How we are funded

MortgageExplained is free for you to use. We are an information and introducer website, owned and operated by Muswell Rose: when you ask to be matched, we introduce you to a regulated mortgage broker, and we may receive a referral fee from that broker for the introduction. The broker may charge you their own fee or be paid commission by the lender, and they will tell you which before you commit to anything.

What that means in practice

• Using this site costs you nothing. Reading the guides, using the tools and asking to be introduced are all free.
• We may be paid for introductions. If you proceed with a broker we introduce, that broker may pay us a referral fee. This does not change what you pay.
• The broker's own charges are separate and disclosed. A broker may charge a fee for advice, be paid a procuration fee (commission) by the lender, or both. They must tell you how they are paid before you commit. Our guide on how mortgage brokers get paid explains the models.
• Funding does not steer the content. The guides explain how mortgages work; they do not recommend specific lenders or products, because we do not give regulated advice. This is information, not advice: the regulated broker advises you.

What our funding does not change

• It does not change your rate or fee. A referral fee paid to us by the broker comes out of the broker's own margin, not out of what you are quoted.
• It does not decide which broker case study, lender criteria row or worked example we publish. Our guides and the Lender Criteria Index describe widely-published criteria patterns, not any one partner's policy.
• It does not buy your way past the risk warnings. The repossession warning, the "information, not advice" statement and the BTL regulation notice appear regardless of which broker eventually advises you.
• It does not remove your choice. Being introduced is never a commitment. You can walk away, ask us for a different introduction, or go to a broker of your own choosing instead.

Checking the broker before you commit

Before you share any detailed information, we tell you the exact name of the regulated broker firm you are being introduced to and its FCA reference number. You do not have to take that on trust:

• Look the firm up yourself. Search the firm name or FCA reference number on the FCA Register and confirm it is authorised for mortgage mediation, not just listed.
• Check what it is authorised to do. The Register shows the firm's permissions, any restrictions, and whether it is a principal firm or an appointed representative.
• If anything does not match what we told you, stop and ask us. Contact [email protected] before proceeding. Our step-by-step guide on how to check a broker is FCA-authorised walks through the exact steps and red flags.

Who we are

MortgageExplained is owned and operated by Muswell Rose. We are not a lender and not an FCA-authorised advice firm, and we do not provide regulated mortgage advice ourselves. How the introduction works, step by step, is on how we introduce you, and how we select brokers is on how we choose your broker.

Questions about any of this? Contact us.

Written and reviewed by Adam Parker. Last reviewed: 14 August 2026.