People are 'less confident about giving mortgage advice'

Date:Monday 9th March 2009
Author: Susanna Kavka

People are losing confidence in their ability to give advice about mortgages, new research has found.

Advice website unbiased.co.uk discovered that 62 per cent of homeowners in Britain usually feel happy to dispense help about mortgages to relatives and acquaintances.

But 37 per cent are less certain about their knowledge and understanding due to the current situation with the mortgage market.

Many mortgage holders are also not confident about making their decisions alone, with 36 per cent going for professional help whereas once they would have made their choices by themselves.

Another 28 per cent said that they would not make a mortgage decision without first receiving professional advice.

Unbiased.co.uk spokesperson Richard Winder said that people had had more confidence in their mortgage knowledge during the property boom.

"Credit crunch confusion in the mortgage market has since sapped borrowers' confidence in choosing the right approach or products both for themselves and for friends or family," he explained.

Last month, Unbiased.co.uk reported that the confusion caused by the recession had led to a 20 per cent rise in the number of people looking for independent financial advice over a four-month period as people trusted themselves less to make decisions regarding money.