Some consultants are tied to a panel of maybe 15-20 lenders. These tied advisors must tell you on your first meeting that they work from a select panel of lenders. Generally you will find that consultants working off a panel are estate agency based. Another time when you find that brokers are working off a restricted panel is when they only advise to people with bad credit, otherwise known as sub prime lending.



These types of consultants may only have access to 5 or 10 lenders as it is a specialised field and not all banks want to lend to people with impaired credit history.

Mortgage advisors who work for a bank or building society are normally known as mortgage advisors. This type of consultant can only offer advice on the products that are available from the company they represent. It is this type of Mortgage advisor that offers the most restricted advice on the most limited range of mortgages.

Some consultants do not provide either independent or tied advice but provide ?information only?. Information only mortgage advisors do not help their client chose which mortgages are most suitable to their own circumstances or financial situation. They leave it up to the client to choose, this situation is normal for a bank or building society.

Instead, information only consultants will not help you with the choice of new mortgage they still carry out the administration required to submit the paperwork for the customers.

One of the reasons no advice is given is to keep the cost down for the clients as they do not normally make a charge. Clients can therefore benefit from using information only mortgage advisors and save money in the process.

The main drawback is that the client may not have chosen the most suitable mortgage rate for their own situation. This can result in the client paying out more money on interest rates and fees over the term of the mortgage than if they had use a whole of market broker.

People who want to use information only mortgage advisors should have a reasonably healthy knowledge of the mortgage market for them to ensure they select the correct products for their own needs. If they can not then they should consider paying for mortgage advice from an kwol Independent mortgage brokers are generally regarded as an excellent source of advice when searching for the right mortgage to finance or remortgage a property. Independent mortgage brokers are not tied to advising clients to use particular lenders and home loan products. Instead, they have access to all mortgage lenders and products available on the market.

In addition to independent mortgage brokers, there are tied mortgage brokers. Tied brokers are similar to independent consultants however, instead of having access to all mortgages available on the market they only have access to products from a select panel of lenders.

Mortgage brokers who work within a bank or financial institution are generally known as mortgage advisors. This type of broker will only offer advice on the home loan products made available by the institution they work for. Mortgage advisors therefore offer advice on the most limited range of products out of the three different types of brokers.

Some mortgage brokers, however, do not offer independent or tied advice and therefore provide an ?information only? service. Information only mortgage brokers do not help their customers decide upon which mortgage products are best suited to their individual circumstances or financial situation.

Instead, information only brokers will usually offer a wide selection of mortgage products and will perform the administration functions required to process the application after the customers have chosen the products by themselves.

While this may seem strange at first, the main advantage to the customer of such a service is that the customers are normally not charged a fee. Customers can therefore benefit from using information only mortgage brokers by saving money.

The main disadvantage, however, is that the customer may not select the most appropriate mortgage product for their individual situation. This can result in the customer paying more in interest and fees over the life of the loan, than they would for a more suitable product.

Individuals who wish to use information only mortgage brokers should therefore have a good knowledge of the mortgage market in order to ensure they choose the right products for their individual needs. If they do not then they should consider paying for advice from a whole of market mortgage broker.

Also, mortgage advisors have access to mortgages that are not available on the high street. These exclusive deals will normally only be available to the customers of a limited number of mortgage consultants. People who use information only advisors may miss out on such mortgage rates.

In all, when choosing to use information only mortgage advisors, people must make up their mind whether they want independent mortgage advice, or they want to have access to the whole mortgage market, cost can be a factor, and whether they want to risk not being made aware of exclusive deals.

There are many mortgage brokers in the UK and one of the best ways to find a whole of market mortgage broker is through the internet.