge.

Two heads are often better than one, so why not try a few brokers and see if any beat the others? Too many of these may actually hurt your credit score, meaning you get a worse deal see the Credit Scores guide. The other benefit of this is that different brokers often have exclusive deals from lenders though there may be a small fee for 'booking' these.

The big national brokers have their own deals and local brokers may offer exclusives via 'broker networks' which negotiate deals for them. Always weigh up the benefit of the exclusive deal against any fees.

It's worth asking what commission your broker's getting for arranging the mortgage. This should be stated on the last page of the mortgage illustration too - it's likely to be between 0.

It's worth asking if they're prepared to rebate any of their commission as cashback to you when the mortgage completes, especially if you're paying a fee for their services as well. Best Buys First-Time Buyers' Guide Remortgaging Guide Find the best buy mortgages If you're ready to get a mortgage, tell our Mortgage Best Buys tool what you want, and it'll speedily find the top deals for you.

Want to get on that first rung? Our free guide helps you find the cheapest mortgage and boost your chances of getting accepted. If you used our Mortgage Best Buys to benchmark a rate before you went to a broker, and it couldn't beat your rate, then you've probably already done this. And if your broker says it tells you about all deals on the market not just the ones they can transact for you , this part should already have been done.

It may be worth double-checking, but it's likely you've already found the best deal for you. If you used a standard broker, it may still miss some deals as sadly, some lenders have retreated from the broker market to cut costs.

Some simply don't allow brokers to access any of their deals; others reserve some deals for direct sales only. For belt and braces, compare a broker's best result to the three types of mortgages it may not have included if you haven't already done it using our Mortgage Best Buys:. Yorkshire Bank and First Direct don't offer their deals through brokers. Brokers who say they search the whole market should include them in a comparison but, they don't have to offer to transact for you.

Lenders that don't offer all their deals through brokers. You'll really need to do some legwork for these. A few lenders, including Nationwide and Halifax, now put some deals through brokers and offer some only direct.

Just to show there's nothing like keeping things simple! A recent trend is that the direct deals can be much more competitive but not always. Usefully, MSE's Mortgage Best Buys tool finds the best deals for you, and tells you if they're available through brokers or only direct.

In the final category are the deals which are available exclusively through certain broker networks, as they sometimes negotiate their own deals with lenders. Unfortunately, we can't cover all of these in our Best Buys tool, but they're not a significant proportion of the market. For full belt and braces, you could try a few different brokers.

To properly compare deals, find the best deal that a broker can offer you, and the best deal you can find using our Mortgage Best Buys , then use our Compare Two Mortgages or Compare Fixed-Rate Mortgages calculators to see what each will cost you. The best comparison is to use the rate you'll pay for the incentive period in the comparison - and compare over the length of time you think you'll have the mortgage.

DON'T compare one mortgage's APR with another. All lenders have to tell you their APR - the effective averaged annual interest rate if you held your mortgage for the entire term normally 25 years. This is rather annoying, as it's a rate in most cases you'll never have to pay, so it's meaningless. If you had a fixed rate at 3. You could start a library out of the amount of paperwork you get sent when you take out a mortgage or remortgage. The main documents you need to be aware of are:.

The Key Facts Illustration does what it says on the tin. It gives you the Key Facts about the mortgage product, not all of them, but all the main ones. You should be given one of these before you make an application and you should check through carefully. If all of the information's in there, file the illustration and keep it. If some of this information's missing, ask the lender or broker for a new one.

Buy to let mortgage: find the best deal - MoneySavingExpert

If you ever have a disagreement with your lender, this document is a crucial piece of evidence that proves what you were recommended, by who and when. Your lender won't keep a copy forever, so keep it somewhere safe as it could be years before you need it again. Scan it, file it, keep it! The mortgage offer Once you've successfully applied for a mortgage, you'll be sent a mortgage offer by the lender.

This gives ALL the facts about the mortgage and the conditions on the loan that you are agreeing to. If your name is not spelt correctly or the loan figure is wrong, this could stop the mortgage at the very last minute, resulting in delays, additional expense, jeopardising the purchase and even more scarily, losing the mortgage offer completely.

You also need to be sure there's nothing unexpected in it, particularly if it contradicts your Key Facts illustration. Pay particular close attention to fees, early repayment charges and the conditions you need to meet to complete as it's your solicitor's job to check you've met these before the money can be drawn down.

For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes - join the 10m who get it. Some lenders and brokers try to make more money elsewhere in the mortgage process. So be prepared for the hard sell on these products. Sometimes called accident, sickness and unemployment insurance ASU , MPPI is supposed to cover your payments if you have an accident, become ill, or you're made redundant.

You can get limited help from the Government in these circumstances but, at best, it will only cover your interest. So it's sensible to consider, before you take out a mortgage, how you would manage to meet your repayments if these events happened. MPPI isn't a bad policy but it can be quite pricey and has been mis-sold in the past to people who couldn't actually claim on it.

This can happen because the insurer doesn't carry out any checks when you first apply, only when you go to make a claim.

Be extra careful if you are self-employed, have any reason to suspect you might be made redundant or have any existing medical conditions.

