If you are starting to think about using a Mortgage Broker in Barnstaple you might not be sure why it might be a good idea. You might still think it’s best to go direct to the bank! This is just a quick blog to share with you why our clients use us and don’t go directly to the bank!
As a Mortgage Broker in Barnstaple, we know!
We know the local movers and shakers!
We know all the local estate agents and solicitors (well most of them). We work with them all on a regular basis and we know who is good (and bad!). We know what is happening in the Barnstaple property market, in fact, you can watch an interview I did recently with a local estate agent here. This all means as local Barnstaple mortgage brokers, we can really help you far more than just getting a mortgage!
This means we can have a great working relationship with other local professionals and all pull in the same direction to help you secure your house purchase with the minimal hassle.
In addition, our clients often seek out our view and opinion on the market, whether a property is a good buy or not, how much to offer on a property and much more.CLICK TO TWEETOf course, our core service is independent mortgage advice, but as local professionals, we have a finger on the pulse of the local property market. The benefit to our clients is of course, that they get an independent opinion, without a potential bias. It means as a buyer, they not only have their solicitor to ask but their mortgage adviser who is dealing with property transactions of all types, all the time.
A mortgage broker in Barnstaple is like a local friend helping you out!
If you like your friends to help you out now and again, a mortgage broker in Barnstaple (like us) is exactly that when it comes to helping you manage your mortgage. We are a local firm, with local people (just like you) and we have a passion to help.
Of course for some of our clients, they just want us to do all the hard work and find you the cheapest available deal. Some have a complicated scenario or worse they have been turned down by a bank. Read on below to find out why using an independent mortgage broker in Barnstaple could be the smartest thing you’ll ever do.
A Barnstaple mortgage broker is like old school banking but better!
For those of us who remember how the banks in Barnstaple used to operate, they were the cornerstone of the community and everyone knew their bank manager! Back then you had a meeting with the bank manager who was able to make lending decisions for your mortgage or loan.
Then centralisation took over and bank managers became no more than customer service managers! Decision making for lending was centralised and conducted by underwriters in a head office somewhere, while the in-house mortgage advisers were no more than audit takers!
In much the same way decision making was centralised we are now seeing local branches closing and their services either being centralised or moved online.CLICK TO TWEETAt the moment for bigger towns like Barnstaple, the branches are being treated like regional hubs which then means the smaller branches in the surrounding areas are closed down.
So what does this mean for you?
At best: If you want to see a bank mortgage adviser it will often be hard to get an appointment or take a long time. The reason, they have reduced the number of branches and advisers. We are now seeing one or two advisers covering the whole of a region, rather than serving individual branches.
At worst: You’ll be put on the phone, video call or you’ll have to go online. As the ‘advice’ for many banks has been centralised, this means no more personal service or a local person you can actually see, meet and get to know! You are just another number to a big corporation and the staff dealing with you don’t know you or really care!
The great thing about working with a local mortgage broker in Barnstaple is everything that was good about old school banking still exists; the personal relationship, the trust, the advice, and professionalism. We are not a big corporation, we are a local business with local people who care about helping you. Every client matters to us.
Barnstaple Mortgage Brokers versus the Bank!
There is no doubt, some of our clients hate the impersonal nature of how the Barnstaple banks now operate! They get annoyed having to wait days for a meeting or feel frustrated if they are put on the phone or video link to some impersonal call centre. When you work with a Barnstaple Mortgage Broker like us, you will receive a personal service from people who care and who want to build a long term professional relationship with you for your best interests.We are not a big corporate entity, but friendly professionals who want to help their clients.CLICK TO TWEETThe independent sector is so very different from the banks and as we have to work with them every day, we know how hard and frustrating it can be.
Of course, that’s not to say, we see all our clients in person. Believe it or not, some local clients just like to know we are down the road and prefer to phone or email, rather than popping in. The key is to be able to work in whatever best suits you. As a small business, we have this flexibility to tailor our service and it’s how we beat the banks every time.
