Last Updated on 5 May 2026 by Dan Wilderness
Hello everyone! I can personally attest to the fact that buying a house is one of the most stressful things you can do. One aspect you want to get right is the financing – especially now interest rates have crept up again having the right mortgage can make a big difference to your monthly take home pay. One thing that may have crossed many homebuyers minds is about using a mortgage broker – so today we’ll be covering what the benefits of using a mortgage broker are.
(Sponsored post: We’ve partnered with Habito for today’s post, an online mortgage broker platform. As per our editorial policy, we value our reputation and only write about companies we think offer an excellent product rather than anyone paying us to write about! We will receive a payment if you use Habito from this page, but it will not affect the service you receive or the price you pay).
What advantages does a mortgage broker have?
A mortgage broker can find you the best deals
Over the course of a mortgage, every a few fractions of a percentage point on an interest rate will add up to quite a lot of money over a mortgage term, so you want the best deal possible.
There are two types of mortgage broker – a restricted or tied broker who can only offer you deals from certain providers, or a whole of market broker who can look at everywhere. You ideally want the latter – after all, most of us wouldn’t make a choice to just look at some options if looking at all is an option.
(For avoidance of doubt, Habito are a whole of market broker).
One challenge people also often face with mortgages is they can see the overall interest cost pretty easily, but struggle to take account of what’s the best deal after all the costs and charges are folded in – again, a mortgage broker can help work out what the best overall final costing is.
Mortgage brokers will be constantly monitoring the market for who has the best deals to ensure they can pair you up with the best deal going for your circumstances. This is boosted even further by the next point…..
A mortgage broker can also sometimes access deals you can’t
Lenders tend to like to work with brokers to attract trade, and in addition to being able to apply directly with them will have additional broker channels where sometimes additional deals will be advertised which won’t be public, even on that lenders website. This won’t always apply, but can be a nice bonus when it does.
There’s a couple of reasons for this:
Firstly broker channels have become incredibly important for lenders as they now account for approximately 80% of mortgage sales, so they are heavily focused on delivering these.
Secondly, lenders set their mortgage rates to be like a tap – they want to be as competitive as possible to bring in business, but not to an extent their processes become overwhelmed by a constant surge of information. A broker channel enables them to adjust to managing that flow very quickly.
A mortgage broker understands acceptance criteria
Another advantage in using a mortgage broker is that they will be able to take into your specific situation to pair you up with the right mortgage.
Every lender has slightly difference acceptance criteria and things that matter to them, and if there’s something that may rule you in or out with particular lenders a broker will be able to identify this at the start of the process, rather than when time has become slightly tight during the process.
This will save you both time and stress in getting the right mortgage for you.
A mortgage broker will handle much of the application process for you
Whilst it won’t mean you escape all of the form filling that comes as part of the house buying process for you, a mortgage broker can help some of the more administrative pieces of the house buying process on your behalf when it comes to the application process.
A mortgage broker can help arrange connected services
We’ve got a bit more on this below, but a mortgage is just one part of buying a house – you’ll often need support in the form of conveyancing and surveying at the very least.
We’ve highlighted further down how Habito can help in this regard, but mortgage brokers as a rule will generally work closely with others in the housing field and may either be able to help you out with recommendations of those they know are good to work with, or be able to offer connected services themselves.
FAQ’s about Mortgage Brokers
How does a Mortgage Broker get paid?
There are two main approaches.
For a fee-free approach, the cost of the mortgage brokers in some cases is covered by the lender in exchange for bringing them the business, meaning that you may not have to pay an initial fee.
This isn’t in all cases – some brokers will use a charged approach where you pay their charges yourselves.
This one is a personal decision to make. There is the potential for a fee-free broker to steer you towards a deal they make a higher commission on, but this isn’t always the case. The best thing you can do is go with a broker with a good reputation and ask questions about how they approach this and manage commission.
Are mortgage brokers regulated?
Yes, mortgage broking is a regulated service.
This means that if anything goes wrong in the process, you can have legal resource against the broker for it, and the brokers must follow appropriate rules and regulations to give you assurance you’re being advised in the right manner.
Can I use a mortgage broker for existing mortgages as well as new?
Yes, a mortgage broker will be able to cover both new property purchases as well as switching or renewal of mortgage deals coming up to expiry.
How early should I speak to a mortgage broker?
It depends on the circumstances of your deal – if you’re buying a house with a mortgage you’ll want to get straight on to arranging a mortgage and getting an offer-in-principle near immediately.
If you’re looking to switch onto a new deal as your existing mortgage deal is expiring, best to engage about 6 months before the renewal date.
About Habito
Let’s start with a bit on Habito themselves – the firm’s founder had a fairly horrific experience buying a house and managing the application process and surrounding paperwork – as a result they wanted to build something better and save people money.
At the time, brokers tended to be still phone and paper based – whilst online applications were a thing, a gap in the market was spotted to save costs by offering a fully online offering with great service.
The result is a technically streamlined service where your information can be taken once and easily to enable that whole of market comparison.
They also can provide additional services in the form of Habito Plus which some housebuyers may find themselves needing:
What is Habito Plus?
Habito Plus is a bundled services where your ongoing legal conveyancing and any building surveys required come as a complete package with your application.
The property survey can be conducted at a RICS Level 2 or Level 3 approach depending on your needs (level 3 is more advanced with pricing to match, and may be wise on an older property).
As many of the details you give for a mortgage cross over in conveyancing, this can be beneficial via reducing duplication and help manage any issues in your mortgage caused by delayed in the conveyancing chain.
How can I check what rates Habito can offer me?
You can get a free idea of the rates Habito can offer right here.
Follow this link to sign up and fill in the basic fact finding information to get a quick idea of rates and lending available.
Any questions?
If you have any queries about Habito or other mortgage brokers out there, we’d absolutely love to hear from you! Just drop us a note in the comments below.
And that’s it!
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