There’s no doubt that the current climate is highlighting challenges for clients, and is therefore placing ever-greater demands on brokers and lenders alike. Amidst such a busy and uncertain time for all in the industry, there are ways we can work together to help brokers help us to help them, writes Jeremy Duncombe, managing director of Accord Mortgages.
It’s been a turbulent time for the economy and mortgage market this year, and we’re no doubt all feeling the pressure as a result. The cost-of-living squeeze – caused by stubbornly-high inflation, which latest figures show stuck at 8.7% in June despite hopes of a fall – and increasing market mortgage rates sparked by the Bank of England’s successive Base rate rises to try to control cost rises, are impacting on consumers and therefore brokers too.
But let’s also not forget the impact on brokers and lenders. Pricing in such an uncertain landscape causes continual headaches, and service challenges, prompting a flurry of calls particularly since the launch of the Mortgage Charter. As a result, the market could be forgiven for panicking, but if we instead see it as an opportunity to support each other, there’s every chance that together we can help brokers help customers plot a path through such challenges.
We are hopeful that the current volatility in the market is effectively the equivalent of intermittent aeroplane turbulence along the route to medium-term recovery and stability, as opposed to the smooth glide path some were expecting. Yet such complex market developments offer brokers a unique opportunity, as borrowers need their guidance more than ever amidst such continued uncertainty. Clients need support on realistic and available home loan options in the current climate, and we’ve seen lenders deliver in this space with innovative propositions to meet these needs in recent months.
The world is very different now compared to even just 12 months ago. And with uncertainty abounding it’s important, as lenders, we do what we can to aid the role of a broker, whose support will be pivotal in helping people to take that first or next step on the housing ladder, or remortgage their home. The weeks and months ahead will be full of opportunities for advisers to deepen their relationships with clients by going that extra mile to help them when they need it most – and the lenders who support them to do this may also benefit from stronger relationships with firms in time.
The effects lenders are currently feeling stem from a series of ‘bumps’ which began with the pandemic, emerged again with ill-thought-through measures within last Autumn’s mini budget, and now continue with negative reaction to inflation numbers and economic data. Despite this, the market has been experiencing some of the busiest times it’s had, as borrowers continue to seek out ways of achieving their homeownership aspirations.
All of this means we need to take sensible steps to boost efficiency and ensure we can maintain the outstanding service levels brokers crave, especially when the going gets tough.
Brokers need us now, more than ever, to be there to help them with their more complex queries, so that they can advise their clients with confidence and, ultimately, get their mortgage applications over the line with minimal fuss or delay. At Accord this has been achieved by focusing heavily on recruitment to help service demand for example, and we’ve seen other lenders increase their use of technology or launch fresh product solutions. All these improvements have the same aim – to help brokers and their clients.
However, market conditions combined with lender’s appetite and solutions to lend in even the most difficult times, have sent service demand skyward and, as a result, are placing exceptional pressure on the availability of lender’s teams to deal with brokers’ enquiries. And this is where working together as an industry could help achieve the best outcomes for customers.
The easier lenders can make it for a broker to self-serve for routine elements like case updates and basic criteria checks, the more time they can create for their expert teams to deal with the more complex queries. Improved automation in the mortgage journey can help brokers to search for criteria specifics within seconds. Lenders have invested a lot in technology, like us, where we’ve integrated with all three sourcing systems enabling brokers to pre-populate case data with ease, and others too have honed webchat for quick and easy answers rather than calling in. And the time saved as a result, gives lenders more capacity to develop new propositions and support intermediaries with more complex questions which really need a conversation, to try to find solutions as part of our commitment to common-sense lending.
But the only way for us all to benefit from the benefits of technology is to encourage brokers to trust it and use it.
Let’s work together to educate advisers and help them to embrace new ways of working that we’re all ultimately investing in to improve their journey. Showing them how trusting webchat could mean they get a transcript from the same person that they would speak to on the phone, but often quicker, can help them see the benefits first hand. Equipping BDMs the knowledge and empowerment capabilities for example also makes a huge difference.
With time being so precious, we know it’s tempting for brokers to say there isn’t time to try something different, but I’d argue the opposite. Busy times are the opportunity to find ways to save time, so let’s work together to encourage advisers to take up the challenge and to ask themselves before picking up the phone – can I find out what I need to know any other way? Because self-serving has never been easier or more important. For all of us.
Jeremy Duncombe is managing director of Accord Mortgages.
