Fee Free Mortgage Advice Across UK

Fee-free mortgage advice is genuinely free to you in the sense that Chesterton Grant does not charge you a broker advice or mortgage-arrangement fee for the work we undertake. You can receive an assessment of your circumstances, mortgage research, a personalised recommendation and application support without receiving a separate bill from us for those services.

The adviser is paid in a different way. When an arranged mortgage completes, the lender normally pays the brokerage a procuration fee. This is a standard payment within the UK mortgage market. The existence and amount of the payment will be disclosed within the relevant mortgage documentation so that the arrangement is transparent.

It is important to separate a broker advice fee from other costs associated with a mortgage or property transaction. A lender might charge a product or arrangement fee, valuation fees may apply, and you may need to pay for conveyancing, a survey, insurance or applicable property taxes. These are not fees charged by Chesterton Grant for providing mortgage advice.

Your adviser will help you understand the relevant costs attached to each mortgage option. A mortgage with a lower interest rate and a large lender fee may not always cost less overall than a slightly higher-rate product with a smaller fee. The objective is to recommend a suitable mortgage based on your individual needs and circumstances, rather than merely choosing the most eye-catching headline rate.

Chesterton Grant is normally paid a procuration fee by the mortgage lender when a mortgage we arrange completes. Rather than charging you an additional fee for advice and arrangement, we use the lender-payment model that operates widely throughout the UK mortgage sector. This allows eligible clients to benefit from professional mortgage advice without adding a separate broker charge to the cost of moving home or refinancing.

The procuration fee is generally linked to the value of the completed mortgage, although the precise amount and payment structure can vary between lenders. The payment we expect to receive is disclosed in the mortgage documentation. This provides transparency and allows you to understand how your adviser is remunerated.

Receiving a lender payment does not remove the adviser’s responsibility to make a suitable recommendation. Your adviser assesses your circumstances, needs and objectives before researching available products. Suitability includes both the product’s costs and whether you meet the lender’s criteria. Recommendations must be supported by the facts of the case rather than simply by the existence of a commercial relationship with a lender.

Chesterton Grant Mortgages Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our Financial Services Register number is 300796. Before proceeding, your adviser will provide the relevant information about the service, our market access and how the firm is paid.

No. The absence of a broker advice fee does not mean that you receive a reduced or automated service. Fee-free describes how the brokerage is paid; it does not change the need to assess your circumstances carefully, research appropriate mortgages, explain the recommendation and support the application.

A proper advice process begins with understanding what you want to achieve. Your adviser needs accurate information about your income, expenditure, deposit, debts, credit history, property plans and expected future changes. Mortgage research then involves more than comparing interest rates. The adviser must consider lender criteria, product fees, incentives, early repayment charges, mortgage term, flexibility and overall cost.

Once you decide to proceed, we can help you prepare and submit the application, provide the required documents and respond to lender queries. We continue to communicate with the lender as the case moves through underwriting, valuation and mortgage-offer stages.

Charging a client a large fee does not automatically make another broker’s recommendation more suitable, just as providing fee-free advice does not remove the professional work involved. When comparing advisers, consider their regulatory status, market access, clarity about charges and willingness to explain the advantages and limitations of the proposed mortgage.

Yes. Whether an adviser charges a client fee and the range of mortgages the adviser can consider are separate matters. A fee-free brokerage can offer broad or whole-of-market access, while a fee-charging adviser could still be restricted to a particular panel. It is therefore important to ask both how an adviser is paid and what portion of the market they can research.

Chesterton Grant offers access to a comprehensive range of mortgages from across the market. This does not include deals that a lender makes available only to customers applying directly. Your adviser can consider multiple lenders rather than being restricted to the products offered by one bank or building society.

This breadth can be useful for applicants with straightforward circumstances because rates, fees and criteria vary. It becomes particularly important for self-employed applicants, contractors, clients with variable income, buyers of unusual properties or people with previous credit difficulties.

Market access alone is not the entire value of advice. Your adviser also needs to identify which products you are realistically eligible for and which offer an appropriate combination of cost, features and flexibility. Effective advice brings product choice and lender criteria together.

Using a mortgage adviser does not automatically increase your interest rate or monthly payment. Mortgage products have defined rates, fees and eligibility requirements set by the lender. A lender’s procuration payment to a broker is not normally added to your mortgage balance as a separate charge.

Brokers may have access to intermediary products distributed through the advice market, while some lenders also offer products available only to direct customers. Chesterton Grant’s service covers a comprehensive range of mortgages from across the market but does not include deals that can only be obtained by applying directly to a lender.

The lowest advertised rate is not necessarily the mortgage for which you qualify or the one producing the lowest overall cost. Product fees can have a significant impact, particularly on a smaller mortgage. Incentives, early repayment charges, overpayment rules and the length of the initial deal should also be considered.

An adviser can compare these elements while checking the lender’s criteria against your circumstances. This may reduce the risk of applying to an unsuitable lender and receiving an avoidable decline.

Yes. Self-employed applicants, limited-company directors, contractors and people receiving overtime, bonuses, commission or income from more than one source can all seek fee-free mortgage advice. Complex income does not necessarily prevent you from obtaining a mortgage, but it may make careful lender selection and document preparation more important.

Lenders do not all calculate income in the same way. A sole trader or partner may be assessed using taxable profit, while a company director could be assessed using salary and dividends. Some lenders may consider retained company profit or use a different averaging period.

Your adviser will review how your income is structured and identify the evidence likely to be required. This could include accounts, tax calculations, tax year overviews, business bank statements, contracts or an accountant’s reference. The correct documents depend on the lender and the nature of the application.

It is useful to speak to an adviser before making an offer, particularly if your latest accounts have not been finalised or your income has changed. The advice remains fee-free even where the research required is more detailed than it would be for a straightforward employed application.

No. You can speak to a mortgage adviser before you have found a property or reached the point of submitting an application. Seeking advice early can give you time to understand your likely borrowing range, deposit requirements and the costs involved before making commitments.

A first-time buyer may want to know how much deposit to save and which documents to prepare. A home mover may need to understand whether an existing mortgage can be ported and how much additional borrowing might be available. Someone approaching the end of a current deal may want to know when remortgage research should begin.

An adviser can also identify issues that may need attention before an application. These could include inaccurate credit-report information, high short-term credit balances, insufficient income evidence or uncertainty about the source of a deposit.

An early assessment is not a guarantee that a lender will approve a future application because mortgage availability, affordability calculations and personal circumstances can change. Nevertheless, receiving informed guidance at the planning stage can help you establish a realistic budget and approach the property search with greater confidence.

Yes. Chesterton Grant can provide mortgage consultations and ongoing application support remotely, so you do not need to live near our office or attend repeated face-to-face meetings. Telephone appointments, email and digital document exchange allow our advisers to work with eligible clients throughout the UK.

The fundamental advice process is the same whether the conversation takes place in person or remotely. Your adviser will establish your needs and circumstances, review affordability, explain the available options and provide a personalised recommendation. Documents can be supplied securely and the application submitted electronically.

Remote advice can be convenient for clients with demanding working hours, people moving between different parts of the country, joint applicants living in separate locations and those who prefer not to travel. It also enables you to continue dealing with the same adviser as the mortgage progresses.

Mortgages remain subject to lender eligibility, affordability, property acceptability and the regulations applying to the proposed borrowing. Your adviser will confirm whether we can assist with your requirements during the initial conversation. Chesterton Grant does not charge a broker advice fee for this remote advice and arrangement service.