Personal Service from a Mortgage Adviser in Barnstaple
We are focused on personal relationships and great service. If we don’t do that then word of mouth quickly spreads and we soon develop a poor reputation. We understand business and the importance of being honest, open and transparent and this is something we strive for all the time. Of course, we are not perfect, but we certainly try.In fact, we believe in this so much that we actually publish our success rates throughout each stage of our process.CLICK TO TWEETThis is not only to demonstrate how good our team are but to strive to be better and continually make ourselves accountable to you.
Too many service businesses (financial, legal, accountancy etc) don’t actually publish their success rates or the key performance indicators that matter to the end consumer. They rely too heavily on word of mouth, past reputations, or online reviews. As great as reviews are, (and we truly love and appreciate clients giving us honest reviews) let’s not pretend that all companies reviews are always legitimate. To see our current success rates click here.
Benefits of an Independent Mortgage Adviser in Barnstaple
You may realise this already but using an independent mortgage broker like us is a bit like having your very own personal specialist banker, except this one, has access to a lot more options than just one bank and can provide an ongoing personal service. You will get access to the whole of the market which ultimately will save you time, hassle and money. And you can ask a question here if you need help.
Dealing with a Barnstaple mortgage broker, like us is beneficial on many different levels:
- Save you time,
- Do all the hard work for you
- Save you money by ensuring you have the best possible mortgage deal
- Independence – we are not tied to any one lender and have no allegiances to any of them. Our allegiance is to you.
What are the objections to using a mortgage broker in Barnstaple?
Whether you decide to use an independent professional adviser in Barnstaple (someone like us) or not will usually come down to a number of factors:
- People are not always sure what we do or how we can help.
- They only think of a bank when they need a mortgage rather than an independent mortgage adviser.
- They aren’t sure if it’s worth paying for professional mortgage advice.
- They don’t see the value in paying someone to help them do the hard work of applying for a mortgage and communicating with all parties (solicitors and estate agents).
- They think they can find the best deal themselves.
Of course, lots of people are still happy to trust their bank or do all the hard work themselves and this is completely fine. However, the reality of someone doing it themselves and getting the best deal that fits their unique circumstances is really low. There are just so many lenders, so many products and importantly so much lending criteria to cover off…the job of a mortgage broker doing this day in day out is really hard, so for someone to do their own once every 2-5 years…I don’t need to say much more!
More & more people are seeing the benefit of using an Independent Mortgage Broker in Barnstaple
Interestingly the number of mortgages that are applied for directly through the banks are falling sharply and people are increasingly seeing the value in using a local mortgage broker. Even the local bank mortgage advisers are recommending us when they can’t help their customers.
You might be surprised to learn that about 70% of all mortgages are arranged through people like us, and this trend is growing.CLICK TO TWEETThere are lots of reasons for this and one is the fact the banks themselves are seeing the value in what we do and they are able to cut their costs by reducing the number of in-house advisers as a result.
The bottom line is this: With the independent sector, you get a much more personal service from someone who is always available on the phone (without all the different automated options) and you have the confidence that a local person is working for you and your best interests. A local Barnstaple mortgage broker often builds long-lasting working relationships with their clients. Once someone uses us they usually keep coming back for all their finance-related needs and seek our opinions and insight into the market, economy and much more.
A professional local Barnstaple adviser offers so much more than a bank or a money supermarket can ever do! They are also usually far more knowledgable about all the options available to you because they are not restricted by justing using one lender or a panel of lenders who pay to be on a platform and then sell your data!
Broad skill set and experience in complex mortgages!
Not all local Barnstaple advisers have the same experience or expertise. But one thing that sets us apart is our ongoing commitment to a wide field of expertise. Something you will never get from a bank.
We, of course, love helping people buy and remortgage their homes. But we are also experts when it comes to more complex mortgage requirements. This means you know you are dealing with a team who have a really broad range of experience and expertise in much more unusual areas such as buy to let, holiday let, portfolio buy to let, development finance or even bridging finance. Most local firms don’t as it’s too complex and they don’t have the experience. They often and offload this to third parties (not that they will tell you this)!
Just to share with you, we have lots more helpful top tips and information on our website so make sure you stick around and check it out…oh and don’t forget, if you liked this blog and found it helpful, I would appreciate it so much if you shared it
If you have a mortgage question, please feel free to get in touch or ask a question in the form below: