What does a mortgage broker actually do?

General guidance, not a personal recommendation. Lender criteria, insurance terms and costs depend on the product and your circumstances. Numerical examples are illustrations unless expressly identified as an individual quote. Check current terms with your adviser and tax or legal points with the relevant specialist.

Most people's idea of a mortgage broker is vague: "someone who finds you a mortgage." What we actually do covers a lot more than that, and, done well, typically saves clients thousands of pounds over the life of a mortgage, plus a lot of time and stress in the application process itself.

Here's an honest, specific breakdown of the job: what we do, what we don't, what it costs, and the questions worth asking any broker before you engage them.

The broker's job in practice

Understand your situation

A structured fact-find covering income, outgoings, credit, deposit, property goals, timing, protection needs, and anything that might complicate the case. 45-90 minutes of real conversation, not a form.

Model affordability across lenders

Every lender has a slightly different affordability calculator: different treatment of bonuses, commission, self-employment, benefits, rental income, childcare costs, student loans. We run your numbers against the ones that fit.

Select the right lender & product

Access to over 90 lenders across the market, including specialist buy-to-let, bridging and equity release lenders. We compare rates, fees, criteria fit, turnaround speed, and case-specific quirks, not just headline rates.

Handle the application end-to-end

Complete and submit the full application, package evidence correctly, manage underwriter queries, liaise with valuer, track progress, and chase the lender. You answer our questions rather than navigating their systems.

Coordinate with conveyancer and seller

Keep the mortgage side in lockstep with the legal side. Flag when valuation is delayed, when offer needs extending, when completion date needs amending. This is where good brokers genuinely save time.

Protection conversation

Life, critical illness, income protection and building insurance. Not every client needs it all, but almost every client needs to consider it alongside the mortgage. A quick 15-minute conversation that prevents much bigger problems later.

Long-term relationship

An adviser can help review remortgage and protection options as your circumstances change. For a mortgage review, consider contacting us around six months before your current deal ends, while checking the lender's application windows, offer validity and any charges. Keep your own record of the end date and confirm any follow-up arrangements with your adviser.

Honest answers when we can't help

Some cases we can't place, or can only place badly. A good broker tells you that upfront rather than wasting your time. We'd rather lose a fee than do a bad job.

What it costs (Major Money Matters specifically)

Major Money Matters charges no client broker, advice or arrangement fee for mortgage advice. The client fee is £0. Nothing is payable to Major Money Matters at enquiry, application, mortgage offer or completion, so there is no Major Money Matters broker fee requiring a refund.

For mortgage business, we are paid commission/procuration fee by the lender, normally when the mortgage completes. The amount is disclosed in the relevant mortgage illustration/ESIS and associated disclosure documentation.

Lender product fees, valuation fees, legal fees and other third-party charges are not Major Money Matters fees. Their payment and refund terms are set by the relevant lender or third-party provider and disclosed before you commit.

Is it worth it? In the typical case, yes. A 0.2% better rate on a £300k mortgage over a 5-year fix = £3,000 of interest saved. Major Money Matters charges no client broker, advice or arrangement fee for mortgage advice. The client fee is £0. Third-party charges may apply. For complex cases, the rate improvement and the ability to get a case placed at all make the difference.

Broker vs going direct to a bank

You can go straight to a bank and apply for their mortgage. That's a legitimate path and sometimes the right answer. But consider:

• One lender, one view. A bank will only tell you about their products. They have no incentive to tell you HSBC would lend £40k more, or Santander's 5-year fix is 0.15% cheaper. We do.
• Specialist lenders don't sell direct. Many specialist buy-to-let, adverse credit, contractor, expat and high-net-worth lenders only work through brokers. If you don't fit a bank's vanilla criteria, you need a broker to reach them.
• Application efficiency. Banks will take your application but won't tell you they're going to decline; you discover that 2 weeks in. We know the criteria before applying.
• No coordination. A bank arranges a mortgage, not a house move. We coordinate mortgage with conveyancer, valuer, and protection, which matters when timing is tight.

Sometimes a bank is fine. For first-time buyer with a vanilla case and good savings with one bank for years, direct can work. For virtually everything else, self-employed, complex income, previous credit events, specialist property, tight timing, buy-to-let, remortgage, a broker usually wins.