Questions To Ask A Mortgage Broker

Not all lenders assess applications the same way. Some are better for:

• High earners with bonus or commission
• Self-employed applicants
• First-time buyers
• Complex income structures

This is one of the most important questions to ask a mortgage advisor, as choosing the wrong lender can significantly reduce your borrowing.

Lenders treat income differently. For example:

• Bonuses may be capped or averaged
• Self-employed income may require 2–3 years of accounts
• Overtime or commission may be partially used

Understanding this early helps avoid surprises later in the process.

Most buyers need between:

• 5% minimum (limited options)
• 10–20% (more competitive rates)
• 25%+ (best pricing and flexibility)

A broker can help you understand how your deposit affects your mortgage options.

Your monthly payments depend on:

• Loan size
• Interest rate
• Mortgage term

A broker should provide clear examples so you can budget realistically.

What fees do I need to consider?

Other than the mortgage and deposit, you will most likely have several other fees to consider.

• Stamp duty: Stamp duty is a tax by the government on new home purchases. For all home movers who will only own one property at one time, you will pay a percentage of the value of the new property as a tax (between 2, 5, and 10% up to £1 million). For first time buyers, you will not be taxed at all on purchases below £300,000.
• Solicitor fees: Most solicitors that you instruct yourself to carry out the legal work of your buying process will charge a fee. Each solicitor varies with their fees and you will need to get a quote from them before you make a decision to instruct. But, on average you could property look at fees of anywhere between £1,000 and £3,000. Some mortgage products offer free legals as part of their package, so if you select a mortgage product with your advisor that offers free legals, you may not have to pay any fees.
• Valuation fee: Your mortgage lender, as part of the application process, will need an independent valuation of the property carried out so that they can make sure that the property is worth what you are paying for it and that there aren’t any issues with the property that could impact them negatively. A lot of the time, valuation fees can be added to the loan but equally, a lot of valuation fees will need to be paid separately by you. Again, these vary but are usually £100-200.
• Reservation fee: If you are buying a new build property, you will normally need to pay a reservation fee to the builder which will officially enable them to take the property off the market for you. Dependent on the builder, the area of the country, and the type of property, the reservation could cost between £100 and £1,000. Sometimes this is refunded by the developer once you have completed your purchase, but not always.
• Moving costs: You may want to do all the heavy lifting and moving yourself however, if you do decide that you would like some professional moving help, you may want to hire a removals company. These companies will move your furniture and boxes out of your old property and into your new one for you.

There are different types of mortgages:

• Fixed rate (payments stay the same)
• Tracker rate (follows base rate changes)
• Variable rate

A broker should explain the pros and cons based on your situation.

The home buying process and the length of time it takes to buy a home depends on a lot of factors. It could take a few weeks, it could take a few months, or in extreme circumstances a few years. If everything goes smoothly, it could take around 3 months to go from offer accepted to actually moving into the new property. That is, if your mortgage application goes through quickly, your solicitor paperwork is all completed quickly, your deposit is available immediately, and the person selling you the property has sorted everything out on their end in a timely manner.

When it comes to mortgages, the timeline is typically:

• Agreement in Principle: same day
• Full application to offer: 2–6 weeks
• Completion: 8–12+ weeks

This can vary depending on the complexity of your case.

Many buyers assume they won’t qualify, but options may still exist.

A broker can advise if you:

• Are self-employed
• Have variable income
• Have recently changed jobs
• Have minor credit issues

If declined:

• Don’t reapply immediately
• Understand the reason
• Speak to a broker

A different lender may still approve your application.

Simple steps include:

• Reducing outstanding debts
• Improving your credit profile
• Increasing your deposit
• Structuring your income efficiently

A broker can guide you on this before applying.

This is a BIG deal. Making sure that your mortgage broker is financially regulated is something that everyone needs to do. The last thing that you want is to get financial advice from someone who can’t be monitored and held responsible for the advice that they are giving. By UK law, all mortgage advisors must be regulated by the financial conduct authority (FCA). The FCA regulates the financial services industry. Its role is to protect consumers, keep the financial industries stable, and to promote healthy competition between financial service providers.

