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Let somebody else do all the legwork

More people looking for a mortgage are going to a broker rather than dealing directly with a lending institution.

With around a dozen leading institutions marketing around 200 different mortgage products, consumers can find it advantageous to cut through the confusion and go to a broker. There, they can get the deal that suits their circumstances.

Joe Pitcher of Joe Pitcher Financial Services in Blanchardstown, Dublin says that the big reason for going to a broker is the extensive choice of lenders. "Most professional brokers have at least five or six lenders to choose from and some have considerably more. The best advice is to check with your mortgage broker and make sure that you're getting a full choice of lenders and not just one or two."

He adds that people are increasingly looking for impartial advice on mortgages. In the past, they had to hotfoot it round the banks and building societies, and then decide themselves what was the best deal.

These days, it's much more consumer-friendly, with no legwork for the client when he or she goes to a broker. Mortgage brokers have helped put consumers in a more regal position when it comes to shopping round for a mortgage.

Technology is also helping change the market. AT Bank of Ireland the view is that within five years, 70 percent of all mortgages taken out in Ireland will stem from initial telephone contact, while online applications will account for percent of business.

Reproduced with kind permission of the Irish Times.
Written by Hugh Oram