Sometimes my experience working on the city desk at the Express will infiltrate this predominantly wildlife-based site, but this is a personal-finance story I just have to tell to a wider audience.

For the second time when searching for the best mortgage deal, I have managed to beat the brokers to secure a rate much better than they could find. Not only that, but I got extras thrown in.

My search started by logging on to Moneysavingexpert.com to find advice on choosing a broker. London & Country was highlighted as one of the best on the site, and came highly recommended from my colleagues.

Its adviser was most helpful, there were a few obstacle to surmount and we wanted it as quickly as possible as we were the last link in the chain with the others waiting for us to get moving.

We had chosen to opt for a five-year fixed rate, and were recommended a deal at 3.19 per cent with no fees from the Halifax.

However, a little surfing on the net suggested that if I went directly to a lender, I might be able to get deals brokers can’t access.

So after a relatively quick phone call to the Halifax I had secured a deal at 2.99 per cent, fixed for five years with a small fee – but their advisor calculated that it still worked out much cheaper than the 3.19 per cent deal.

Not only that, as I was already a customer I would get £150 cashback. And Halifax happened to be offering £500 towards a media package to boot!

So, even if using a broker offering the whole of the market, shopping around and/or going directly to lenders can still pay off.