If your mortgage broker is not financially regulated, they can offer bad advice without any repercussions, they can break rules put in place by the FCA that could be seen as dishonest or possibly not the right approach ethically. By ensuring your advisor is FCA regulated, you can have the reassurance that your broker will follow industry shared rules and values that benefit everyone involved. If you are unsure of your broker’s regulation status, you can search on the FCA’s register of regulated people or organisations.

This is very important on both ends of the spectrum. You want to make sure that if your advisor charges a fee, that they are not over charging and if they don’t charge a fee, you want to make sure that the quality of advice and processing is good and not sub-par. With either one, you should always ask your advisor how much they charge before you agree to use their services.

In the case of Oportfolio, we have experienced mortgage advisors who help you to choose the best mortgage for your own circumstances. We also have a team of expert mortgage administrators who assist the advisor in submitting your application, collating and uploading your documents to the lender’s portal, chasing the lender daily to make sure that your application goes through smoothly, and also liaising with solicitors on your behalf to make sure the legal side of your mortgage is completed in a timely manner.

Because of the high level of service that we provide, our fees are set and accurately reflect the input that all of our team has. Our advisor will always make you aware of the specific fees for your application before we proceed with anything for you so that you can decide how you want to proceed without feeling pressured.

Having a mortgage advisor with lots of different lender options is a blessing. You don’t want a broker who only has access to a select number of lenders or products because the lenders they have access to might not be the best for your circumstances! Also, if for whatever reason your application doesn’t get accepted with the few lenders, they have access to, your broker won’t have any other options for you, and you will be back to square one.

At Oportfolio we have access to over 90 different mortgage lenders. That means that we can search over 90 mortgage lenders entire product offerings and help you craft a bespoke and unique mortgage deal that suits you and your property. We have the ability to compare and contrast mortgages on a level that other lenders don’t and will be able to get you the best mortgage deal.

A decision in principle, sometimes called a mortgage in principle, is a credit check that is carried out prior to applying for a mortgage. Your mortgage advisor will run this check through a specific mortgage lender’s online credit check system to make sure that there are no credit issues on your file that could cause a problem further down the line. It is an essential part of the mortgage process to help boost a mortgage lender’s confidence in lending you money. If your credit check declines, your mortgage advisor will be able to advise you on the best way to proceed.

This really depends on what you are wanting to achieve with your mortgage. A repayment mortgage is a loan that you repay per month over a set period of time. You will also pay back interest on top of the loan that the lender will charge. At the end of the mortgage term, you will have paid back everything that you owe to the bank. An interest only mortgage does not actually allow you to pay back the loan at all.

All you pay per month is the interest on the loan. At the end of the mortgage term, you will not have paid off any of the loan so you will need to pay the loan back from your savings, selling the property, or another method. Most people who have a residential mortgage will choose a repayment mortgage because they want to own the property eventually. However, an interest only mortgage may be more appealing for some people as the monthly payments are often a lot less than a repayment loan.

Most people who have buy-to-let mortgages will opt for an interest only mortgage because it means that the monthly payments are lower and you will have a higher profit from the rent that you are being paid by your tenant. If you are unsure which option is best for you, give our advisors a call today.

You are allowed to take most mortgages up until retirement age. That is between 70 and 75 nowadays. An average mortgage term is normally between 25 and 40 years as long as your age is not above 75 at the end of the mortgage term. For example, if you get a mortgage when you are 25, you could easily get a mortgage term of 40 years as you would be 65 at the end. However, if you were 50 and getting a mortgage, you would only be able to get a mortgage for a maximum of 25 years. You can take a mortgage for shorter than 25 years however, the mortgage will have to still be affordable for you. Your mortgage advisor will be able to help you with deciding this.

Yes, potentially. You are able to pay off your mortgage at any time with most lenders. However, as mortgage lenders want you to be a long term customer and keep paying them, sometimes they will charge you a fee to exit your mortgage deal early. If you are planning on staying in your property for a long time, you advisor can help you choose a deal where you don’t need to worry about any exit fees. Likewise, if you are only planning on staying in the property for a short period of time and want the option of paying off the mortgage early, your advisor will be able to help you choose a deal where there are no exit fees.