L.I.F.E. Financial Services Review

My partner and I are selling our house with Chancellors in Carterton, we were put in contact with Chris Williams from Alexander James.
Chris has been excellent from start to finish and has helped very much securing the best mortgage for us. He was always available if we needed any help or advise and made the whole process very easy. I would highly recommend Chris for his reliable and professional service.

Brilliant service from Paul and his team, mainly Katie. Couldn't Have bought our new house without their help. Paul knew the products and procedures to be followed and found me the best product for my needs. The Team kept us informed along every step of the journey to buying our new house, they really went above and beyond what was expected. Exceptional customer service. I would definitely recommend them!

I used Life Financial services when purchasing my first home.

I went with Life Financial Services as I was basically bullied in to doing so by the estate agent (Chancellors of Reading). The agents at Chancellors insisted there was a second offer on the table and said using their in house broker (who worked for Life Financial Services) would see the seller accept my offer instead of the other bidder's (although I doubt there ever actually was another bidder...)

This was frustrating as I already had a mortgage AIP in place with a rate of 1.13% with Yorkshire Building Society, as well as my own conveyance solicitor and survey company.

Never the less, I was assured the "in house" broker would use their expertise to get a better deal and, more importantly, would allow the purchase to go through smoothly. The biggest bonus being that they could update the estate agent on progress of the mortgage (as they all worked in the same office). All I wanted was a fast and smooth purchase so I agreed to use them and my offer was accepted.



What I got was:



(ii) The apparent smooth process I was promised also didn't appear to exist. I would get emails and calls from the estate agent asking what was going on with the mortgage application and why it was taking so long; questions I had myself! Questions which surely should have been directed to the broker in the same office- which was the whole basis on why I went with them in the first place!

(iii) I would reply to all correspondence they sent me and return all signed paperwork within 48hrs. However, as the process went on, they became slower and slower to respond to my correspondence.

(iv) I already had a pre purchase survey arranged through an independent company. However, my broker insisted they could arrange a survey for me for a significantly cheaper price. This seemed like a no brainer so I agreed for them to sort the survey on my behalf. However, despite me requesting the survey be completed five 5 times by email and several other times by phone (over a period of 3 months), the survey was never organised for me. I eventually ended up going back to the independent company I had originally planned to use and they ended up doing the survey for me- which revealed major defects (subsidence) at the property. I have my own theories that the brokers knew about this and deliberably and maliciously obstructed me in getting this survey done...

To top it all, off once the mortgage was approved (which took 4 weeks longer than it should have taken) they sent me an email invoice, immediately took the money from my bank account then never responded to any further emails I sent.

Avoid like the plague!

I had an excellent experience with this company. A special mention to Oliver Lawton who did all the leg work for us which was fantastic for first time buyers trying to make sense of it all. Strongly recommend!

As first time buyers we knew nothing and Scott from Life Financial Services was brilliant. He helped us all the way and always went the extra mile to explain the process and what we needed to do. Buying our first home was always going to be stressful but Scott made it as stress free as it could be. Will certainly be going back to him when we move.

We were extremely pleased with the service we received from Khurram Dad at Alexander James Mortgage Services. If it hadn't been for his advice and hard work we wouldn't have been able to afford the house we've now moved in to! He was always courteous, friendly and responded quickly to all queries. Thoroughly recommended!

Max has provided an excellent service which was not only professional but personal. He was on top of everything to ensure that everything was arranged in a timely manner without any issues. Appreciate your help and highly recommend AJMS.

I found Alexander James after having a few issues with another mortgage advisory firm. As a first time buyer, it was difficult to understand what options were available to me and best suited to my situation and my previous advisor was not offering me the support I needed to feel confident in the decisions I was making. I was referred to Oliver Lawton at Alexander James who has gone above and beyond to find a mortgage that was suited to my situation, as well as offering me guidance, even on wider issues, throughout the process. Oliver spent a substantial amount of time finding out about my situation, what I can afford and about my future plans to ensure that I found the best mortgage and would not end up stuck in a situation that I had not anticipated in a few years time. I would highly recommend Alexander James, and particularly Oliver Lawton, for honest, reliable and unbiased mortgage advice.

Fantastic Service from this company, applying for a mortgage is full of unknowns, pitfalls and emotional ups and downs. Philip Dyason and Samantha Brady are the best team I could have hoped for whilst taking on my new home. Updates, phone calls, chasing up documents and genuinely giving you the best advice because they want you to succeed and do not just see you as a number on a page. So glad I was recommended to you, will certainly return with any future mortgage requirements. Many thanks to you and your team .

Samantha Brady and Philip Dyason were both a great help to us when we moved. They were always friendly, polite and on hand to help with any issues or questions we had. They kept us up to date with information about our case and were prompt with any replies to queries. We would highly recommend them.