Today though, some lenders have implemented a strategy of offering different mortgage products within their branch network to those that are available to Mortgage Brokers - a number of these products haven't worked out to be cheap as they initially looked, but in some cases they have been a lot cheaper.
Why though?
The lenders say it is to cut costs (they don't need to pay Broker Fees), but the reality is, because there have been so many staff cuts over recent years, the lenders can't cope with the volume of business they are getting (which is a lot less than last year!), and this is a way of controlling not only the volume of business they accept, but also the quality.
But there is more to a mortgage than the headline rate - there are fees to consider, total costs payable over the term, redemption penalties and not to forget your own personal circumstances..
As we all also know, dealing with many Banks & Building Societies for the things we really want, the application process is never that straightforward (or fast!).
So what is the answer?
