19 Mar 2008 10:21 PM:
Hi, SuperDon. Best of Luck with the mortgage - I really hope all the boxes get ticked for you and great if you can save wherever you can. I expect that if you are trying to maximise the mortgage sum, then unless you are a very experienced....or lucky... and with good contacts, then this will prove difficult, particularly in the present credit climate.
I can only share our clans experiences (we are in Ireland) in trying to source and maximise mortgage products ourselves in Spain. At the outset, one of our group (me !), naively, was of the view that if the products are in the market, then surely I can tap into them myself and save on the brokers hefty fee. Despite objections from others, I ploughed in - no luck directly with Banks (that hurt); then I presented our case to a low fee broker ; rejected by Banks within 48 hours (serious hurt and now worried that we would not qualify). In the lead up, thankfully we had come across EOS and had been observing others postings and recommendations. Based on these, one of us (the brother) was of the opposing view - that a fee to a good broker, especially in an overseas situation, would repay itself and that the assistance & advice of a good broker would be helpful with even more than the mortgage : we had no confidence in the agent, the (agent) recommended lawyer or agent recommended broker.
Anyway, this was the view he had formed from EOS re Smiley (yeah - penname inspires such confidence). Sorry to go on a bit, but from first contact, the straight-talking Smiley painted a very clear picture for us, going well beyond the brokers remit - and on the mortgage side he got the mortgage approval for us, with properly presented case. Based on our dealings with him, we would highly recommend him, as many others on EOS have: and gladly pay the, at the end of the day, not-so-hefty broker fee. This for access to products, processing the mortgage paperwork etc. (not easy for most), but more importantly, the sound advice and guidance.
And wait for this.....for a whole number of reasons, we did not complete on the purchase (matter still ongoing)....so mortgage was not drawn down.....but, so much learning ; it is a minefield. Priceless lessons !
Thanks, Smiley & keep up the good work.
Hope things work out for you, SuperDon.
Forum thread:
75% Mortgage
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