As one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll make – it’s important to make sure, when choosing a mortgage, you choose right. Many situations will call for you to get an expert on board to help offer advice, and find the most suitable situation and deal for you.

Many of the larger firms of solicitors have in house mortgage providers and most medium and smaller firms will be able to offer general advice on mortgages and possibly recommend an independent advisor.

When looking for a property, most people will have already considered their budget and will have used a mortgage calculator to work out roughly how much their dream property would cost a month.

Getting advice from a mortgage advisor means you’ll be able to view a whole range of mortgages, rather than having to research by yourself, which can be time consuming, and you can easily miss a special deal. Although all lenders (usually banks) must offer advice when they recommend a mortgage to you this might not always be the best deal for you, so approaching an advisor may offer you a wider variety of options.

Getting advice above doing your own research means that if your mortgage isn’t suitable, you have more of a right to complain. Not taking advice can also lead to being rejected by a lender, or even choosing the wrong mortgage, which could have serious consequences further down the line.

A bank or building society is a good place to approach initially as their advice is usually free, whilst a broker will, normally, offer a free initial consultation. They should be able to provide a wide range of impartial offers. Advisors aren’t always impartial, however, – and may even have a favourite lender. This might mean they’re able to offer you an exclusive deal from that specific lender. Some may even explore your deposit funding options, such as exploring bonus and Help to Buy schemes that could help you get on that first rung.

Whilst you may have to fork out a little more for an advisor, they should consider all the costs involved in a mortgage, beyond your interest rate and should help you complete your paperwork.

A mortgage advisor can be helpful in arriving at the correct financial decision, but with so many banks offering exclusive offers to their own customers, and the responsibility to offer advice regardless, they are not invariably a necessity in the modern housing market.