The MHI Group Services and Terms of Business
Who are we?
The MHI Group are International mortgage consultants who arrange finance in countries across Europe, USA and the Caribbean.
Use this disclosure document to decide if our services are right for you. It explains the service we offer and how you will pay for it.
Our service and permitted business includes advising and arranging mortgages and insurance products as stated below:
Mortgages
We will advise and make a recommendation to you on mortgages in the country you are purchasing in.
We offer a comprehensive range of mortgages from Lenders across the market.
We can also arrange a wide range of Commercial and Development Finance and Project Finance.
Commission disclosure: We are a credit broker and not a lender. We have access to an extensive range of lenders. Once we have assessed your needs, we will recommend a lender(s) that provides suitable products to meet your personal circumstances and requirements, though you are not obliged to take our advice or recommendation. Whichever lender we introduce you to, we will typically receive commission from them after completion of the transaction. The amount of commission we receive will normally be a fixed percentage of the amount you borrow from the lender. Commission paid to us may vary in amount depending on the lender and product. The lenders we work with pay commission at different rates. However, the amount of commission that we receive from a lender does not have an effect on the amount that you pay to that lender under your credit agreement.
For sales of non-investment insurance products such as life and critical illness insurance, we are remunerated by commission from the insurance provider. Commission will normally be based on a percentage of your premium for a set period of time.
Mortgage Services and Fees
Mortgage/Loan – Initial evaluation stage: No charge
We will consider your financial circumstances and requirements then provide you with information, on the most competitive lender and product options suited to you for your property finance;
We will arrange an initial decision in principle with the recommended lender. This means the lender confirms they are willing to lend subject to receipt of a satisfactory valuation and all supporting application documentation;
If required, we will make a recommendation to you for a solicitors’ firm to facilitate the legal work required for your property purchase.
Mortgage/Loan – Processing stage: No charge
Once you are ready to proceed we will start the process of completing the application form and collating it with any other documentation required by the lender and then submit this on your behalf;
We will communicate to you in a timely fashion, any other supporting information the lender requires in conjunction with your application;
We will check documentation you supply is consistent with the expectations and requirements of the lender;
We will ensure the lender application is monitored and progressing, for example checking that valuations are instructed and lenders are working within their service timescales;
We will update you fully on the progress of the application until the lender issues the formal loan offer.
Mortgage/Loan – Mortgage Offer stage: Fee due -please see fee agreement form* for for individual fees.
We will check the loan offer to ensure it is correct, at this point our offer fee as detailed above for successfully securing you the lender offer, becomes payable;
We will assist you if required with meeting any offer conditions such as arranging property insurance;
We will liaise with your legal representative to ensure they have received a copy of the offer and assist them where needed;
We will liaise with the lender if any offer amendments are needed, for example if there is a change to the purchase price or mortgage amount required
There may be additional legal and/or notary costs together with bank arrangement fees, depending on the country in which the mortgage is applied for. Whilst we will offer an explanation of any aforementioned fees it is the clients responsibility to ensure that they are conversant with what they are signing for. The advice of a legal representative is therefore paramount.
We will continue to monitor and assist with your application until your purchase is successfully completed.
The fees quoted are for standard mortgage/loan transactions. Should more specialist requirements be needed, we will advise you in writing if a different fee scale will apply before proceeding with an application.
Insurance
We will advise and make a recommendation to you after we have assessed your insurance needs.
We can offer products from a limited number of insurers including Life Insurance, Critical Illness Cover, Income Protection, Private Medical Insurance, Buildings and Contents.
We do not charge a fee for advising and arranging Buildings and Contents insurance policies. We will receive commission from the Insurer we place your business with.
For all other Insurance policies, we charge a fee of £495. This fee however will be waived in lieu of the commission we receive from the product provider. Should you cancel the contract within the first 4 years, and the provider reclaims some or all of the commission paid to us, we reserve the right to raise an invoice for our fee at that point.
Terms and Conditions
Instruction to proceed
Please sign our separate fee agreement document to confirm you would like to proceed with our services. Where we recommend a product from a lender who wishes to deal directly with you or you chose yourself to deal directly with a lender we have recommended, our fees as detailed on page one still apply. Where speed is required, we will consider accepting your verbal instructions to proceed and in this circumstance you understand that instructing us to proceed is your acceptance of these terms and conditions.
It is implied and understood that any material change which could affect the application and which is beyond the control of the MHI Group Ltd could render any application or agreement null & void.
This includes but is not limited to:
- Fluctuations in currency which can affect affordability calculations
- Material changes to the buyers financial circumstances such as employment changes or procuration of additional loans
- Property Valuation
- Bank lending criteria changing with no notice
Payment of fees
Our fees are payable within seven working days of a mortgage offer being issued to you. We reserve the right to charge interest at the rate of 8% per annum for any amounts due to us which remain unpaid after the due date.
Restrictions and Legal Jurisdiction
Please be aware that the FCA does not regulate the all of mortgages and property finance we are able to arrange. Where they do fall under regulation we will notify you of that fact. We are committed however to providing the same high standards even when dealing with your requirements for non-regulated products. This agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and any dispute will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
What to do if you have a complaint
It is our intention to provide you with a high level of customer service at all times. If there is an occasion when we do not meet these standards and you wish to register a complaint, please write to: Robert Govier, 1 The Mount, 23b St James Road, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 2BB or call: 0207 859 4574.
Data Protection
We will store and use any personal information about you to fulfil your instructions and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 (“the Act”). This information may be made available to certain third parties such as regulatory authorities and our auditors who may also be bound by the Act. If you have been introduced to us by a third party, we will keep private from the third party all personal information, although we may provide to them updates on the progress of your application unless you specifically request us not to.
Following completion of your mortgage or loan and/or setting up an insurance policy on your behalf, we will keep in contact with you by any appropriate means to review your arrangements and keep you informed of any products or services that may be of interest to you.
Overseas Mortgages, taxes and fees
We will provide you with the agreed terms of the mortgage in writing, as we receive them from your chosen lender. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are fully conversant with all of the fees and locally charged taxes contained within their mortgage offer. It is imperative that they are checked by your legal representative for accuracy prior to signing at a local Notary/Notaire, etc. If in any doubt at all please ask before you or your legal representatives sign any legally binding documents. Please Note: Overseas mortgages are not regulated by the FCA
DECLARATION
I/we understand and agree to the terms and conditions and information outlined in this document and I/we wish to proceed with instructing The MHI Group Ltd to assist me/us with my/our mortgage or loan and/or insurance requirements.
I/we give our authority for The MHI Group Ltd to provide progress updates to the person or company that introduced us to The MHI Group Ltd, where applicable, or to the Estate/Property Agent who is selling the property.
I/we understand as part of the underwriting process, the mortgage or loan provider and/or The MHI Group Ltd may need to contact third party institutions such as your current or previous employers, mortgage providers, accountants, banks and the Inland Revenue to confirm the completeness and accuracy of any information supplied in relation to my/our mortgage application. I/we understand and authorise such enquiries.
*The mortgage fee agreement form will be emailed to your usual correspondence address.
