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Importance of client documentation

ended 13. June 2023

With the short-notice product withdrawals of the past few weeks, how important is it that clients provide brokers with all the necessary documentation in order to get their mortgage submitted? And what are the risks and downsides for consumers — and brokers/lenders — if they don't? Also, do you feel that consumers are sufficiently aware of the importance of submitting all necessary documentation on time? If not, what could be done to improve this?

6 responses from the Newspage community

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Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
It is very important that us brokers ask customers to provide their documentation in advance. I request it before I do any research and this way I can submit a fully packaged application with accurate information. More and more lenders are giving deadlines for providing documentation so the more we can help with the processing by enabling either automated or one touch underwriting the better.
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Adam Smith
Founder at Alfa Mortgages

We will not proceed with any case until we have received all necessary compliance documents. It is crucial for us to verify the accuracy of the information provided by the client. Without the complete set of required documentation, it would be impossible to conduct thorough research and make reliable recommendations.
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Steven Morris
Advising Director at Advantage Financial Solutions
Mortgage lenders agree or decline mortgages based on documents, so they can only ever be critical in determining the success of an application. If I am totally honest, I feel the best way of improving customer engagement and sending documents early lies with the broker and how they present this. Asking for documentation can be done in two ways, for the broker's benefit or for the client's benefit: 1) 'Here is a list of stuff I need for me/my compliance'. With this approach, customers, frankly, aren't going to give a shit. 2) The broker explains the documents needed, what critical info/elements on them needs checking and how the content could either approve or kill the application. The customer will send this across ASAP.
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Scott Taylor-Barr
Principal Adviser at Barnsdale Financial Management
Having all the correct documents is very important when the market is moving as quickly as it is, especially when lenders are being more cautious with their underwriting. Something as simple as part of your basic income being made up of an allowance (such as a working-from-home allowance, or car allowance) could impact the amount of mortgage a lender ultimately agrees - so having this information at the beginning is incredibly helpful. The same can be said of credit commitments; a lender might be fine with you having a £500 credit card balance, but when it turns out it's actually £562, it may cause an issue. Accuracy of information is the key, so having the correct documents to hand from the get-go is really important. Most clients are very good and quite happy to produce documents, a very few can be difficult and demanding; "why do they want that?", "that's pointless", or "I don't keep those" are the most common issues with some clients.
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Anil Mistry
Director and Mortgage Broker at RNR Mortgage Solutions
Our research process will commence only after receiving all necessary required documentation, including the credit report and a thorough fact-find dine. We emphasise to our clients the utmost importance of promptly submitting these documents to us, as it enables us to promptly finalise the fact-find and secure a mortgage. This approach ensures that we can identify the most suitable mortgage options for our clients. Failing to adhere to this protocol and securing a rate prior to obtaining all the required documents poses potential compliance risks. Regardless of the current situation it is not a risk we can take.
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Clive Read
Owner at Goldmanread
Its getting harder and more challenging for consumers to get a mortgage with an array of ID and income proof required. It's essential clients have all of the paperwork ready. Buying a property is like running a race, if you are not fully prepared you're going to rapidly fall behind the other competitors. Any reputable broker won't submit an application to a lender unless they have all of the required paperwork to hand. Should a client apply directly to a lender without having a detailed knowledge of their own income (you'd be amazed at how many people don't know how much they actually earn) and background debts its likely a mortgage will end up being declined, adversely effecting their ability to get another mortgage. Many consumers have no idea of how much paperwork is required when they arrange a mortgage. Older borrowers may not have applied for a mortgage since the 2000's when the whole process was a lot more straightforward and less onerous in terms of supporting documents.