Are they independent? - Speak directly to your bank and you’ll get mortgage advice but only from one lender. Some estate agents have mortgage advisers that work from a limited panel of lenders maybe 10-14. The best option to give you significant access to the whole market is an independent broker with no or little restrictions in who they can approach to obtain a mortgage for you.

Do they charge a fee? – Whenever you speak with or meet a broker the first thing that will need to be explained to you is if they charge a fee for their service and if so, how much? This fee can vary from broker to broker and could be charged at different stages of the mortgage process. Again, all this will be explained to you at the outset.

How many people work for the company? – This may not be such an obvious question but the majority of mortgage enquiries are time sensitive particularly when you are buying a home. What happens if there is only one person working for the business and they go on an extended holiday or are sick? Who will pick up your mortgage then?

Does the broker have a good reputation? – Always check out Google or FaceBook for example as this will be a good guide.

Are face to face appointments available? – Since Covid a lot more clients are happy to deal with a broker over Zoom or Teams but if you still like sitting down to discuss important things then ask the question.

Is the broker local? – This one is probably not as crucial but it does help (in particular first time buyers) if there is a local knowledge of the market when discuss mortgages. It may be more of a question for you the client as there are lenders that will only lend if you are buying a property in a particular area. Kent Reliance building society used to be one where unless the property postcode was in Kent, they wouldn’t lend. This has now changed over the years.

How did you hear about the broker? – Local advertising and word of mouth are the two most popular ways of finding a broker. Personal recommendations are key and here at Compass we actively encourage our clients to do this where possible.

How experienced is the broker? – The mortgage industry never stays the same for long and there have been huge changes than just 5 years ago. Being a broker over a long period is really useful as it enables then to draw on their experience when looking at mortgages for you.

There are lots of lenders out there and vast swathes of criteria to trawl through so a broker that has an in depth knowledge developed over many years is a real bonus.

There may be other things that are important to you but these are just some of the areas to consider when trying to find your broker to help you through the maze that is mortgages.

If you want independent, experienced advise please call Compass where one of our team will be on hand to help.