Mortgage providers launching products with incredibly low rates is not a new phenomenon – the recent below 1% offer from the Halifax is just the latest example – but how should a reputable mortgage advisor with a CeMAP qualification respond to this?
Many will respond with cynicism, as they will know that, despite the banner headlines that ultra-low rate offers generate for banks and building societies, the vast majority of borrowers will not be eligible when they read the small print. The purpose of such offers is usually to secure attention and get potential borrowers to contact the provider, at which point they will be steered towards another mortgage with higher rates, even if it is not the best deal available to them.
That is where mortgage advisors come into the picture, or at least where they should come into it. The role of an advisor is to help people find the mortgage that is best and most affordable for them and they should use the headlines created by low-rate offers to promote the importance of speaking to a qualified advisor before committing to any loan.
The situation whereby people are lured in by an attractive promotional offer and then persuaded to sign up to another deal at steeper rates is a lesson in just why mortgage advisors are valuable. The publicity that these offers create gives advisors a chance to provide borrowers with a sensible idea of what their options are to counter such dubious tactics, while also promoting their own services.
