Why use a mortgage broker instead of a bank?

Mortgage broker or bank: the key figures

These figures show how many people use brokers, how brokers earn their money and what protection you have if something goes wrong.

Why use a mortgage broker?

A mortgage broker widens your choice and takes on much of the work, especially if your situation is not standard.

At a bank, the adviser can only recommend that bank’s mortgages, so you see one lender’s range and cannot tell if another suits you better. A broker can look across banks, building societies and specialist lenders, which matters most when your circumstances sit outside the standard criteria.

Lenders differ in how they treat things like self-employed income, bonuses, a small deposit or a missed payment on your credit file.

A broker who handles these cases often knows which lenders are likely to say yes. You are then less likely to apply to one that was never going to accept you. If you are self-employed or have mixed income, that knowledge counts for more.

A broker also gathers the documents a lender needs, checks the application for gaps and acts as your contact with the lender. Applications commonly slow down over small things, such as a payslip that does not match the form or a deposit with no clear source. A broker can spot these early.

Our guide on how to get mortgage ready covers the paperwork to gather first.

Advice is the other part. A broker can explain how much you may be able to borrow and compare the type of mortgage on offer. They also look at the total cost, including fees, and not only the monthly payment. If you want the full picture of the role, read what a mortgage broker does.

Situations where a broker tends to help most

• You are self-employed, a contractor or paid partly in bonuses or dividends.
• You are a first-time buyer with a small deposit or little experience of the process.
• Your credit file has a missed payment, a default or a thin history.
• You work in a profession where lenders offer specific deals, such as solicitors or doctors. Our page on mortgages for professionals explains how these work.
• You are short of time and want someone to chase the lender, valuer and solicitor.

Mortgage broker vs bank: what is the difference?

The main difference is how many lenders each can offer you, and the rest follows from that.

Tied, restricted and whole of market brokers

Not every adviser searches the full market. Tied advisers are linked to one lender, while brokers and independent advisers can offer products from many lenders. Some whole of market firms may not cover everything. Specialist products such as buy-to-let or interest-only may need an adviser who deals with them often.

A whole of market mortgage broker can recommend from the entire mortgage market. Before you commit to any broker, ask which lenders they use and whether they can arrange the type of loan you need.

Do mortgage brokers get better rates?

Sometimes, because a broker can compare more lenders than a single bank, but no broker can promise a better rate.

Rates change often and depend on the loan to value, which is the size of your loan compared with the property’s value. A broker can only tell you what is available on the day you apply.

For example, a rate 0.25 percentage points lower on a £500,000 mortgage saves about £1,250 a year in interest, or £6,250 over five years. The sum treats the balance as unchanged to keep it simple. The real difference depends on the deals on offer, and it can be bigger, smaller or nothing at all.

Some lenders offer certain deals only through brokers, while others sell certain deals only direct. A broker who searches the market can therefore also tell you when your own bank is competitive. Check that before you pay anyone a fee, because your own bank may turn out to be competitive.

How much does a mortgage broker cost?

Fees vary from firm to firm: some brokers charge you, some are paid only by the lender and some do both, so ask before you start.

Advisers may charge a flat rate, an hourly rate or a percentage of the amount you borrow. You should be told how the adviser is paid, and every cost involved, before you go ahead.

Commission is still the main income in the sector. The FCA reports that 77.5% of mortgage broking revenue came from commission in 2025, the same share as in 2024. The lender pays it when your mortgage completes. Importantly, it does not affect your mortgage costs at all.

Weigh any fee against what you get in return: a wider search, help with a complicated application and a recommendation you can question.

On a straightforward application you might reasonably decide a fee is not worth paying. Our guides explain whether brokers charge a fee and how mortgage brokers get paid in more detail.

The hard part is judging whether a fee is worth it before you know what the broker will find. A broker paid only by the lender costs you nothing upfront, but the lender is still the one paying, so ask them to explain in writing why they chose that lender over the others.

When going direct to a bank can make sense

Going direct is reasonable if your needs are simple, you have a long relationship with the lender or you want to avoid a broker fee. Moving to a new deal with your current lender at the end of a fixed term is the usual example.

Even then, compare the bank’s offer with what a broker finds before you commit. A bank adviser cannot tell you what other lenders would do. Online comparison tools help with early research, but they cannot assess your circumstances or manage the application for you.

How regulation protects you

Firms that advise on mortgages in the UK must be authorised by the FCA.

You can check any firm on the Financial Services Register before you speak to them. A regulated adviser must recommend a mortgage that is suitable for you and explain why, usually in a written report.

If something goes wrong, you complain to the firm first and can then take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The Financial Ombudsman Service can require a firm to pay up to £455,000 on complaints about acts or omissions since 1 April 2019. That limit applies from 1 April 2026.

Banks are regulated too, so the same ombudsman route applies if you take advice from one. Regulation alone is not a reason to choose a broker.

Buying without advice is different. Only 35,745 sales in 2025 were made that way, according to FCA mortgage product sales data, and nobody checks whether the mortgage suits you.

Should you use a local mortgage broker?

Location matters less than it used to. Many brokers work by phone, email and video call, so you can use one anywhere in the UK without taking time off work.

A local broker can still be useful if you prefer face-to-face meetings or are buying in an area with an unusual local market. What counts most is that the broker is authorised, experienced, searches enough lenders for your needs and explains their charges clearly.

Mortgage broker or bank: how to decide

Choose a broker if your situation is not routine, if you want a wider search or if you would rather someone else handled the application.

Consider going direct if your needs are simple and you are staying with your current lender, as long as you compare before you commit.

If you want to talk to a broker, start on our contact a broker page. We are not authorised by the FCA, so we do not arrange or advise on mortgages. We can introduce you to an award -winning independent, whole-of-market mortgage broker who can.

There is no charge for using Respect Mortgages, though the broker may charge a fee, which they should explain before you go ahead.