#2296

Just L&C a call and see what they say. Also do your own searches on Money Supermarket etc. We found L&C very helpful and couldn’t find a better mortgage deal ourselves.

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#2297

There are pros and cons of using a free or paid broker. My view is that it’s good to get a recommendation from someone you trust and just go with that.

Big firms like L&C can rely on just the commission because of economies of scale. Smaller firms may charge a fee because the commission doesn’t cover their costs but then you also get a more personal and tailored experience (potentially) which can be good if you have a tricky situation, or are busy.

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#2298

Yeah I’m guessing my guys commission has been cut, so he’s had to pass some costs on. I think it was £75 for my friend last year. I used him 3 and 8 years ago, which was free both times.

But he was really efficient and easy to contact.

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#2300

It’s probably a result of increased regulation costs or fees charged if he is part of a network rather than directly authorised more so than anything else. The level of commission paid hasn’t really changed between lenders over the last 5 years.

#2301

That’s really good because I’ve heard a mixed bag about L&C, so like I said a few posts ago it’s worth going with recommendations and L&C sound like they’ve been good for a few people on here

#2302

We didn’t have a difficult case I don’t think, but they were very helpful when plasticmike got a new job halfway through the process which fucked up some paperwork. They were occasionally a bit difficult to get hold of, that’s the only trouble we had. My sister has also just used them to obtain her mortgage.

#2303

Just rang L&C and the guy was a Football Manager fan and spent a good portion of the call talking about my job. Hopefully that’s a good sign…

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#2304

“Okay, I just need to ask a few questions about your income. What’s your job and who do you work for”
“I’m a Senior Dogsbody at a small company named Sports Interactive.”
“… right, don’t worry about anything. I’ll guarantee I’ll get you sorted mate, so long as you let me wax lyrical about your games to you for the next couple of months.”

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#2305

What was the deal with that mate? My gf has a permanent job starting in September and is in contracted supply work until then, it didn’t stop us getting approved but already had a few people moaning and groaning about it when mentioned initially (which is kind of making me think the £395 rip-off guy might be a good option given he already knows all the details and has approved us…)

#2306

two months before we completed on our purchase, mike got a new job. some mortgage providers are funny about this (i guess because of not passing probation? idk) but we went with the bank of ireland who were fine. l&c were really good and knowledgeable about reassuring us that it wouldn’t be a problem.

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#2307

Nice one. I’m hoping it won’t be an issue on accounts of already having to jump through the equivalent hoops to be allocated in the first place but it’s another thing to worry about I guess.

#2308

i think it’ll be fine – teaching’s a pretty solid career innit

fingers crossed for everything mate! well excited for you to get out of that small kitchen.

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#2309

It has more than one drawer! It’s a fucking palace!

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#2310

keep trying to look into this insurance stuff and giving up, contents insurance seems surprisingly cheap which makes me think I must be doing it wrong. the life insurance /critical illness, can’t seem to find a way of getting just the critical illness part, I don’t have any dependents, if I die and the flat has to be sold then that is fine, if I become ill though I would want to be able to pay off the mortgage, surely this insurance for loners option must exist

#2311

do you not get anything like this through your work?

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#2312

contents insurance is relatively cheap as far as I recall. Even buildings + contents is pretty reasonable on a individual level unless there’s specific risk factors involved.

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#2313

Yeah should be about £100 p/a I would have thought.

#2314

i’m not sure, i’m civil service (sort of), I think I get 5 or 6 months full pay and then the same amount of time again half pay. from what I can tell there are two types of critical illness insurance, 1) a lump sum of about 10% of the life insurance, I guess what I get from work would be in the same ball park as this 2) integrated, where it basically pays out the full life insurance payout for critical illness as well as actual death, enough to pay off the mortgage. I’m after 2 but don’t actually need it to pay out if I die

#2315

Three times that for us. Money well spent.

A leak from one of the flats above made itself known via our kitchen ceiling last month. Have had to use a solicitor through the insurer. Outcome: pending, but promising. :pensive:

#2316

Unless you work for a unicorn manufacturer, proper life assurance will always beat an employer’s provision, I’d have thought.

I fully get what you’re saying, and the reasons, but guess is that death is maybe a lower risk scenario than critical illness, so removing the death bit wouldn’t save that much? (We got our life assurance through the mortgage provider to minimise the crushing and tedious grimness of going through the getting quotes process this time, cos the last time we searched, the providers were much of a muchness anyway.)

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