FAQs

We are an FCA-authorised mortgage broker, serving customers nationwide since 2013. At Online Mortgage Advisor (OMA®), we match you with the most qualified and experienced mortgage broker for your unique situation to ensure you get the best possible advice.

This could be one of our in-house expert mortgage advisors or, where appropriate, even an OMA-approved external broker. We are on a mission to be the most loved for mortgages, and our passion is understanding our customers and exceeding their expectations.

Our website provides helpful tools, insightful guides, and informative content to empower borrowers to make the best possible decisions. We’ve proudly helped over 600,000 customers secure the right mortgage, often stepping in when other lenders or brokers have been unable to assist.

Yes. Online Mortgage Advisor (OMA®) is a mortgage broker, authorised to provide regulated mortgage advice in the UK. We operate as an Appointed Representative (AR), which means we carry out certain regulated mortgage business on behalf of a principal firm that is directly authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

This means we can only advise on and arrange mortgages under the permissions of our principal firm, which is responsible for the business we conduct. You can view details of both our AR status and our principal firm’s permissions on the FCA Register.

We help a wide range of borrowers, from first-time buyers to landlords, homeowners remortgaging, self-employed applicants, expats, and those with complex or adverse credit. If your situation does not fit the “standard” profile, that is where we excel.

Banks can only offer their own products, and many advisors are generalists. We connect you with a channel expert who specialises in cases like yours and can search broadly across the market, including specialist lenders that aren’t available without a broker.

After you tell us about your situation, we use your details to match you with the most suitable expert. Your mortgage advisor will then contact you directly for an initial, no-obligation consultation. This consultation will not impact your credit score. We have spent over a decade developing and refining our approach to ensure the advisors we work with meet the highest standards.

Often within minutes. If you enquire during working hours, you will usually hear from an advisor within 10 minutes. In addition to receiving a phone call, you will also receive confirmation and information about your enquiry via email.

We consider your circumstances, such as income type, credit history, or property type, to connect you with the advisor who specialises in handling cases like yours. 

We believe the right advice makes all the difference. We have helped over 600,000 people, many after being turned down elsewhere. We are FCA-authorised, rated excellent by our customers on Trustpilot, and back our service with clear guarantees.

There is a wide range of quality in the market, and your chances of approval, whether for the best deals or simply for approval at all, can depend greatly on which advisor you speak to.

The time it takes to get approved varies depending on your circumstances and the lender’s process. A straightforward application with all documents ready can often move quickly, while more complex cases may take longer if additional information or checks are needed.

Working with a specialist advisor can make the process smoother by helping you prepare your application correctly and liaising with lenders on your behalf.

All OMA® advisors are fully FCA-authorised and must meet our strict standards before working with customers. We carry out detailed due diligence, including checks on FCA status, financial standing, lender access, and past complaints, to ensure every advisor meets our standards.

Advisors are also continually monitored through compliance reviews and our industry-first AdvisorScore system, which allows customers to rate their experience at every stage of the mortgage journey. This combination of compliance oversight and customer feedback helps us make sure all advice is impartial, professional, and always in your best interests.

The OMA® Service Guarantee is our promise to stand behind the advice we give.

We offer three guarantees designed to give you confidence and hold ourselves accountable:

• Approval Guarantee: If we say you cannot be approved, but another broker proves otherwise, we pay you £100.
• Deal Beater Guarantee: If another broker secures a better deal for you than was available at the time, we will pay you £100.
• Same-Day Guarantee: For express service customers, we guarantee a decision in principle within 24 hours where possible.

Yes. Online Mortgage Advisor is authorised to provide regulated mortgage advice in the UK and operates as an Appointed Representative under a principal firm that is directly authorised by the FCA.

You can raise a complaint with us directly via our contact page, and we will investigate it quickly. If you are not satisfied, you can escalate the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

We are fully GDPR-compliant and only work with advisors and partners who meet strict data security standards. Your personal information is always protected. You can read more about how we safeguard your data by visiting our privacy policy.

Advisors and brokers are essentially the same thing, but at OMA® we prefer the term advisor. Why? First, it suits our name better.

More importantly, it reflects our values. We see our role as guiding you to the right advice and outcome, regardless of the deal or what’s in it for us. The word broker can feel more transactional, like “doing a deal,” while advisor is about support, care, and expertise.

A mortgage advisor’s job is to guide you through the entire process, from understanding your situation to securing the right mortgage. They begin by thoroughly examining your circumstances to recommend the most suitable options for you.

Advisors have access to a wide range of lenders and specialist tools that allow them to search the market for the best available deals. Their role is to match your needs with what you are eligible for, then prepare and manage your application from start to finish. In short, they aim to save you time, money, and stress by finding the mortgage that works best for you.

We believe OMA® advisors stand out because they are specialists, not generalists. All mortgage advisors in the UK must be FCA-approved and hold the required qualifications, such as CeMAP (1, 2 and 3), before they can give regulated advice.

OMA® advisors all meet these requirements, but what sets them apart is their specialisation. Each advisor focuses on specific types of borrowers, such as self-employed, bad credit, or expats, giving them far more experience in those areas than a typical generalist.

