Mortgages are essential for people who need financial assistance for things like buying or building a house or buying a car. By choosing the right mortgage you can not only get the right financial assistance, you can also pay off the debt easily.
You must be equipped with a lot of information about available mortgage products to make up your mind as to what will suit your purpose and pocket. Need advice? Where to locate a good advisor? And how much do you have to pay for getting advice on a mortgage product?
This article throws focus on how you will find the best mortgage advice when so many financial advisors are all around to extend their help.
How to Start?
With too many offers available at a time, making a choice will be tough. What will you do? Will you walk along the highway and drop in every financial house to seek their advice? Though it is less likely that you will do so, still even if you do so, there is a little chance of getting unbiased advice. They are doing business and so will want you as a marginal addition to the list of their clients. Even if they claim to have a separate advisory body which works independently, an unbiased approach is least expected.
A few of us are aware of the fact that all mortgage products are not be presented to the prospective borrowers as some reserved choices are only made available through the agents’ network.
Internet Search
Internet surfing is the best course of action to learn the rates and quotes as offered by different companies. Most of the companies have opted for online advertising by providing details about their products on the World Wide Web. Browse through their website to get the best rate and conditions pertaining to a particular product. Conditions are important but may not appear in publicly advertised material of the lender.
However, you have to pay a fee for placing your business. Generally, normal service fee is within 1% of the total amount borrowed but may differ depending on how much effort has been put in.
Comparing services and rates offered by different companies is one of the best ways to choose a plan that works for you. On the internet it is easier to see the services and rate (if it is available online). You can ask for quotes from different companies and compare them to choose the right mortgage plan.
Hire an Advisor
Hiring an advisor for searching on your behalf and making necessary comparison between the available offers won’t be a bad idea, especially when you can afford to pay for the service. Hiring an expert can work for people who don’t have an extensive knowledge about the mortgages and need some kind of help in finding the right plan.
The mortgage advisors can be divided under two heads – Independent Mortgage Advisor and Independent Financial Advisor.
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Independent Mortgage Advisor
Till date, the independent mortgage advisors are not guided by any statutory regulation. However, majority of them subscribe to Mortgage Code. It puts them under obligation to conform to certain procedures in regards to conduct and advice. Many lenders prefer introduced business from the advisors who are registered on the Mortgage Code Register of Intermediaries. For registration, an adviser must own a current credit license issued by the Office of Fair Trading. All these set a standard guideline for both the mortgage lenders and intermediaries as well as protect the borrowers’ interest too.
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Independent Financial Adviser
These advisors are regulated by the Financial Services Act, 1986 and Conduct Rules of 1987. They have the legal authority to offer advice on the regulated products and sell the same. These regulated products include investments, pensions, endowments, mortgages etc. These advisors must be registered on the Mortgage Code.
Get your Credit Score Right
It is important that you have a good credit score to begin with. Before you go seeking advice from the experts, it is important that you do a little research. Know the landscape of the mortgages and how it works. Self awareness is one of the effective ways to find the right financial assistance. You also need t ensure that you have good credit score, which will have a huge influence on what kind of lenders you attract. The greater the score the better are your chances. Make sure you don’t have too many debts already. Along with that you need to have a good financial plan in place to pay off the mortgage in time.
The Bottom-Line
Finding the right mortgage involves taking advice from the right person. When it comes to finances you cannot take chances. Hiring an advisor is one of the best ways to find the right solution. With the right information you can make the right decision.