Ensure you understand all the terms and conditions before signing on the dotted line. Buying MPPI from your mortgage broker. Be careful when buying from your mortgage broker here. It may not be able to get you the best-priced policy. It's common for a broker to offer whole of market mortgage advice, but then be tied to a single, or small panel of insurers.

The Remortgage Guide - Money Saving Expert

There's no harm in getting a quote from your broker for MPPI, but make sure that you compare with other policies to see if it's a good deal. Read more in our Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance guide. All lenders will insist you take out buildings insurance.

But be very suspicious of deals which insist you buy your buildings insurance through your lender. While the amount quoted may seem reasonable in the first year, you're then trapped into accepting whatever premium increases they foist on you in subsequent years, for as long as the mortgage lasts. If you go elsewhere for your home cover, some seriously cheap deals are possible.

By using cashback sites, some people have even been PAID to take out insurance. See our Home Insurance guide. Would you ask the man who sold you a computer to be your fashion stylist? No, so don't assume just because someone sold you one financial product, they'll automatically get you a good deal on extra bits such as life cover or other insurance.

Buying your first home is probably the first time you've thought about life insurance, but don't rush in and grab the first one offered to you. For a full guide on how to find the cheapest cover, see the Life Insurance guide. If your mortgage provider's given you wrong information, or its service has been atrocious, you don't have to suffer in silence. It's always worth trying to call your lender first to see if it can sort the problem, but if not Use our free online tool to reclaim This tool helps you draft your complaint and manage it too.

If the complaint isn't resolved, you can use Resolver to escalate it to the free Financial Ombudsman Service. NOT YET A FORUM MEMBER? In the main body of the article two types of links are listed. You shouldn't notice any difference if you do please let us know and the editorial line the things we write is NEVER impacted by the revenue - we aim to look at all available products. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it is still included in exactly the same way.

For more details read how this site is financed. We think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of the site. We're a journalistic website and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques, but can't guarantee to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong.

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In this guide Step 1: Know what mortgage you want - Do you want a fixed or variable deal? Get a rough idea of the top rates - How to compare the best deals Step 3: Can a mortgage broker beat it? Check your mortgage paperwork - The mortgage offer Step 6: Watch out for the hard sell How to complain about your lender. Need to know how to find the best deals for you? Go to our Best Buys to get a benchmark No comparison site guarantees to show you all the deals available.

Enter your loan amount and property valuation accurately At the top of the screen when you click onto best buys, you have the opportunity to select if you're a first-time buyer, remortgaging or moving home. Find the info you need on screen There's a lot of information. Use the site to locate: Use the filters on the left to choose between fixed mortgages and variable mortgages If you're already certain, then select the type you want. Use the filters on the left to select your initial deal length The initial deal length is how long your deal will stay at the advertised interest rate.

Find a realistic benchmark We say realistic, because if you're looking at the product at the top of the table, it's probably not.

Choose your deal Once you've found some deals that suit your circumstances and budget, click 'key information' to find out more. Go get your deal Once you're happy you can click on 'Next Steps'.

Can you get me a mortgage from any UK lender, right now? Not all can so it's important to know which you're dealing with: Do you charge a fee? Brokers have two possible sources of income: Fees Brokers may also charge you a fee directly. Quick question Is it worth paying a fee? However, there are two instances when a fee may be good value for money.

How do I speak to it? What lenders will it check? All standard deals available through brokers, but misses some biggies. Phone although you can use email to arrange a consultation. A wide range of lenders ranging from big banks to small building societies.

It can't check direct-only lenders. Full MSE review of Trinity Financial Trinity Financial, while an established broker, is new to this guide and so we have limited feedback. Full MSE review of Which? Mortgage Advisers Although it can check all lenders to find you the best mortgage, Which? If you've used Which? Mortgage Advisers, please let us know about your experiences. Find a good local mortgage broker Face-to-face advice If you prefer face-to-face advice , try to find a local broker that offers it fees-free; there should be quite a few.

It depends on the one you find. Varies massively, always check. Full MSE guide to picking a local broker Give them a call, and ask the three questions in the picking a broker section to ensure they fit your bill. As always, the golden rule is to seek more than one opinion before deciding.

Ready to get a mortgage? Does it have the Key Facts logo on it? Does it have the correct date on it? Does it have your name on it? Does it state who has created it?

Does it say if you've been recommended the product? FAQs Unsubscribe Past Emails Privacy. Join in the MSE Forum Discussion: Cheap Mortgage Finding NOT YET A FORUM MEMBER? By Lesley Edited by Johanna. Related Guides Mortgage Exit Fees Have you switched or repaid? What type of mortgage to choose? Pick from a fixed, tracker or something more flexible Should I overpay my mortgage?

Can you use savings to overpay? Tesco Bank has launched a market-leading 1. FREE MoneySaving email Week from 21 June MSE News Martin's Blog Deals Hunters. How this site works We think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of the site. This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances and remember we focus on rates not service.

Do note, while we always aim to give you accurate product info at the point of publication, unfortunately price and terms of products and deals can always be changed by the provider afterwards, so double check first. We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned how likely they are to go bust , but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late see the Section 75 guide for protection tips. We often link to other websites, but we can't be responsible for their content.

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