On top of this, every OMA® advisor goes through strict due diligence and ongoing performance checks that go beyond industry requirements, ensuring they have the skills, experience, and track record to deliver the best outcomes for our customers.

OMA® advisors are specialists, not generalists. Each one focuses on specific borrower profiles such as self-employed, bad credit, or expats, which gives them deep expertise in those areas.

We also put every advisor through a thorough vetting process to ensure they meet the highest standards, and their performance is continually monitored through our industry-first AdvisorScore system. This means every customer has the chance to review their advisor throughout the journey, keeping standards high and advice impartial.

Most importantly, we use our experience to connect customers with the right advisor, based on proven expertise and recent success with the type of mortgage required. This ensures you get advice from someone who truly understands your situation.

Our mortgage advisors have access to a wide range of lenders, including banks, building societies, and specialist lenders not available directly to consumers.

Knowing which lenders accept your exact circumstances and tailoring your application to meet their requirements could increase your chances of approval and avoid wasted rejections.

In addition to having access to a wide range of lenders and products, many of our advisors also have strong relationships with lender underwriting teams.

This can sometimes mean a smoother process, quicker answers, and in some instances, lenders being willing to look at applications more flexibly than they might otherwise. While no approval is ever guaranteed, working with a specialist advisor often means a higher chance of success compared to going it alone.

OMA® advisors are experienced, FCA-authorised mortgage specialists who have undergone thorough training and are continually vetted through our AdvisorScore system and compliance checks.

We are a nationwide service with advisors across the UK, many of whom work remotely, allowing them to assist customers wherever they are.

Your advisor is not tied to a specific location and can assist you wherever you are in the UK. This means you are matched with the advisor best suited to your circumstances, not simply the one closest to your postcode.

If you would prefer a face-to-face appointment with an expert in your area, this can be arranged. Just contact us directly, and we will organise it for you.

OMA® advisors are not tied to any single lender. They have access to a broad panel of lenders across the market.

We oversee all advisor work, ensuring compliance with procedural and performance monitoring. Advisor performance is tracked through customer feedback via AdvisorScore and regular compliance reviews, ensuring advice is impartial and always in your best interests.

AdvisorScore is our review system, based on thousands of customer ratings. Every advisor is scored out of 5 stars, keeping them accountable for delivering a great service.

Your advisor will always aim to recommend the best option, even if that means suggesting you contact a lender directly. Our mission is to get you the right outcome, not just any mortgage.

Advisor fees vary depending on case complexity. Your advisor will explain any fees clearly before you proceed. You will never be charged a fee without it being made clear to you first.

No. The initial consultation with a mortgage advisor is free, and you will not pay anything unless you agree to proceed. All costs will be clearly explained before you make a decision.

We earn income from advice fees, commissions from lenders and insurers, and occasionally through affiliate partnerships such as credit report providers. Learn more about how we work.

Not always. It depends on your situation and the type of mortgage you need. Some specialist lenders offer deals that are comparable with the best high street rates, while others may charge more to reflect the extra risk of lending in non-standard circumstances.

If your application is considered higher risk, for example, if you have a small deposit, a complex income, a non-standard property, or a history of credit issues, then the products available to you may be more expensive. Your advisor’s role is to find the best value deal available for your circumstances, balancing both cost and eligibility.

No. There is no obligation to proceed with the advisor you are initially matched with. If you would prefer a different advisor, you are welcome to request another consultation.

We can promptly match you with an alternative advisor if you would like to continue your enquiry with us.

Your advisor will contact you, discuss your needs, recommend lenders, and guide you through the mortgage process.

You can contact us by phone, email, or via our website. Your advisor will also be directly available. Please visit our contact page to view the different ways to contact us.

Your advisor supports you through to completion, and we will be here to help again when you are ready to remortgage or request further advice.

There is truly only one way to find this out, and that is to have an expert calculate it with lenders across the whole market. Typical mortgage calculators will show you a range (most are wrong) and present something like 4x your annual salary.

Our calculators are slightly more advanced and give a range depending on lender type, sometimes up to 6x income to reflect specialist lenders. This gives a useful guide.

Even our calculators will not be exact for you. Until your specific income type, income amount, outgoings, credit history, and other factors have been considered to determine which lenders will lend to you, and at what level, you will not get an accurate figure. Your expert will help here.

All lenders have a range in generosity (some lend 3x your income, some 6x or more). All lenders also have different policies on what income they consider (some accept 100% overtime, shift pay, or bonus; some 50%, others 0%).

They also treat outgoings differently, such as credit cards, loans, childcare, and pension contributions. The best way to get an accurate figure is to have your expert review the market for you.

We are rated excellent, with over 600 5-star reviews on Trustpilot and other review platforms. View our Trustpilot profile.

Online Mortgage Advisor has helped over 600,000 people since 2013, with the number growing daily.

Online Mortgage Advisor is rated “excellent” on Trustpilot, with hundreds of positive reviews. We have over 600 5-star reviews on Trustpilot and hundreds of positive reviews on Feefo.