Report to provide transparency to borrowers

December 18, 2014 by Brendan O'Neill

House Prices

In what is set to last six months, a collaboration between Which? and the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) should lead to the production of a report that will ultimately make mortgages and the associated costs clearer, making it easier to establish the best deal for a prospective home buyer.

Which? has found out previously that some borrowers face paying over the odds due to the sheer volume of different fees and charges, which could cloud people’s thought processes and overwhelm them with choice. In fact, the organisation found over 40 different names and phrases for varying charges and fees, making it a minefield of confusion for the consumer.

With fees called ‘admin fee’, ‘arrangement fee’, ‘booking fee’ and ‘product fee’, over 45,000 people have signed up to the Which? campaign. It plans to compile a report that will assess how fees are phrased and presented and how admin charges are broken down, as well as educating borrowers to help them be more aware of the associated costs when buying a property.

Paul Smee, the director general of the CML, commented:

“With the largest and most competitive mortgage market in Europe, UK customers are well-served for choice. We recognise that for this choice to bring the greatest benefit, consumers need to be able to understand and compare products confidently.”

When you have the recognised qualification obtained after passing your CeMAP training, you have a responsibility to ensure that your customers fully understand the journey to owning their own home, along with all associated costs.