Data collected by Legal & General shows that 31 per cent of the 2,000 UK homeowners surveyed did not understand how a mortgage adviser could assist them when searching for a new mortgage deal.
The survey also revealed that 69 per cent of borrowers who went straight to a lender had not remortgaged in the previous five years.
L&G adds that 60 per cent of borrowers who did not seek advice when they last took out a mortgage did not know mortgage advisers were there to help, and 34 per cent thought a mortgage adviser was there to support the lender.
The figures show that 98 per cent of borrowers who used an adviser said they found them valuable, and 95 per cent would recommend using one to family or friends.
Additional data collected by fintech company Twenty7Tec shows that there are almost 12,000 mortgages available through mortgage advisers, compared to 2,000 directly.
Legal & General director Kevin Roberts says: “Our research shows that potentially thousands of borrowers still do not know how a mortgage adviser can help with their mortgage search and as a result they could be missing out on a better deal.
“They are also more likely to switch their mortgage product and when they do borrowers can have access to nearly six times the number of products available than if they went direct.”
