Think carefully before securing other debts against your home.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage
Questions We Are Often Asked
Are You Regulated?
Yes. Both Max Mortgages and Max Capital are FCA regulated. The aim of the FCA is to ensure clients are treated fairly, given suitable advice and we meet UK regulations such as GDPR. We ourselves will fully assess your file without exposing you to any public record as part of the advisory process. All information remains with us and is not shared with any 3rd party.
Why do I need to use Max Mortgages or Max Capital when I can do this directly?
There is no point us taking on customers who are not eligible for a mortgage or are uninsurable. Many customers can go direct, sure. But given the market space and the various contract terms, they may not have the time to be able to undertake comprehensive research. They come to us in the first instance for professional advice and not as a last resort. In fact most of our customers have good incomes and personal situation but they appreciate each profession has its own merits and we may help them save money, time and secure a more suitable product. So they may have legal advisors, accountants and financial advisors – perhaps why they are successful.
Do You Charge a Fee for Mortgages?
We will confirm any fees before committing you to any solution. We do not charge a fee for a simple Product Transfer but for a Full Mortgage Application we may charge anything between £199 to £299 depending on the type of mortgage. Lenders will pay us a Procuration Fee on completion of the mortgage, but this is to cover the cost of undertaking the application and associated administration. Any initial research, on-going support or advise we provide effectively is not covered, hence our fee. However our fee is only payable after we have agreed a solution and an actual application has been submitted. We do not charge any additional fee upon completion, but may charge a small amount for any additional work or changes requested.
Is the Fee Refundable?
No, but we do not charge any fee for any initial advice or research upfront. We do not believe in charging a fee if we feel we can not obtain a Full Mortgage Offer for you. But we will still advise you why and perhaps what you can do to put yourself in a better situation, and will stay in contact until you achieve that and/or find a suitable property. If a lender rejects your application despite you providing us with accurate and full information, then we will re-submit to another lender without additional charge to you – we want to support you. Basically you only lose your fee if you have not provided us with accurate up to date information such as not declaring adverse credit or you are unable to proceed with the purchase after application for your own reasons. Property Valuations are not under our control either.
Regular Contact Costs and Availability?
Yes. Many of our customers will contact us once or twice a year just to see how things are in this market. This may be to have a chat about raising more money, moving or buying another property or review their personal cover. We do not charge for this ongoing support. Our business model is that we support you on a long term basis, but when you do need to make a mortgage change or a new mortgage application or any other advice, you hopefully go through us.
How Quick Can You Undertake an Application?
Very Quickly! Once we have all your information and requested documents, we will assess your application and decide on potential lenders. Then once you have found your preferred property and your Offer has been accepted by the vendor, we can move almost immediately as we have direct lender log-ins to undertake an application based on your up to date details.
The Estate Agent wants a DIP before considering my Offer. What is that and can you do that?
A DIP (Decision in Principle) or some call it AIP (Approved in Principle) is just a basic ‘part’ application to a lender. If it is approved, the lender will confirm they are prepared to consider lending you a certain amount based on your situation, subject to full application. That application will then be more fully assessed by Underwriting, and they than may accept, amend or reject it – a DIP is not a binding offer. Hence why we like to assess your file in-house as we know the criteria of various lenders. In our view, it is only worth starting any formal process, once your offer for the property has been accepted, with the actual lender we intend to go with who is likely to lend the required amount. Undertaking unnecessary credit searches is not a great idea.
What other Types of Lending can you help with?
We can also help with areas such as Equity Release, 2nd Charges, Bridging, Commercial Loans as well as Development Finance. We have an panel we can utilise for this. Again we will assess your file before any referral is made, and we do not charge you in that event. We are happy to remain involved in the process to support your objectives. Any referral will only be made with your full agreement after we have discussed the situation and the reasons for it.
Does Max Capital Charge a Fee?
No. Protection providers will provide us a fee once your plan becomes active. We also do not charge for regular reviews which ideally should be undertaken annually to take into account any changes. Max Capital is part of Max Mortgages and works on the same business model of long term customers.
How Quickly Can Cover be in Place?
Can be quick. We have direct log-ins and your application can be submitted without delay. Again we will assess your situation and determine the most suitable provider – this could be based for example on your health or occupation. Cover could be in place within 24hrs. But can be longer as the provider may require more information and this could be where they contact you for clarification, a qualified nurse may visit you and/or they may request a GP report. It is always best to provide full disclosure so there are no issues should you need to make a claim.
So You Only Advise on Personal Cover?
No. In addition to personal cover such as Life Assurance, Critical Illness, Income Protection & Health Insurance, we can also help with Business cover such as Keyman assurance, Shareholder cover as well as buildings/contents cover. We only engage in the regulated area so thus we do not get involved in certain areas such as car or travel insurance.
Is this Cover Compulsory?
No. Not having any cover does not affect your mortgage application. If you have any future personal issues, they will only affect you and your family. So others have no need to enforce you to cover your own risks. But it really is in your own interests to protect yourself and truly should not be neglected. However as far as Buildings cover is concerned, lenders will insist at least their interest (i.e. the security property) is protected. If anything happens to the security, you will need to make it good. As this can run to 10s of thousands of pounds, the lender will make it a condition that it is always adequately protected. You you are liable from Exchange Of Contracts onwards.
Do You Undertake Credit Searches?
No. Max Mortgages & Max Capital will assess your file based on the information and documents you provide us. We will advise based on that. However should you be unsure of your credit arrangements or credit history, then we suggest you download your own credit file and send that to us. Downloading your own credit file does not leave a hard footprint on the public record or affect your credit rating. We only undertake Anti-Money Launderings (AML) checks when we make the Full Mortgage Application, which is not a credit search.
I have an Excellent Rating. So I should get a Mortgage?
Not always. Obviously an good credit rating is better than a bad one, but that does not guarantee a successful mortgage. Lenders do not rely on your credit rating but the underlying credit file when they undertake the search. They will have their own credit scoring parameters which you need to pass. Their system will also take into account your overall debts, employment history, type of employment, income structure, residential status, Loan To Value, property type and so on to determine if they wish to proceed.
Are You Whole of Market?
Yes. We are able to secure solutions from high street lenders, non high street lenders and specialists lenders. As regulated intermediaries we may also be able to secure exclusive products not available to the public directly, even from your own bank or lender. We do the same for your protection needs. We are not tied to any one lender or provider and will utilise those that are appropriately regulated and offer a suitable solution for you.
Where on Your Site Can I get more Detailed Information?
For Mortgages, just click here on Max Mortgages and, and for Protection Max Capital.
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