They know the industry

Mortgage criteria has tightened massively over the past few years, with the Mortgage Market Review being the latest, and arguably widest-ranging, development.

It’s been designed to ensure borrowers can prove affordability, even in the event of a rate rise, and those extra checks have understandably increased application times.

That’s why it’s so important to stay in the loop – and to have a mortgage broker on your side who understands it all. A broker deals with lenders on a day-to-day basis, so they’ll know what the application process is like for each one and can tell you which lender can process your application with minimal delays.

They also know the background criteria that a lender has and can bring this experience to bear when advising you and processing your application.

Then there’s the fact that, because a mortgage broker may put a lot of business to a particular lender in a year, they can exert influence and chase things in a way you just can’t do by yourself – and that can be invaluable should things get held up.