Mortgages
The important thing to remember when choosing a mortgage is to shop around. There are well over 100 mortgage lenders all offering different types of mortgage and different interest rates. It's really worth taking your time to find the right deal and review this every couple of years to make sure you're still getting the best deal, as you can sometimes save yourself thousands of pounds by switching.
Where to look for a mortgage
There are a number of ways you can find the right mortgage; either by using an advised, or non-advised service. As the name suggests, an advised service provides you with suitable recommendations and protection if you find that you were given the wrong advice. Whereas a non-advised service just provides information from which you make your own decision and there's no protection.
Online
Searching online is a good place to start. Tesco Mortgage Finder has joined forces with London and Country, an award winning no-fee mortgage broker, to bring you a comprehensive no-fee mortgage advice service that searches the whole market to find the best deal for you.
Lenders and intermediaries
Many people go to banks and building societies for a mortgage and, although it's worth approaching your existing lender to see what deal they can offer you on your new home, it also pays to shop around. In fact, only half of us do this, preferring to stick with the same lender as we're currently using!
Mortgage brokers and IFAs (Independent Financial Advisors, some of whom specialise in mortgages) are intermediaries that can help you find a mortgage. Under mortgage regulations, they must either be authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) or be an appointed representative of an authorised firm. Some are linked with only a few lenders, while others can search right across the market for you. Some can get preferential deals that you wouldn't be able to get yourself on the high street. In many cases the fee for these intermediary services is covered by the lender's commission, but do check first as you may have to pay the fee based on a percentage of the mortgage, which could be up to 1.5% or around £75 an hour.
Your financial adviser will go through your financial status in detail with you, covering similar criteria as detailed in the What can you afford? section before making recommendations. Make sure you ask key questions (below) so that you're as clear as possible on the types of mortgages and their implications.
Life insurance companies
Some life insurance companies offer a mortgage broker service.
Estate agents
Some estate agents provide a full service agency all under one roof with mortgage brokers, IFAs or life insurance representatives on hand to provide mortgage advice.