You’re Still Being Stuffed by Mortgage Lenders
The press has recently been full of stuff about closing (or sealing) fees which are the charges they impose when you close the mortgage. In a nutshell the FSA has ruled that the mortgage lenders cannot get away with saying your closing fee would be £50 say when you took out a mortgage but then charge you £300 when you come to close it a few years later.
If you have been overcharged, the money is there for you to claim - you just need to contact your mortgage provider. I've done it and just got a cheque back for £65 the other day - see previous blog.
Now, another big way the lenders make money is on surveyors’ fees. Suppose you are charged £300 for a mortgage valuation and survey report. It may be the surveyor might get only £220 of that with the lender keeping £80.
According to a chap I met at the Home Buyers Show, the margin that the lenders get is a lot higher than that.
And it seems that you are not free to arrange your own surveyor and make the saving.
How do I know all this – I used to work for a bank, so I know the hidden ways they make money.
I’m hoping one of my personal finance journalist friends will look into this soon and do a bit of digging around - as overcharging is a real topical one at the moment.
So, I’m sending this email to some of them in the hope that they will have time to follow up the story. So, let’s look out for that shall we?
Oh, and if you are a surveyor or work for a mortgage lender and happen to be reading this, and if you know exactly how much lenders load onto the basic survey / valuation fee, please do feel free to contact me and I'll pass it on to whoever at the Nationals runs the story.
Back to main site www.lettingfocus.com
Copyright: David Lawrenson 2007
If you have been overcharged, the money is there for you to claim - you just need to contact your mortgage provider. I've done it and just got a cheque back for £65 the other day - see previous blog.
Now, another big way the lenders make money is on surveyors’ fees. Suppose you are charged £300 for a mortgage valuation and survey report. It may be the surveyor might get only £220 of that with the lender keeping £80.
According to a chap I met at the Home Buyers Show, the margin that the lenders get is a lot higher than that.
And it seems that you are not free to arrange your own surveyor and make the saving.
How do I know all this – I used to work for a bank, so I know the hidden ways they make money.
I’m hoping one of my personal finance journalist friends will look into this soon and do a bit of digging around - as overcharging is a real topical one at the moment.
So, I’m sending this email to some of them in the hope that they will have time to follow up the story. So, let’s look out for that shall we?
Oh, and if you are a surveyor or work for a mortgage lender and happen to be reading this, and if you know exactly how much lenders load onto the basic survey / valuation fee, please do feel free to contact me and I'll pass it on to whoever at the Nationals runs the story.
Back to main site www.lettingfocus.com
Copyright: David Lawrenson 2007
This entry was posted by lettingfocus, on
Friday, March 09, 2007.
