Where to get a Mortgage

These days there are a number of different places to go for a mortgage. You could opt for a building society, the historical home of mortgages. The big building societies have national branch networks and offer a full range of mortgages. Or you might choose a small society that could offer you the benefit of its local knowledge. Then there are the banks, which have cornered the majority of the mortgage market in recent years. Many of the big former building societies converted into banks in the late 1990s.

Like the existing big societies they have the advantage of a high street presence up and down the country, and can offer you a wide selection of deals. If your needs are less mainstream, you could go to a specialist lender. If, say, you are self-employed, your credit history is less-than-perfect or you want a buy-to-let mortgage, a specialist lender could offer the most apt solution. Many specialist mortgage lenders actually belong to the big mainstream lenders, but they are branded differently.

If you are confident in knowing exactly what you want, you could apply over the phone or, with some lenders, take out a mortgage online. Not many borrowers choose to do this, at least at present, and it is easy to understand why. With over 4,000 mortgages on the market, from such a range of providers, there is plenty of choice, but you may well bewildered as to which deal is right for you.

Taking out a mortgage is probably the biggest financial decision you will ever make, and so you want to get it right. So it could make sense to consult a mortgage broker. A broker may have access to every single mortgage on the market. They are experts, and can quickly find the best deal to suit your needs. So, rather than trawling the high street and agonising over your choice, you could save time and, in the long run, substantial amounts of money, by visiting a broker and getting the very best deal for your needs.