Broker fees vs going direct

Remortgage Lab does not rank brokers or lenders. Use this as a framing checklist when someone quotes a fee — or when a “free” direct product still carries a large arrangement charge. Fees and early repayment charges (ERCs) often decide remortgage outcomes before the rate gap. A broker fee is one more sterling line in that stack. Last checked: 14 October 2026.

Put any client-paid broker fee beside product, legal and valuation costs so it competes fairly with fee-free direct products. Rodway Labs content is illustrative only — not personalised advice and not an FCA-regulated recommendation.

Checklist when a fee is quoted

• What do you pay? Fixed fee, percentage of loan, or free-to-client (lender-paid procuration fee)? Get it in writing, including when it is due and whether it is refundable if the case falls through.
• What market access? Whole-of-market vs limited panel vs single lender. Access is not the same as “best rate” — Remortgage Lab does not claim either path wins.
• Complexity: adverse credit, complex income, or tight timelines often benefit from an experienced intermediary. Simple employed cases with clean credit sometimes suit a direct application — still compare fees and ERC carefully.
• Advice vs information: regulated mortgage advice is different from execution-only. If you want a personal recommendation, that is an FCA-authorised adviser conversation — not something this site provides.
• Retention options: ask whether the firm will present your current lender’s product-transfer offers alongside new-lender deals, so you are not comparing a remortgage fee stack to an invisible £0 transfer path.

The three broker fee models, side by side (EXAMPLE)

Brokers are usually paid in one of three ways, and must tell you how before they act for you. On the EXAMPLE £185,000 balance (illustrative scenarios, not market rates):

A percentage fee grows with the loan, so on larger balances it can overtake a fixed fee. Ask for the fee as a sterling figure and put it in the same calculator run as the product fee. You can check a firm’s permissions on the FCA Register (checked 14 October 2026).

Worked EXAMPLE: adding a broker fee to the stack

Shared EXAMPLE house: £185,000 balance, 22 years remaining, EXAMPLE new-lender rate 4.14%, product fee £999, legal £500 (total fees £1,499), cashback £250, 24-month horizon. The site EXAMPLE sets broker fee at £0 so the baseline is visible.

Suppose instead a client-paid broker fee of £499 were added. Net switching cost after cashback would rise from £1,249 to £1,748 before any ERC. Over a short horizon that extra £499 can erase a thin monthly saving versus a product transfer at EXAMPLE 4.39% with £0 transfer fee. If the EXAMPLE 2% ERC (£3,700) also applied, the broker fee would be a smaller slice of a much larger exit cost — but it still belongs on the page.

Enter every line in the true cost calculator. For fee-type definitions see mortgage fees explained and remortgage fees.

Procuration fees and conflicts to ask about

When a broker is paid by the lender, you may pay £0 as a client fee — but the product panel and incentives still matter. Ask how the firm is paid, whether they are whole-of-market, and how they present retention options from your current lender alongside new-lender deals. Put any client-paid fee into the true-cost calculator so it sits beside the EXAMPLE £1,499 product-and-legal stack rather than disappearing off-page.

Going direct does not remove the need to read fees and ERCs. A direct application can still carry a large arrangement fee, and you still need to time completion around any EXAMPLE £3,700-scale early repayment charge. Process cost and advice cost are different lines. A “free broker” path and a “fee-free product” path can both hide sterling costs elsewhere.

Direct applications: what still belongs on the checklist

• Product / arrangement fee — paid up front or added to the loan (which increases interest).
• Legal and valuation — free packs may not cover every case; confirm exclusions in writing.
• ERC timing — same as any remortgage; see early repayment charges.
• Paperwork and timelines — you own chasing valuation and conveyancing unless a pack says otherwise.
• Comparison with retention — still run the product transfer vs remortgage calculator.

How this page fits the costs hub

Parent framing and the full cost stack live on mortgage & remortgage costs. Use this child page when the decision is specifically intermediary fee versus direct application. Use ERC pages when the charge dwarfs broker fees. Use fee guides when you need line-item definitions rather than channel choice.

Worked EXAMPLE: fee-free broker, expensive product

Flip the EXAMPLE. Keep broker fee at £0, but imagine the direct product fee rises from £999 to £1,499 while legal stays at £500. The stack grows even though the channel looks “free to advise”. Alternatively, a whole-of-market broker charging £499 might access a product with a £0 arrangement fee and free valuation that the direct panel does not show — then the broker line can be cheaper overall after cashback and ERC timing. Remortgage Lab does not assert which path wins; it only insists every sterling line appears in the same calculator run.

Over the EXAMPLE 24-month horizon, a £499 broker fee is roughly £21 per month of comparison window before interest effects. That is small next to an EXAMPLE ERC of £3,700, and large next to a 0.05 percentage-point rate gap on £185,000. Order-of-magnitude checks like that stop fee debates from crowding out the charge that actually dominates.

Questions to ask before you choose a channel

• Will you show my current lender’s product-transfer options in writing beside new-lender quotes?
• What is the total client-paid fee, when is it due, and is any of it refundable if the case fails?
• Are you paid by procuration fee, client fee, or both — and does that limit the panel?
• Who instructs solicitors and valuation, and what happens if free-legal exclusions apply?
• How will ERC end dates and cashback clawback be reflected in the recommendation file?

Keep answers beside the illustration reading guide and your ESIS, the offer document that fully replaced the old Key Facts Illustration in March 2019. Channel choice is not a substitute for fee-and-ERC arithmetic.

Sources

Independent consumer material: MoneyHelper on remortgaging. Industry context: UK Finance. Neither ranks brokers.

Disclaimer

Illustrative only — not personalised advice and not an FCA-regulated recommendation. Remortgage Lab does not arrange mortgages or recommend intermediaries. Always check current lender terms, fees, ERC schedules and your ESIS. Published by Rodway Labs.