Four out of five homeowners have said they would use a broker if they had the chance to buy their first home again.
Brokers were given the seal of approval by 81% of people who had bought a property in the last 12 months. They told Legal & General, as part of its Mortgage Myths campaign, they were impressed by the wide range of products to which brokers provided access and for the fact they took the ‘hassle’ out of the application process.
But it wasn’t just those who had already purchased their first home who were in favour of brokers. Legal & General also discovered 75% of first-time buyers who were due to make their purchase in the next six months would be likely to use their services.
What’s more, its research also found 71% of people would seek advice if they had a poor credit rating and 62% would get help from a broker if they were self-employed.
Legal & General said the results of the survey illustrated how consumers who had already gone through the process of getting a mortgage recognised the value brokers provided to the process of taking out a home loan.
More than half were positive towards brokers because of the fact they gave them wider access to mortgage deals on the market. Meanwhile, 33% said using a broker had removed the hassle of filling out forms and applications and 36% said talking to an intermediary provided reassurance.
Kevin Roberts, director of Legal & General Mortgage Club, said: “For first-time buyers in particular, the process of buying a home and securing their first mortgage can be a daunting one.
“By speaking to a broker, these buyers won’t just benefit from the knowledge and insight that an intermediary can offer, but will also have access to thousands of great mortgage deals to fit their needs.”
He added: “However, while this is clearly positive news, there are still buyers out there that either remain unaware of the role of a broker or who have misconceptions about the value they can provide.
“As an industry, we need to reach out to these consumers and use campaigns like Mortgage Myths to showcase the important role that brokers plays in helping borrowers across the UK.”
According to Legal & General brokers provided consumers with access to 27,024 more products than those who went direct to a lender.
