2017-07-11
As the choice in lender cashback products increases on a regular basis, it begs the question of Cashback Vs Free Legals? What is best for the client?
We’ve heard from one of our introducers, who has shared her experience on this subject matter:
"Over the past 18 months, I have been focusing on Remortgages and have saved my clients a lot of money by utilising the lowest rates that are available.
The Remortgage process is a less stressful process and is meant to be a lot smoother than a purchase. The incentives that the lenders offer are great as they give the client more of a reason to switch their rates without having to pay for anther valuation or their legal costs.
The more Remortgages I have been a part of, the more I have noticed how disappointing the ‘free legals’ service is. They are quantity based, rather than quality, and I have had a few cases where the client has regretted undertaking the Remortgage due to the stress of the free legals.
When things go wrong in the mortgage process, the adviser is the first person to be made aware of the problem, as we are the ones that selected that mortgage product with the free legals in the first place (even though they are acting for the lender, not us).
Instead, I have been using SortRefer’s solicitor panel and opting for a mortgage product with a free valuation and cashback (instead of free legals). The cashback products allow me to have control over the legal side of the transaction, track progress, have direct contact with the case handler and reassurance that my client will be looked after. Some Remortgages can be complex, and I need the assurance that the legal work is 100% accurate, which is something I never felt with a free legal service.
The increase of cashback products available in the market gives the client great choice, especially alongside SortRefer’s Fixed Price Remortgage deals! Using a cashback product alongside SortRefer’s Remortgage product means the client is fully covered and would not have to pay a penny for the service (and sometimes gets some cash left over!)
I can safely say that since discovering SortRefer 18 months ago, I have not used a free legal service. I have found that because an increasing number of lenders are offering cashback options, this has no impact on the rate that my client has access to.
If the process goes wrong with free legals, trying to get it fixed can be so stressful and time consuming which affects my clients’ customer journey. By using SortRefer, it makes it so easy to resolve queries or answer questions because I have full control and oversight of the legal process."
Hayley Louise O'Reilly, Coreco
Want to read more? Click here to download our guide to Cashback Vs Free Legals.
