The firm, which was founded in 1974, will now give homebuyers the chance to view rates from over 120 lenders, and the table will be updated from Monday to Friday.
Major lenders included in the system include Barclays, Lloyds Bank, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest Group, Santander, and Virgin Money.
The tool is powered by technology from Mortgage Brain, which owns AE3 Media, the publishing company of YourMoney.com.
It was introduced “to empower everyday borrowers”, who will now be able to access “real-time tailored mortgage solutions”.
Since the Bank of England base rate was cut to 5%, mortgage rates have been dropping at apace making it difficult for borrowers to keep track of what lenders are offering.
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So, with the best buys tool updating rates every working day, borrowers will now get a ballpark figure of what they can expect on two- and five-year mortgage and remortgage fixes.
YourMoney.com gave the tool a go, and here’s what you need to know.
John Charcol’s best buys table invites users to search for a property price, mortgage amount and type, plus the term and product rate type you prefer. Once you select the loan type and initial rate period, you are able to select your preferred rate.
Once you select the rate, you then progress to giving the firm some more personal details so an adviser can call you up to discuss the rate you’ve selected.
Then, the adviser will ask more detailed questions connected to your mortgage application, like your earnings, and will return with an updated rate based on the new information.
From that point, the broker will go ahead with the usual application process with the aim of receiving a mortgage offer from a lender.
However, it is only once you’ve discussed more of your circumstances that the table works well as a starting point on your home-buying journey.
‘Provides a snapshot of the current market’
Indeed, Nicholas Mendes, mortgage technical manager and head of marketing at John Charcol, said: “The aim of the best buy section is to provide a snapshot of the current market, encouraging borrowers to speak with a broker for more detailed advice on fees and product suitability.”
It also means that if you have credit score issues, “you may have difficulty” keeping those rates or being accepted by a high street lender once you discuss it with your broker.
There may also be issues further down the line after the best buy is selected if you are, for example, self-employed for under three years, which is the standard length of time for which lenders will often want proof of earnings. Those details will become apparent once you have a conversation with the allocated John Charcol broker.
When it comes to fees included, the broker allows you to search for lenders’ arrangement fees only, but the generated best deal from the tool will factor in product fees too.
However, the tool, which covers all lenders whose mortgages are available to brokers, will suit the “typical UK borrower” that it was designed for, who will most likely be able to keep the initial rate when it comes to receiving an offer.
Mendes added: “We have designed the tool based on a typical UK borrower profile with a good credit rating, with a property value of £250,000 and a household income of £60,000.
“We use the initial rate with a maximum arrangement fee of £1,499 to prevent excessive product fees from distorting the results. We have not included certain deals such as Own New or those that are restricted to certain locations.”
