How can lenders improve?

Over the past three years, it's been a very tumultuous market as we all know, and while lenders have made massive strides in embracing technology and remote work, some aspects of the role need a more human touch. In the past couple of years, more and more lenders have moved away from dedicated BDMs to being more reliant on broker chat to communicate and make enquires. This is all well and good until you need to tease out a complex case to see if it will fit the lender's criteria. As with our customers, our experience with a lender is very relationship-based, and vicariously our client's experience is the same with the lender. So the importance of having a dedicated BDM when you need help with a case, or to push one over the line really cannot be understated. If you have a complex case, or one that is time sensitive, you will place the case with the lender that you have that relationship with as you know if there are issues you can pick up the phone and get the help your customer needs.

Lenders need to start walking the talk. Talk is cheap - it is easy for BDMs to promise the world, but underwriters have their own mind. As portfolio landlords, we have been dealing with some of the larger commercial lenders, and the way they put obstacles in the way is mind boggling. Many lenders even today offer a one-size-fits-all approach, which may not suit every landlord's circumstances. A lack of tailored lending products can limit landlords' choices. Brokers thrive when they can provide clients with a wide range of lending options that align with their specific goals and financial situations. Eye gouging product fees are also something we have been seeing over the last several months since the Kamikazee budget. Improving lender services in the BTL market is essential for the growth and sustainability of our industry. Streamlining application processes, enhancing communication and transparency, offering flexible lending products, and providing competitive rates is pivotal.

Moving away from the advice itself, our clients have seen a huge benefit from the likes of Accord's 'The Growth Series Podcast'. It would be great to see more lenders offering these free resources and talking about how to generate more business online, how to use social media, how to engage your local audience, and how to generate more referrals for example. All this with the aim of helping mortgage brokers increase the number of appointments they make.

Lenders need to work harder to manage their workloads better; in terms of both giving brokers a reasonable amount of warning of rate and criteria changes and processing the business that they generate - it's frustrating when a lender is struggling to manage the cases they have but maintains a market leading rate for an extended period, simply making matters worse for themselves. These improvements don't require any massive costs or infrastructure improvements, just more careful planning and feedback systems to ensure that departments work together better.

Stop the 'streamlining', with complex clients. I don't mind if it takes two weeks for them to make a decision if they have actually taken the time to understand the client. One size fits all is just a quick way of taking the easiest clients on. BDMs are worth their weight in gold. Lenders without BDMs get less business.

How can lenders improve in an unpredictable housing market? Easy….give borrowers more notice when it comes to pulling products and rates. In 2023, we’ve seen lenders pull rates with as little as a couple of hours' notice. Unbelievable really with the recent introduction of consumer duty. In an ideal world, the FCA would set a minimum time frame for all lenders that want to adjust their rates. This will create a level playing field. It will also be welcomed by all mortgage brokers who want to ensure their clients are served with the very best service.

I would like to see lenders improve on their Service level agreements and keeping on top of cases post offer. I feel these areas need improvement as sometimes the assessment times are so high that although the client had initially come to refinance with ample time before completion they end up being behind schedule based on the lender taking so long to get the case to completion. In some cases this means the client has to take a last minute bridge just to complete in time. Also, once a case goes to offer some lenders just ‘forget about’ it and do not respond to the solicitors in a timely manner or with the appropriate responses causing further delays and frustration to all parties. If the above are rectified this would be benefit brokers and clients meaning mortgages can be completed quicker and a smoother process all the way to completion.

The BIG problem that has become an everyday event with UK lenders is their ridiculous service levels on actually looking at new items that they receive and then acting on them - these companies have failed to increase staff levels at these obvious bottlenecks in their systems. Consumers just don't understand when we confirm "Oh the lender is quoting 4 days (more in some cases) before that new item gets looked at" - This system doesn't appear to follow Consumer Duty requirements and needs to be reviewed by the regulator.

If I hear another 'due to unprecedented demand...' recorded message I'll scream. It's not unprecedented if you never have enough staff to answer calls in an untimely manner.