Frequently Asked Questions

If you are arranging a residential mortgage for a property you are going to live in, then we do not charge for our service.  If you decide to use us, the Mortgage Lender we arrange the mortgage with will pay us commission.

If you are arranging a Buy to Let mortgage, then we make a charge for this.  Our tariff of charges for Buy to Let mortgages are set out below:

• For a Buy to Let mortgage application to a mortgage lender for a purchase, remortgage or further advance, we charge a flat fee of £249 which will become payable at outset when we apply for the mortgage.  In addition, we will retain any commission paid by the lender.
• For a Buy to Let application to an existing mortgage lender for a Product Transfer on an existing mortgage account, we charge a flat fee of £149 which will become payable when the product transfer is applied for.  In addition, we will retain any commission paid by the lender.
• For a Buy to Let application to an existing lender for a Transfer of Equity (removing or adding a person to an existing mortgage) where we do not receive a commission from the mortgage lender, we charge a flat fee of £499 when we submit the application to the lender.

If we charge you a fee and your Buy to Let mortgage does not go ahead, you will receive no refund if we have made a full mortgage application and then you decide not to take out a Buy to Let mortgage or if the lender declines the application after you passed an initial credit check.  No refund will be made for a Transfer of Equity application rejected by the mortgage lender.

We do not charge a fee for arranging insurance as the insurer will pay us a commission.
 

We think it’s going to be worth your while setting aside a little time to come and see us. We want our process to be as transparent as possible. We show our customers how we search for a mortgage and how we come up with a recommendation for you. With your mortgage likely to be a really big financial commitment and decision, we believe you will get the most out of a face to face meeting with us.
 

I think we can almost certainly say no, it is not! 

Mortgage Lenders have their own lending criteria, so one lender may lend to you whereas another might not. It can really be pot luck in choosing the right lender! If you don’t want to leave things to chance, then a professional Mortgage Adviser such as Oak Tree Mortgages ensures that the right type of borrower is matched up to the right Lender.

For customers arranging their mortgage direct with a Lender, they are likely to have the frustrations of dealing with a branch or a call centre. Having any consistent contact with the same person can be very difficult.

Finally, when you are buying a property, you are part of a process. At various times Estate Agents and Solicitors will be calling you for updates on your mortgage application. As

Lenders will not speak to these third parties, the onus is on you to do all the ringing around. Have you really got time for this? With your permission, we can speak to Estate Agents and Solicitors to give them correct and meaningful updates.
 

We do not arrange the following types of mortgages; Local Authority Right to Buy mortgages, Commercial mortgages, Islamic mortgages or mortgages where capital is being raised for business purposes.

We cannot provide assistance to the following clients; those who are unable to prove their income, clients residing outside of the United Kingdom.
 

Our Key Facts disclosure document, will be provided to you at our first meeting. Part of this document states;

“We offer a comprehensive range of mortgages from across the market, but not deals that you can only obtain by going direct to a lender.”

As a mortgage broker, we have access to a number of ‘broker only’ mortgage deals that do not appear in branches or show on search engines.

There are very few Lenders that do not offer their mortgages directly through Mortgage Brokers; some notable examples are HSBC, First Direct and Tesco Bank.

Upon request, we can show you these direct only Mortgage Lenders on any search of the market we do for you. We will not recommend these Lenders as the lending criteria, policy and service standards will not be known to us which could lead to problems for you if you tried to apply for a mortgage.

We understand some Lenders who have not used Mortgage Brokers in the past are now looking to use Mortgage Brokers. The number of Lenders we have open to us covers a very large percentage of the marketplace and continues to grow.

Unlike some Brokers, we do not operate a ‘restricted’ or ‘preferred’ panel of Mortgage Lenders. This means we can deal with any Mortgage Lender that will deal with Oak Tree Mortgages.
 

Generally , our first appointment is at 9.15am with the last appointment time being between  5.15pm - 5.30pm. We would expect a first meeting to last around 45 minutes to an hour.

As most of our staff work six days a week, you will appreciate that seeing people outside of these hours could be problematic from a family perspective.

We have availability on a Saturday as well, although this is the most popular time to see us so there may be a delay in seeing you if you can only see us on a Saturday. Call us to check availability.

Appointments are by prior arrangement, so please call us to book an appointment.