Need help finding a mortgage?
our online Mortgage Guide - Page 6 of 14:
Do you need help finding a mortgage? Well, you're in the right place, as Shire Direct specialise in providing mortgage solutions tailor made to suit your circumstances, needs, requirements and aspirations!
However, for an unbiased look, we think it's only fair to explore some of the ways of finding a mortgage, and there are numerous different ways of finding a mortgage.
Finding a mortgage company...
So, the die is cast - you've chosen your new home and have decided to buy, but you're probably wondering where you can get a mortgage from?
Maybe you've already got a few ideas of your own of who or where to approach, but for those who do need help finding a mortgage, you'll be pleased to know there's a wealth of options available, so let's take a look at the available choices...
- Search Online:
Probably one of the easiest and most convenient options, after all you can do it at your convenience and leisure when you choose, there's nothing stopping you from finding a mortgage at 4am in the morning in your pyjamas if you so wish! Finding a mortgage online is an option that breaks down into further choices...
- Search Engines
This may be how you found Shire Direct - by entering a search query into one of the major search engines such as the likes of Google, MSN or Yahoo.
Personally, we feel this is one of the best and most convenient ways of researching and finding your mortgage and exactly what you are looking for, as long as your search terms are detailed enough you will undoubtedly find a mortgage company that will be able to help you.
Don't be afraid of investigating a handful of different companies before approaching anyone. The depth and quality of their website is usually a good indication of the kind of people you may be dealing with. If you can't find the information you are looking for on their website, perhaps you ought to ask yourself why and look for another website!
- Comparison Websites
Like the rest of the population you probably haven't failed to notice the endless 'blanket advertising' by the numerous online comparison websites, most of them are currently primarily insurance based such as Confused.com, Go Compare and Tesco Compare, although some indeed do cover mortgages such as Money Supermarket.
These may be worthwhile investigating to get an indication as a guideline as to what may available, but we would just like to throw a word of caution in! Websites of this nature typically present their findings based on a limited information you provide to them, and whilst this websites are often very sophisticated, you may not necessarily be receiving a true account of the options open to you! That's why we feel it's best to contact a mortgage broker like ourselves who will be happy to discuss and explain the options available to you!
Whilst many comparison websites are often very sophisticated, they may also be biased towards their own selected group of providers - so you are not necessarily getting a true, clear and fair picture of exactly what may be available to you. We've also found them to be overly technical, with many of them being a little overbearing in terms of jargon, and lacking on clear and informative help, often only too happy to make assumptions that their users are mortgage experts too!
- Online Directories
There are numerous online directories that can help you find a mortgage, ones that spring to mind are Yell, Thomson Webfinder and ITV Local. These can be especially useful if you are trying to source somebody local to you, although that's far less of an issue nowadays as many mortgage brokers have a wide-ranging regional and even national coverage.
The main problem with this method is it can be very random, as you never really know what you're going to find, you can easily spend several hours looking for a credible and helpful company with an informative and helpful website without any success. That's why we recommend using Online search engines to pinpoint exactly the information and help you are looking for!
- Telephone Directories:
Those behemoth tomes that are 'oh-so friendly' on our environment, and often left by the telephone to accumulate dust in many households these days, whilst those with an internet connection and a modicum of common sense are more happy to research and find a mortgage online. It makes sense to know who you are dealing with when arranging a mortgage, especially with a mortgage being the largest financial transaction most of us are ever likely to be involved with, and a print advertisement typically doesn't have enough space to convey enough details for those who are looking at finding a mortgage to make a decent judgement.
Printed Telephone Directories such as Yellow Pages, BT Phone Book and Thomson Local are becoming an increasingly antiquated method of finding a mortgage, and we feel this format has seen it's best day. It's a topic of discussion that comes up regularly amongst our staff here, most of us can't remember the last time we used a phone book for any purpose, let alone one of the most important transactions you'll ever be involved with!
The limited space available to the advertiser to convey the finer points of the mortgage services they offer after all the regulatory requirements are met in terms of risk statements simply doesn't weigh up against an informative website. The one advantage that the telephone directories did have is that they were able to show mortgage brokers in your locality. As we mentioned above though, this may be becoming less and less of a problem with many mortgage brokers being able to offer both regional as well as national coverage.
- The High Street
Walk up and down the high street for hours on end visiting banks and building societies, possibly having to wait in queues, and fight it out in the crowded and often dangerous streets of today, possibly to be told that they aren't able to help you. Wouldn't you rather be sat in a warm cosy home, with a cup of tea or glass of wine, and be able to freely explore and research the options available to you at your leisure? We know we would!
So those are some of the main ways of finding a mortgage. There are other sources too, such as local newspapers (which fall into a similar category as Telephone Directories above), and asking friends and family if they have anyone they could recommend to you and point you in the right direction which may be worthwhile too.
Personally, we believe you've already found the right place for your mortgage, and that's us here at Shire Direct! However, we thought out of fairness it would be a good idea to present some of the other ways of finding a mortgage.
At the end of the day, your choice all boils down to either finding a mortgage directly from a lender, or approaching a mortgage broker, and on the next page we'll look at why we think it makes more sense to approach a Mortgage Broker such as Shire Direct!
NEXT: Choosing the right mortgage ›
The overall cost for comparison is 9.8% APR.
The actual rate available will depend upon your circumstances. Ask for a personalised illustration. APR variable and based on a usual case. Most customers are likely to receive a lower rate or the same rate as our overall cost for comparison rate - learn more about APR.
There are no upfront broker fees.
However, a fee may be charged on successful completion. An indication is that on conforming cases (straightforward applications with no or minimal adverse credit) a fee may be charged of up to 1% of the amount advanced, typically £795 and will depend on your circumstances.
For non-conforming cases (where case research and processing may be more complex due to adverse credit or unusual circumstances), a fee may be charged of up to 3% of the amount advanced, typically £1,995.
THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE
SECURING OTHER DEBTS AGAINST YOUR HOME.
YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED
IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON A MORTGAGE OR ANY OTHER DEBT SECURED ON IT.
Adding existing debt to your mortgage will increase the repayment term and overall cost.
