The 4 Best Mortgage Brokers in Manchester

Both models are paid by the lender through a procuration fee of roughly 0.35% to 0.4% of the loan. A fee-charging broker takes that and charges you as well, typically £395 to £595 in Manchester, or a percentage on complex cases. For a straightforward employed applicant with a good deposit, a fee-free broker is genuinely fine and the advice is regulated identically. Pay a fee when the case is hard, self-employed, adverse credit, a portfolio, foreign income, because the work involved is several times greater and a fee-free broker may simply decline it.

Search the FCA register by firm name or firm reference number. It shows whether the firm is directly authorised or an appointed representative, which permissions it holds and who its principal is. Two firms here publish their FCA number on the site, which is the standard. An appointed representative is not a lesser thing, it means a larger authorised firm takes regulatory responsibility for them, but you should know which entity you are actually contracting with. If a broker cannot give you the number on the phone, stop.

That the broker can recommend from across the range of first-charge mortgage lenders rather than a restricted panel. It is a regulated term with a specific meaning, so a firm claiming it has to be able to support it. What it does not include is the lenders who deal only direct with the public, so no broker sees literally every product. Ask how many lenders are on the panel. One firm here publishes 100 or more; a network appointed representative is generally working from the network's panel, which is narrower but often carries exclusives.

Photo ID and proof of address, three months of payslips and bank statements for an employed applicant, or two to three years of accounts or SA302s and tax year overviews if self-employed. Proof of deposit and its source, which lenders scrutinise carefully, particularly for gifted deposits, where you will also need a letter from the giver. Details of credit commitments. If you are a foreign national, expect additional questions about visa status and time in the UK, which is where a specialist broker earns their fee.

Two to four weeks from full application to offer for a straightforward case, and longer where the lender wants a physical valuation, the income is complex, or the property is a flat with cladding questions. A decision in principle takes minutes and is worth almost nothing, it is a soft check against basic criteria, not an offer. Mortgage offers typically last three to six months, which matters on a new build where completion may be further out than the offer runs.