Where do you go for a mortgage comparison?

It would be fairly straightforward to take a stroll down your local High Street, peer into the windows of the banks and building societies and do a mental comparison. You could even take notes as you go.

That would give a good comparison, wouldn’t it?

Well, it might give you a good mortgage comparison of headline mortgage interest rates provided by the biggest names in UK mortgage lending.

However, it would not necessarily give you the comparison of mortgage information you need. The big High Street lenders are, of course, only interested in offering you their own range of products, and we can’t blame them for that. However, that might not be enough choice for you.

Your next step could well be to go to your computer and access the Internet. Congratulations! You might have found this article in that way! If you find some mortgage comparison tables on the Internet, then you are definitely a step closer to finding a better comparison. In these tables will be a number of mortgages that are not provided by the big boys. That is good news and widens your choice. However, mortgage providers know how to get high on mortgage comparison tables. Often it is by quoting a good (low) headline mortgage interest rate, while behind it might be excessive charges or high deposit requirements that simply don’t suit your circumstances.

A better way to get mortgage rates comparisons is to get someone else to do it for you! Go and see a mortgage broker or mortgage advisor and ask them. How will they know? Firstly, they have access to much more of the mortgage market and therefore a much wider range that the big names have on offer, and secondly – and perhaps even more crucially – they will talk to you to get an understanding of your own circumstances. With this understanding, they can narrow down the choice of mortgages from the many thousand out there to those that are the right kind of mortgage offering for you.

When you go and see a mortgage broker, ask them if there will be any charges for you. It is important to understand this up front, though you may be happy to pay for the service. Also, ask them if they are limited in what they can provide. The most important thing, however, is that they have access to a wide range and will understand your requirements, and get a mortgage that is right for you.