Every penny counts in the current financial crisis – which means making sure you are always getting the best deal for your company and your family. Mike Barton, commercial executive, explains why using a broker is so vital
How do you choose your car insurance?
My bet is that you probably use one of the multitudes of comparison websites to weigh up the various offers before making your choice.
Gone are the days when we used to just auto-renew with our existing provider at whatever rate they offered us without giving it a second thought.
As a nation, when it comes to car insurance, holiday flights, hotel offers and broadband provision, we have learned the value of shopping around to get ourselves the best deal. Latest figures, for example, show some 70 per cent of us have used a comparison website in the last 12 months.
But we don’t always apply these lessons to other aspects of our business and personal life – and many big companies know it. Figures suggest that some 45 per cent of us don’t shop around when it comes to mortgage renewals, whilst the big financial institutions rely on a huge degree of customer loyalty as part of their business model.
But at a time when every penny counts, it has never been more important to use a broker to make sure you get the absolute best deal when you are making financial decisions for your business or your family.
Take these two real-life examples of proof of the value a broker can add to your financial wellbeing. Both are genuine Q case studies.
In the first, a client purchasing a commercial investment property in Telford approached their business bank in October 2021 to fund the deal. After six months, during which the client ran up the expense of valuations and legals, the bank decided they weren’t comfortable with the purchase due to the nature of the leases in place.
The client was introduced to us and within ten weeks we had found a new lender, explained the transaction and the potential issues, completed the relevant applications, arranged new valuations, supported the solicitors throughout the legal process and got the purchase completed.
The client was delighted, having assumed they’d never complete on the purchase, and the agent and seller were equally happy.
The client went to their bank because that’s what they’ve always done, but the lesson is clear. Had they come to a broker in the first place we would have quickly identified that what they were trying to achieve would require a more specialist lender from the start and saved them money into the bargain.
Our second case involves a mortgage renewal.
Mr & Mrs A had been on a fixed rate mortgage for the last 2 years at a rate of 3.89%, costing £713 per month. The clients then went onto the lender’s variable rate of 5.2%, meaning their mortgage payments rose to £831 per month. They were not getting anywhere with the current lender and the new fixed rate they were being offered was higher than their previous one.
They contacted Q and we were able to secure a new rate of 2.63% fixed for 5 years, meaning their monthly payments were being lowered by over £200 to £608 per month – with the added certainty of the payments being locked for five years. The clients were thrilled with the outcome and wish they had used a broker previously.
We worked with the solicitors to get the application to completion as quickly as possible to get them on the lower rate before another payment came out.
These are just two examples out of scores I could quote.
The message is clear. It pays to use professional expertise to help you shop around and get the best possible deal for your company or family. By failing to do so, you could be throwing both time and money down the drain.
If you would like to know more about our comprehensive range of personal and commercial financial services contact us
