About WR Ethical

At WR Ethical we provide straight-forward, ethical, and environmentally conscious advice to help you buy a home and keep it.

Independent Mortgage Advice

If you’re looking for advice on mortgages and protection (insurance), we can help. We’re based in Bristol, where we can see you face-face (by appointment), but we also operate throughout England via phone, email and video calls, and have a growing network of advisors with locations currently also including Frenchay, Portishead & Yeovil.

Founded in 2020 by Paul Waterfall, WR Ethical has a simple aim – to help you buy and keep a home you love in the most ethical way possible. Part of being ethical means we will try hard to let you know the lowest cost deal – so we are a whole-of-market mortgage broker, and will also let you know if you can find a better rate by going direct to a lender.

How can WR Ethical help you?

Our core role is to provide independent mortgage advice, enabling you to make an informed decision about the right mortgage for your property. Our service goes beyond that though…

We have processes, tips, tricks, experience and connections to make sure that we’ll get you the very best deal – almost always saving you money compared with if you did it yourself.
We love making sure the whole house-buying process is as stress-free as possible for you – chat to us about the ins & outs of the places you are looking at, what matters in a house, and what to look for in solicitors, surveyors, insurers, estate agents and more.
We build care for the planet into everything we do – so, we will inform you on the ethical & environmental performance of lenders (but leave you to make your own decisions), run our business in the most sustainable way we can, and give to charity with each application fee we receive.

We like to say that “Your mortgage shouldn’t cost the earth”. Ecologically, emotionally, or financially. That’s why we aim to offer a service that is excellent value, simple and caring. Part of that involves having a transparent fee structure, keeping prices as low as possible. We will always do a like-for-like remortgage for free, and we give back some of our commission to first time buyers. Not charging too much or making too much profit is an integral part of our independent mortgage advice service.

We also offer a personal service within a stable, trusted framework. Our relationship with Rosemount Financial Solutions (IFA) Ltd provides the size, stability and regulatory oversight to ensure everything we do is to the highest ethical and financial standards.

Ethical Values

We’re interested in a relationship of trust throughout your financial life, not a quick sale. We take the time to get to know your needs and preferences, never recommending something because of how it might benefit us – it must be the perfect financial fit for you. You’ll quickly find out if you talk to us that we’re a bunch of people that get our buzz from helping you, not the size of our pay packets!

We understand that buying a house is expensive and will likely be one of the biggest investments you have to make. We also know that ‘money talks’, and so who you use to finance your purchase has the potential to have a bigger impact on the planet than any of us as individuals can. So, we work with Ethical Consumer to provide you with advice and an ethical rating system for your different mortgage options. We also have a green mortgage guide where you can see our take on the different types of green mortgages available.

We run our businesses as we want all businesses to be run – people and planet before profit. We donate at least £50 to charity with each application fee we receive and try to make the right choices with every aspect of how we run our business, from transport to tech. We are also open about our company policies. If you are a client, or have a legitimate interest in seeking our independent mortgage advice, then we are more than happy to share these with you – please just ask.

Our Story

Paul and his wife Jo have been passionate about helping the planet for as long as they can remember. They have always supported international development projects and tried to make eco-friendly and ethical decisions about the way they live and what they buy. They have always been conscious about not spending much or charging too much – trying to live simply and generously, taking Jesus as inspiration.

Paul started work as a Water Engineer, then had time as a stay-at-home Dad, before returning to work to get some community development projects off the ground at his local church on St Mark’s Rd, Easton. The next phase saw him spending 10 years as working in engineering monitoring, testing & quality control, before a walk and a pray down by the river in Vassals park led to him retraining as a mortgage advisor, with support from a good friend.

When he founded WR Ethical in 2020, he did so because he wanted a different type of firm, one that was led by doing things the right way, and treating staff and customers as he had always wanted to be treated. So, the first steps were to think about long term vision & goals, and how to set things up in a way which stayed true to his principles. As new people have joined, and new partnerships formed, the priority has always been to look for values, character & motivation – and so far, so good! The team continues to grow and be an inspiration.

