Getting a great deal for your mortgage is hard work. I know this from first-hand experience, not because I organised it myself, but because I witness it every week at RobMac an independent financial adviser..
Just to declare my interests; I help RobMac with their marketing and once a week I work out of their office. In addition, I needed to review my own mortgage and as RobMac have a specialist mortgage team, I worked with them. In this way I gained a behind the scenes view of what it takes to organise a mortgage and it’s not easy.
A bit of background first. As an independent financial adviser, the RobMac dedicated mortgage team have access to all the mortgage products from all the lenders and are not limited to a single bank or building society. This means that they can advise on nearly everyone’s particular circumstances because they can access products suitable for their requirements. Indeed, many conversations start with the question “Why can’t I get a mortgage” from their clients.
The starting point is to chat with the mortgage adviser at RobMac so that they can understand your needs in order to be able to match the best product for your circumstances. And the choice of is changing all the time as lenders are introducing new products to meet the demands of a changing marketplace. For example, equity release and lifetime mortgages are gaining in popularity as people look to extend their stay in their property rather than downsize in order to pay back the original mortgage.
It’s then down to the experience and expertise of the mortgage advisor to identify the right lender and the right product from vast choice that exists. Because they can go to the whole of the market, they will also be able to access the most appropriate products for each application which can often result in significant savings.
So, if that’s the theory, what’s it like in practice?
Not only does each lender have different products but they also have different processes when dealing with applications. They will typically have different lending criteria as well as different underwriter assumptions. They will have different affordability calculators and the information that they require from clients is different too.
Part of the expertise and experience of the team at RobMac is understanding the differences between the different lenders in order to make the best recommendation. Then having agreed with the client the options that are available to them, the mortgage team can start to engage with the lenders in order to process the application.
And that’s when the next variation comes into play as not all lenders are as efficient as each other.
Getting in touch with some lenders require the patience of a saint and getting through to them can take an age. The office can often resound to the “on hold” muzak while the team wait to be connected. I’m constantly amazed at the patience and professionalism of the RobMac team who have to do this on a daily basis.
That’s not the only issue that they have to deal with as some lenders are prone to “administrative errors”. Information that has been passed to the lender doesn’t appear on their system and has to be chased by RobMac. If you imagine that they are typically dealing with 30 applications at any time, then there is a lot of “on hold” and chasing to be done.
And let’s not forget the client either. The team often have to chase the client for information which isn’t always readily to hand before the application can be made. Again, the professionalism of the team is to be commended when dealing with clients.
That’s the real benefit of working with RobMac when considering a mortgage, you the client, is blissfully unaware of all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes on your behalf. I’m only sharing it because I get to see it first-hand and did so for my own mortgage application.
You get great advice from a dedicated team who work tirelessly on your behalf to secure the best deal for you. You should try it.
If you would like more information or would like to set up a meeting with one the RobMac team to discuss your mortgage then click on the link and choose a date and time.
