Independent mortgage broker kent

FINANCE: How to survive the mortgage maze

If you're a house-proud UK homeowner, it'll pay to be mouseproud, too. Using your computer, a few minutes of surfing could net you the bargain mortgage you've been looking for among the 8,000-odd products on the market.

Going online cuts out both middleman and postman. Instead of waiting several days for your application to arrive, you fill it in and send it electronically, jumping the queue for any of those alluring special offers.

Then there are the cash savings. Some lenders give you a pounds 200-pounds 300 bonus for logging on for your loan. It will also save you mortgage brokers' fees of up to 0.5 per cent of your mortgage (1pc if you have a few glitches on your record), though some brokers don't charge and many waive their fees if you log on to their websites.

Whether you have a home monitor handy, however, you should always speak to a mortgage adviser to gain extra insight - and they don't usually charge for advice only. "There may be an unrepeatable offer with an amazingly low interest rate sitting at the top of a mortgages website tempting you to sign up immediately, but if you probe a little deeper you may find it is not all it seems," says David Hollingworth of broker London and Country Mortgages. That enticingly low two-year fix may be followed by a four-year lock-in. And if you try to switch to another lender, you'll face heavy redemption penalties.

The moral is: don't opt for the obvious - you may regret it later. Hollingworth advises anyone seeking a mortgage to speak to at least three different mortgage brokers, in order to get a good grasp of what is on offer.

Like Hollingworth, Richard Hewson of Kent-based Diamond Mortgages favours the personal touch. "An unusual deal is one that goes through instantly. Most take up to six weeks and with some larger lenders the paperwork alone can take 10 days to complete, so it's important that you and your broker mix and match to make absolutely sure you are doing the right thing," he says.

Another way to clinch your next deal is to phone or visit a small building society. These often have attractive offers, and with their smaller client- bases, can be speedier than their bigger brothers. You'll also find that staff tend to spend more time with you, offering handy pre- and post-sales advice. Some of the recommended ones are Lambeth, Scottish-based Dunfermline, Cardiff-based Principality, and Hinckley and Rugby building societies.

If you want to cut out both the middleman and the net, you should visit at least three lenders, whether building societies or banks, so you can compare notes. Going to a broker, however, can save cash and carry clout all in one

visit. Any London and Country client who borrows from Bristol and West Building Society gets his or her valuation and legal work free. It's an offer the building society would refuse if you went to them direct.

Many brokers use commission-paying mortgage clubs or networks. These, too, have benefits for borrowers. Subsidised by insurance companies and packagers, their databases nearly always give you a better deal than you could find in the high street - although an Abbey National two-year tracker seems to have slipped through the net, so to speak. To sign up for the

3.39pc mortgage you must visit one of the Abbey's 1,000 branches. The deal is not available through a broker, says an Abbey spokesman. "We like to introduce them occasionally. This time it was because the fixed rates sold by brokers have not been doing too well, so we decided to change tack."

If security is your top priority, Market Harborough BS have a flexible tracker that runs throughout your loan period. It's 0.85pc above base rate

for online borrowers and 0.95 per cent for others (currently 4.6pc and 4.7pc). If you borrow pounds 50,000 or more they will waive your setting-up fees.

And there's even a mortgage for the smarter saver. If your cash stash is worth 20 per cent of the value of your loan, you can take out an offset mortgage. This sets your savings off against your borrowings - and you only have to pay interest on the difference. It's ideal for anyone with regular bonuses or commissions. One bonus for the self-employed is that offsets include payment holidays. UK broker Charcol has just brought out a three-year one with a 3.98pc interest rate.

Simon Leak of West London Executive Mortgages suggests that if you already have a special deal with your current lender, when loan time comes around, "ask them if you can continue on the same basis - raising any extra cash you need with them - without paying a redemption penalty. It will save having to stump up administration fees with a new lender."