Meet the team

WR Ethical Team

Paul

It was buying a home in Bristol in 2005 that needed quite a bit of refurbishment, and simultaneously joining a church with a focus on helping those in the local community (and lots of spare rooms) that really got Paul interested in property. A wide variety of roles and life experiences since then led to him starting WR Ethical in 2020 – a move that felt like the start of a vocation.

When not thinking about helping others to buy a home, you can find Paul spending time with his family, running, cycling, walking the dog and baking.

Ashley

Ashley is a Bristol local who cares deeply about the community, and doing what he can to help. He started with WR Ethical in 2022, after previous roles as a carer for young people, health coach and a gym manager – through all of these, his love of helping others shines through.

He’s always been interested in mortgages, and since leaving school had in mind that helping others get their own home is where he’d end up. Ashley’s knowledge of different lenders criteria and processes is exceptional – whatever your situation, he’ll be able to take it in his stride.

Kelly

Kelly was born and raised in Bristol, before making the move to Portishead in 2024. The 2nd member of the WR Ethical team, before joining she had worked in administrative jobs in areas such as Healthcare and Law.

Kelly very quickly realised she had a real passion for the mortgage industry and progressed (with our enthusiastic support) to become a qualified adviser – she still feels the joy of each mortage offer that comes through as if it’s for her own place!

Jess

Jess has been helping people find a home since 2014. She worked in a lettings agency, supporting mostly students (and landlords), before pursuing her interest in mortgages, joining WR Ethical in 2022.

She is the most organised of all of us and is brilliant at working through lots of detail to make sure your mortgage application goes as smoothly as possible, keeping track of an extraordinary number of different things at the same time.

Charlie

Charlie’s working life began in the property industry and after a four-year hiatus to start and grow a business, he returned in 2023 to ‘help my peers become generation buy’. If you fancy a mortgage chat in a coffee shop after work, or on the weekend, Charlie will usually find a way to fit you in.

When he is not knee-deep in the numbers, he spends his time renovating his home in the pursuit of carbon net zero, playing sports, reading and travelling. He says that when looking for a home to be an advisor, WR Ethical stood out because our core values are well aligned.

Ashleigh

Ash joined WR Ethical after a 15 year career in insurance. As with many of us, buying her own property got her interested in mortgages, and she quickly found her feet working through application details and learning the subtleties of different lenders systems. Her ability to manage a range of high pressure situations, whilst still prioritising all of the people involved is particularly impressive.

Outside of work, Ash loves spending time with her two daughters and spending time with the rest of her extended family.

Rosemount Team - Referral Partners

Sally

Sally has spent most of her working life in property, and has been advising on mortgages & protection since 2000. She enjoys meeting new and existing clients and feels privileged that people allow her to help them secure what is most personal to them – themselves, their family and their home. Sally is a part of the Rosemount family that we work with closely via a referral arrangement.

Personally Sally is all about family, spending time together is a priority, spending many weekends enjoying our beautiful beaches walking with her husband and their four dogs. She also enjoys travelling, socialising, reading and likes to think of herself as a foodie!

Visham

Visham started work at a high street bank in 2001 and has worked ever since on helping people get the right insurance. Whether it’s simple buildings & contents cover, life, critical illness, income protection or business cover for a whole staff team – he knows the ins and outs of all the options, and the smartest ways to get the right cover. Visham is a part of the Rosemount family that we work with closely via a referral arrangement.

He loves spending his downtime with his own family, although is known to run too, having completed the London Marathon, and is a strong supporter of a few charities close to his heart.

What do others say about us?

It’s always better to see what others think of us, rather than taking our word for it! Take a look at our reviews on VouchedFor (below) and Google (link at the top) for an unfiltered view on all our advisors – we ask for reviews from everyone we provide advice to.