Free or inexpensive Financial Advice

Don't bother if all you need is mtge advice.

You can get 'best advice' from any high street bank's financial advisor!

If you want multiple opinions, go to multiple banks - once you have taken on board the advice, go and find your best product online, or if you prefer the face to face bit, go to the local provider once you have chosen your product.

The trouble with IFA's is that there is no such thing as 'independent' advice anyway - they are paid on a commissioned basis from the loan vendor - so it naturally follows that as long as the advice given is not directly inappropriate then they will push the product giving THEM the greatest revenue. Further downside? Many very major loan providers do not deal with IFAs at all (in as much as they don't pay commission out for leads), and hence the IFA will NEVER recommend them! Examples are, (and this may be regionally biassed) Barclays & NatWest (though not RBS) for residential mtgs.

In message , " snipped-for-privacy@talktalk.net" writes

Rubbish. All that adviser can give is limited to what his own company can provide. They cant even comment on the clients existing products.

I dont think you have any idea of what really happens.

Free financial advice is usually worth exactly what you pay for it!

No need to pay that.

You've discovered half of what you need to pull this stunt

Daytona

OK John - a small challenge for you.

Go to your IFA and ask him what commission he gets from selling say, a NatWest Offset compared to an IF product. What do you think he will say?

IF every time as the commission paid on the NW is zero. Never mind the fact that the interest rates compare at 5.65% vs 6.1%.

Now if you ask an IFA directly to compare he has no choice but to be directly honest - but would he proactively recommend the NW product? not likely

In message , " snipped-for-privacy@talktalk.net" writes

If only you knew the facts.. Mortgages are now regulated by the FSA and a mortgage broker must declare their 'status' at the outset with regard to the spread of products from which they select and also their charge structure. Only if the offer a 'fee only' option, with a refund of all commission recived, can they describe themselves as 'Independent.'

So, if NW pays no procuration fee, it would make no difference except that the NW product would, in effect, appear more expensive than the IF product to the client because the client would not be receiving a refund of the Proc fee paid by IF.

AFAIAA, NW mortgages are included on all the main mortgage sourcing software services.