| Where Do I Find A Mortgage? |
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Traditionally if you wanted a mortgage you just went to your local building society. But times have changed and mortgages are also available from banks, insurance companies, direct lenders and specialist mortgage providers. At the moment finding a lender who will give you a mortgage is much more difficult because of the ‘credit crunch’ but they are still out there, particularly if you have saved a bigger deposit. Building societies and banksBuilding societies and banks are very similar as far as mortgages are concerned; they offer similar products and compete against each other for business. Both rely on their branch networks to sell their products, although they do sell through mortgage advisers as well. Building societies have traditionally been cheaper than banks, but this is not always the case. Specialist lenders Specialist lenders do not have a high street presence and tend to lend mainly to those who have special needs financially, for instance those who‘ve had credit problems in the past, those who are self-employed, or those who are looking to buy a non-standard property. The main difference between these specialist lenders and banks and building societies is that specialist lenders generally run their operation from a single location and use mortgage brokers to sell their mortgages. They may consider a mortgage application which banks or building societies may reject. It is this type of lender which has been hardest hit by the credit crunch and most, if not all have disappeared for now. Some may still consider you if you have not had any previous problems with credit and if you have saved up a large deposit. Direct lenders A recent development has been the internet or telephone-based mortgage lender. These direct services vary. Some are just an additional distribution channel for the lender, offering exactly the same products over the phone or internet that are available in branches. Others are separate companies or subsidiaries, offering a completely different range of mortgages usually at a lower interest rate because they don't have to support a branch network.
Just pick up the phone or go online and many direct lenders will give you an in-principle decision on the loan there and then and then send you a mortgage application to complete; some allow the mortgage application form to be completed over the phone or online and this is then sent to you to be signed and returned with any necessary documents. Others do not offer their own mortgages but sell the products of a selected panel of lenders through their salesforce. And then there are the supermarkets which also offer mortgages as part of their determination to be one-stop-shops. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites          
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