What is a...

Broker

A Broker is someone who acts as an intermediary between you and a lender. Home buyers, for instance, may use a Mortgage Broker to find the best mortgage offers.

Do I need to give my Broker a copy of my Credit Report?

Some Mortgage Brokers require a copy of your Credit Report so they can advise you accurately on which mortgage offers are most suitable to you. You can download a password-protected PDF copy of your Credit Report with checkmyfile. Our Multi Agency Credit Reports collect your data from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, ensuring nothing important is missed.

You can try checkmyfile free for 30 days, then for just £14.99 per month. Cancel online anytime.

What do Brokers do?

Typically the role of a Broker, in addition to finding the most suitable product, will be to package the customer’s application for submission to the lender. With mortgages for example, a Broker may run a credit check, ensure income and equity criteria are matched with documentation (such as identity verification and wage slips), obtain an Agreement in Principle, and ensure that the customer is correctly advised.

The profession is strictly regulated. Brokers are usually paid by commission, and this must be ‘transparent’ – which means that you must be made aware of all commissions right from the start.

All Brokers are regulated in the same way as lenders. For example, a mortgage Broker will be regulated by the same authorities as a mortgage lender would be. As such they are subject to the same rules and potentially can be censured in the same way as a lender if they are deemed to have acted outside of regulatory boundaries.

How do mortgage Brokers make money?

Brokers make most of their income through commission. If you accept a mortgage recommended by a Broker, the lender will pay the Broker an amount for bringing them a customer.

Nowadays, lenders offer a vast range of different credit products, so the popularity of Brokers has increased as they make it easier for individuals to shop around.

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