Mystery ShopperJul 25 2019

Mystery Shopper: Hove

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Mystery Shopper: Hove

This week the mystery shopper visits Hove.

The shopper is trying to buy a one bed property worth £250,000. She has a deposit worth £40,000 saved up and is on a salary of £45,000. The shopper already owns a place in Belgium and is trying to find out how much stamp duty she would have to pay and whether she can afford the property if she pays higher stamp duty.

Each week the mystery shopper seeks advice from independent advisers in the UK.

The aim is to find out whether advisers are delivering the goods when it comes to the all-important initial telephone contact between client and adviser. It is only intended to evaluate this first interview, and it is understood that further meetings would be necessary before final decisions could be made. The purpose is not to expose poor selling practices, but to show constructively any weaknesses in the advice process.

Adviser: Brighton and Hove Financial Consultants (independent)

Address: Ground Floor Front Office, 60 Lansdowne Place, Hove BN3 1FG

Speed: The shopper was transferred to the mortgage broker after about eight rings at 3.22pm.  4/5

Telephone manner: The mortgage adviser was friendly and showed patience in explaining all the various tax bands to the shopper. 5/5

Qualifications: CeMap. 5/5

Payment method: The broker said that the advice company is paid a commission by the lender, but suggested that a further £500 fee may be levied “if the commission is not enough”. 5/5

Guidance: The mortgage broker explained that while the shopper would have typically faced no stamp duty (as properties under £300,000 are exempt of stamp duty), he said the shopper will still have to pay £2,500because it would be her second property. He said the shopper will probably be able to borrow £210,000 and may be short of about £8,500, depending on whether she sells the Belgian property. 4/5

Knowledgeable: The broker demonstrated a very good understanding of how stamp duty works. 5/5

Website: https://brightonandhove.mortgage/

Email: j.weeks@bhfc.co.uk. 5/5

Verdict: 33/35

Adviser: Mortgage Medics (independent) 

Address: 353 Portland Road, Hove BN3 5SF

Speed: The adviser picked up immediately after two rings at 3.40pm. 5/5

Telephone manner: This mortgage adviser was exceptionally friendly and interested in helping out. 5/5

Qualifications: CeMap. 5/5

Payment method: The mortgage broker said a fee of £399 will be levied at the point of application. 5/5

Guidance: The mortgage adviser told the shopper that she will be liable for a higher stamp duty. He told the shopper that she can go to www.stampduty.org to confirm his calculations, but he said the stamp duty faced will be £10,000 assuming the shopper retains the Belgian home. The broker added that the shopper may be able to borrow about 4.75 times her salary. That will leave the shopper with a shortfall of a few thousand pounds. He warned the shopper that many lenders require a larger deposit of 10-20 per cent when purchasing a new build. 4/5

Knowledgeable: The adviser was extremely helpful and showed where he was getting his figures from. 5/5

Website: https://www.mortgage-medics.com/

Email: jonathan@mortgagemedics.com. 5/5

Verdict: The shopper found this adviser extremely helpful and liked the fact that he also told the shopper where she can find the information instantly.

34/35

Adviser: SLG Financial Solutions (independent)

Address: 3 Queens Parade, Hove BN3 8JG

Speed: The adviser picked up after three rings at 4.02pm. 5/5

Telephone manner: The adviser was mostly friendly but came across as a bit disinterested to speak towards the end. 4/5

Qualifications: Level 4 Dip PFS. 5/5

Payment method: The adviser said there is no charge levied to the shopper as the provider pays a commission of 0.3-0.5 per cent to the advice company. 5/5

Guidance: The adviser said that he would like to meet the shopper face-to-face as this is a complicated enquiry and wanted more information to pass on to the specific mortgage advice specialist. 2/5

Knowledgeable: The shopper could not really assess how much knowledge the adviser had. 2/5

Website: https://www.slgfinancialsolutions.co.uk/

Email: paul@slgfinancialsolutions.co.uk. 5/5

Verdict: The shopper would have liked more information, even if that was just general information on how stamp duty bands work. 

28/35

Adviser: IEP Financial (independent)

Address: 119 Church Road, Hove BN3 2AF

Speed: The adviser picked up after two rings at 4.32pm. 5/5

Telephone manner: The adviser was very friendly. 5/5

Qualifications: CeMap. 5/5

Payment method: The adviser told the shopper that she will be charged a fee of £500 once a mortgage deal is secured. 5/5

Guidance: The adviser asked the shopper to fill out a proper fact find. He told the shopper that she will have to pay a fee of £2,500 if she disposes of the Belgian property and a £10,000 fee if she retains it. He said this means that the shopper will be short of the funds needed to apply for the mortgage. He suggested releasing equity out of the Belgian home or opting for a joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage, meaning that the parents’ affordability is also taken into account, allowing the shopper to borrow a larger amount. 5/5

Knowledgeable: The adviser demonstrated outstanding knowledge of mortgages and proposed a solution, which the others did not. 5/5

Website: https://www.iepfinancial.co.uk/. 

Email: philip.ball@iepfinancial.co.uk. 5/5

Verdict: Shopper's choice. This adviser stood out the most. While the adviser at Mortgage Medics was most helpful at explaining the calculations, this adviser confirmed what stamp duty the shopper will have to pay and proposed a solution that could help her bridge the gap in finances required to apply for the mortgage. 

35/35