Censeo Financial Reviews 

I used Censeo twice in one year. The first time, with a different broker, they were great. Smooth process, clear communication, no issues. That is exactly why I trusted them again when my purchase fell through and I needed a new mortgage for a different shared ownership property.

The second time, with a different broker, was a complete breakdown in competence.

I was recommended a lender that was unsuitable from the outset because of how they treat housing association incentives. My deposit and incentives were declared from day one, so this should have been obvious before any application was submitted.

Instead, I only found out after fees were paid and the process was already underway.
Twice in the same year I was applied for a 95% LTV product when, once incentives were factored in, the true borrowing level was closer to 96% LTV. This is not obscure information. The way incentives are treated is clearly set out in intermediary guidance and easily accessible to brokers. It should have been identified before any application was submitted.

I paid £495 twice in broker fees, plus two valuation fees, and ended up with multiple hard searches on my credit file. All entirely avoidable if the advice had been correct.

What makes this worse is that the same lender had already been used earlier in the year by the firm. That application failed for a different reason, but it was still unsuitable based on my circumstances. Two brokers, same firm, same fundamental mistake.

Documents weren’t sent when they should have been, which delayed exchange and completion. I was also given an update that later turned out to be wrong, and after that my broker never spoke to me again. No apology for the unsuitable advice. No apology for the incorrect information. Just silence.

Protection advice was non-existent. Life insurance and income protection were never discussed until after exchange by a case manager. My existing cover was based on the previous purchase and no longer suitable. I had to sort that out myself. No checks, no follow-up, no ownership.

The housing association was involved throughout and even then the service was not delivered properly or efficiently.

Even after a formal complaint, the firm has refused to take responsibility. I now have an ongoing case with the Financial Ombudsman because Censeo maintain they have done nothing wrong. According to their internal complaints process, unsuitable applications and incorrect information are apparently acceptable standards.

From my perspective this fell well short of basic regulatory expectations, including MCOB 4.7A.2R, MCOB 2.5A.1R, FCA Principle 2, and FCA Principle 7.

They may be recommended for affordability assessments, but I would strongly encourage shared ownership buyers to look at free or independent brokers who actually take the time to get things right. Do not feel pressured to use them just because your housing association suggests it.

David and Jay were professional, responsive, and easy to work with. They guided me through the mortgage process clearly and kept me informed the whole way. I would happily recommend them.

David and Jay were very helpful throughout the whole process they made it very easy for someone who had no idea wha they were doing! Everything was made very easy to understand. Would recommend!

I had a great experience working with Censeo Financials for my mortgage application. From the outset, Christopher Garland (Chris) was extremely knowledgeable, professional, and patient in guiding me through the process. He took the time to clearly explain my options, answered all my questions, and made what can be a complex and stressful process feel straightforward and manageable.

Once everything had been completed, the application was smoothly handed over to Mercedes Ryan, who kept me well informed and promptly confirmed that my mortgage application had been successfully approved and that the offer had been issued. The communication throughout this final stage was clear and reassuring.

Overall, the entire process felt well-managed, efficient, and supportive from start to finish. I would highly recommend Censeo Financials, and especially Chris and Mercedes, to anyone looking for reliable and professional mortgage and financial advice.

Very happy with the service provided. Suki and Jay where very helpful, explained anything we needed to know and very reactive when it came to communication.

Excellent service!

As first time buyers, our experience with Censeo was oustanding. We would like to give a special thanks to our mortgage advisors, Suki Gill and Mercedes Ryan. One day in late summer we unexpectedly found our dream house and decided to seize the opportunity, even though we hadn't planned to buy this year.
We began the application with low expectations, treating it more as a learning experience. But Suki guided us through the process with immense patience and clarity, answering all our questions with a deep understanding of a situation we were unprepared for. After being rejected by two lenders, we had lost hope completely. However, Suki kept us in the right mindset and to our surprise we secured our mortgage offer.
Two months after we have finally reached completion day and now proudly hold the keys to our beautiful new house. Canseo is amazing organisation providing a fair and affordable system to guide you through complicated process of buying a house.
We are unbelievably happy and especially thankful to both Suki Gill and Mercedes Ryan. You are both amazing!

Mercedes Ryan and Dwanye Simpson have been a great help to me in acquiring my first property and I value their work immensely. I would use them again in the future.

Jonathan at Censeo, offered clear, well explained advice, helping me to navigate decisions about my shared-ownership mortgage and stair-casing. He put me at ease from the beginning and carefully gathered information, then provided different financial scenarios so I could workout what was right for me. He has renewed my faith in financial/mortgage advisers!!I finished our meeting feeling it couldn't have gone better and would whole heartedly recommend him and Censeo.

Mercedes Ryan and Suki Gill made what only I assume is usually a stressful process more than relaxed. They were clear and concise and can only assume all members of censeo are more than happy to work quickly and efficiently to get the job done. I'm sure others at censeo work just as hard but would certainly recommend these two members especially!

Christopher and Jodie are the best mortgage brokers I’ve ever worked with. They answered all my questions and provided constant updates throughout the entire process, which made everything feel easy and stress-free. Christopher was especially reassuring, patient, and knowledgeable particularly when my circumstances changed. He went above and beyond to find me a much better offer. I highly recommend Christopher to anyone looking for a reliable and trustworthy mortgage broker.

Mercedes Ryan and Jack Stanton dealt with me throughout the process and were both incredible. Jack was incredibly friendly and constantly kept me in the loop while helping me to find a mortgage. Mercedes then helped me get everything over the line and was very patient with me over the holidays as I tried to get everything together. Thank you to both of them for everything.

Great experience with Ruth and Dwayne who helped with my mortgage offer for the Old Brewery Development in Bristol. Both were very friendly, well organised and communicative, it made the whole process really straightforward, particularly as I am not a British citizen.

As a first time buyer Dave and Jodie talked me through the whole process in a way I could understand. Amazing ppl

I found Censeo Financial to be extremely thorough and very patient while I gathered all the required paperwork. I couldn’t have asked for a better team to handle my case. A special thank you to Dave B (his depth of experience really showed in the sensitive and thoughtful way he managed everything) and to Jay for consistently following up with me throughout the process.

Matthew and Ruth at Censeo have been brilliant. They've helped me navigate tricky aspects of my staircasing and decipher jargon where I was having a hard time with the banks and housing association. They were able to find me a mortgage where banks directly weren't helpful. Thank you for all your help. We are almost there finally. There were some delays from unexpected staffing issues at a point, that I would have liked to have avoided, but Ruth went over and above to put things back up to the high standards I expected of Censeo, as per previous experience. I am a returning customer.

So far everything going well with them but I’m waiting to finish my procedure

The team at Censeo have been great, always willing to help and make things so much more simpler for everyone involved. Jonathan H has been an absolute gent, he worked tirelessly to make things simple and easy for me to understand as this was my first application for a mortgage. It's been a long process due to constraints outside our control but thus never seemed to effect Jonathan's effort to help resolve the issue.
Ruth came on how to help with the Final transition and has been very prompt and efficient with communication, she has been very professional in all interactions. Very welcoming also.
I've felt with my time with Censeo, that I was more than just another customer and someone they generally wanted the best for.
Would highly recommend them to help out with your mortgage applications.

All queries responded to quickly by Dwayne or Ruth, service was very efficient.