Mortgage broker company John Charcol has launched a best buys table to help borrowers find the leading rates for their circumstances.
The firm, which was founded in 1974, will now give homebuyers the chance to pick rates from over 120 lenders, updated from Monday to Friday.
It was introduced “to empower everyday borrowers”, who will now be able to access “real-time tailored mortgage solutions”.
Our sister title, YourMoney.com, gave the tool a go, and here’s what prospective borrowers need to know.
John Charcol’s best buys table invites users to search for a property price, mortgage amount and type, plus the term and product rate type they prefer. Once they pick the loan type and initial rate period, they are able to scan the rate of their choosing.
Once they have selected the rate, they then progress to giving the firm some more personal details so an adviser can call them up to discuss the rate they have selected.
Then, the adviser will ask more detailed questions connected to the mortgage application, like earnings, and will return with an updated rate based on the new information.
From that point, the broker will go ahead with the usual application process with the aim of receiving a mortgage offer from a lender.
While the tool, powered by Mortgage Brain, collects rates every working morning, it is only once prospective borrowers have discussed more of their circumstances that the table works well as a starting point on their home buying journey.
‘Provides a snapshot of the current market’
Indeed, Nicholas Mendes, mortgage technical manager and head of marketing at John Charcol, said: “The aim of the best buy section is to provide a snapshot of the current market, encouraging borrowers to speak with a broker for more detailed advice on fees and product suitability.”
It also means that if people have credit score issues, they “may have difficulty” keeping those rates or being accepted by a high street lender once they discuss it with their broker.
Further, there may be issues further down the line after the best buy is selected if borrowers are, for example, self-employed for under three years, which is the standard length of time lenders will often want in proof of earnings. Those details will become apparent once they have a conversation with the allocated John Charcol broker.
When it comes to fees included, the broker allows borrowers to search for lenders’ arrangement fees only, but the generated best deal from the tool will factor in product fees too.
However, the tool, which covers all lenders whose mortgages are available to brokers, will suit the “typical UK borrower” that it was designed for, who will most likely be able to keep the initial rate when it comes to receiving an offer.
Mendes added: “We have designed the tool based on a typical UK borrower profile with a good credit rating, with a property value of £250,000 and a household income of £60,000.
“We use the initial rate with a maximum arrangement fee of £1,499 to prevent excessive product fees from distorting the results. We have not included certain deals such as Own New or those that are restricted to certain locations.”
This article was first published on Mortgage Solutions‘ sister site, YourMoney.com. Read: Mortgage broker John Charcol launches best buys table: What you need to know
Matt Browning is a reporter at YourMoney.com and joined the team in the summer of 2023. Before he was a journalist at Reach PLC and London Evening Standard. Matt pursued his career in journalism while also working at the Financial Ombudsman Service where his knowledge of personal finance and desire to help people grew.
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As a reporter at YourMoney.com, Matt contributes to the news agenda and writes stories and features about personal finance matters. In this role he also conducts exclusive interviews about major topics that impact our readers, most recently about fraud prevention with the head of CIFAS Mike Haley. He also manages our social media platform on X (formerly Twitter).
In March 2024, he presented our annual YourMoney.com Personal Finance and Investment Awards for the first time.
Before his career in personal finance journalism, Matt worked as an entertainment reporter for Reach Plc and Evening Standard Magazine. He also contributed as a writer and reviewer for hospitality website Design My Night.
Matt is a keen music fan and collects a lot of funk, soul & disco records, while he has DJ’ed at festivals and venues too.
As a seasider, he likes to make the most of coastal runs, restaurants, dips in the sea and keeps his sporting dreams alive playing for his local football team every Sunday morning.
