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Importance of specialist brokers

Journalist: Jake Carter, Mortgage Introducer

ended 13. December 2023

Why is this your specialism? What are the challenges in this space? What advantages do you have over generalists? How do you maximise business/promote your services in this space?

What advice do you have for those brokers looking to specialise? Is it important to relate to your clients?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of specialist lending?

10 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Darryl Dhoffer
Founder at The Mortgage Geezer
Specializing in specialist advice and lending is a strategic decision for brokers who want to differentiate themselves in the market and serve a niche segment of borrowers with unique needs. This specialization allows brokers to gain deep expertise in a particular area of finance, develop strong relationships with specialist lenders, and provide exceptional service to their clients. These come with their own set of challenges including a limited pool of borrowers and brokers with experience, complex lending criteria and limited marketing opportunities. Big advantages for experienced brokers are specialized knowledge, stronger relationships with consumers and lenders and higher commission rates. If you are passionate about helping borrowers, brokers can establish themselves as trusted advisors in the niche lending market.
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Ken James
Director at Contractor Mortgage Services
My Company is "Contractor Mortgage Services Ltd" and yes it says what we do on the tin. Contractors have seen a shift in the way they operate over the last few years with the introduction of HMRC's IR35. The first thing I do when I start chatting to a new prospective client is "Are you in or outside IR35, straight away they start to relax, not having to explain this to the broker/bank is an immediate weight off. Clients who go directly to lenders who have a contractor policy can find that mortgage advisors don't even understand their contractor policies. By specializing we have simplified the advice journey as we speak the same language that the client does, this adds value to the client and encourages them to use your services, it makes the process swifter, and less painful, but it does not ensure the lending as it still has to be underwritten. The choice of lender will be right, the chances of a successful application is increased and the cleint feels valued from the start.
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Rowan Frayling
Managing Director at J Finance
Specialising in an area of lending, or a type of client, for example, can be a positive for the consumer as hopefully that adviser will have more expertise and experience than someone who is attacking a new topic for perhaps the first time; however it also has a major drawback in the sense of siloed advice. Take later life lending for example, I have recently been vocal on the dangers of a specialist who cannot look outside the scope of their advice and therefore may miss other suitable solutions for the consumer. Clearly there is a balance to be struck here.
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David White
Chief Operations Officer at Simply Lending
The essence of being a specialist mortgage broker lies in genuine expertise, not just in professional presentation. True specialists stand out by delivering real results, not just online claims.

Specialist lending is more than charging higher fees; it requires unique skills, deep market understanding, and a commitment to provide services that generalists can't.

Brokers aiming to specialise should deeply understand and relate to their clients, offering tailored services and building trust. This personal connection and dedication are essential in guiding clients through their unique financial landscapes.
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Anil Mistry
Director and Mortgage Broker at RNR Mortgage Solutions
We specialise in mortgages tailored for self-employed individuals and business owners. As a mortgage and protection brokerage, we believe it's crucial to carve out a niche. By doing so, you establish yourself as a specialist in that particular field, enabling you to connect with a specific demographic and ultimately become the go-to expert for that group. Being a generalist is like speaking to no one, and a commonality shared by most other firms. Our social media strategy reflects this focus, with almost 100% of our content on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn centerd around our specialised area. The results have been promising, as nearly all our organic leads from social media, with just one exception, have come from clients who are self-employed or business owners. This conclusively demonstrates the effectiveness of specialising and niching in a specific area.

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Scott Taylor-Barr
Principal Adviser at Barnsdale Financial Management
I think all brokers are specialists to some degree, some just don't realise they are. It could be that they promote themselves to certain occupations (such as medical professionals), or it could be they target certain types of mortgage transactions (such as buy-to-let), or simply that they work with clients local to them and so become a default specialist in their own areas quirks and oddities. Knowing who you are best able to help and support is no bad thing, you can focus your marketing efforts on that group and can ensure you quiz lenders about their offerings in those areas, allowing you to deliver great service and client outcomes, because you have worked hard to gain the depth and breadth of knowledge to deliver for those clients.
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Peter Stokes
Director of Mortgages at Davidson Deem
For us, our specialism is professional clients, primarily the medical professions. Doctors' pay, although complex, is one of the most consistent out there, yet lenders seem to have trouble grasping this. This means on an almost daily basis we are fighting to get cases through for our clients.
I don't believe you can set out to be a specialist broker - it is something that evolves. Maybe you develop a relationship with a local developer for new build cases, or a few similar clients start recommending you to colleagues (which is what happened for us).
Once you have specialist expertise, swat up on it! The more you know, the more expert you become, and often your knowledge can exceed the lenders and you start to get cases through that you would not have expected to in the past.
Clients who need a specialist broker will often seek you out - if you promote yourself accordingly.
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Adam Smith
Founder at Alfa Mortgages
We're still expanding and getting into all sorts of things to match what's happening in the market. Lately, we've been diving deep into bridging finance and teaming up with loads of investors and developers. It's a cool way to really sharpen your skills and draw in more clients who are into the same kind of stuff.
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Jamie Thompson
Mortgage Broker at Jamie Thompson Mortgages
I specialise in getting mortgages for PhD students who receive a stipend. This is like a bursary or grant. It differs from a student loan as they don’t need to pay it back, and it’s completely tax free. Most lenders do not accept it at all meaning that most PhD students come to me having been turned down by their bank, and being told it’s not possible by sometimes up to half a dozen brokers too.
I’m not surprised other brokers inform them it’s not possible. I assumed it wasn’t when a friend doing a PhD asked me. But now I know it is I really concentrate on helping people in that specific scenario.
I still pick up lots of vanilla business but the cases where specialist knowledge is needed are so much more rewarding.
To anyone picking a specialism I would say work backwards. Find a lender you find easy to deal with and with good general criteria, find one of their niches, and then check to see how many people a month are searching for that specific problem on Google.
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Alastair Hoyne
CEO, Finanze Capital at Finanze Capital
The reality is the market needs specialists and generialists. Like General Practitioners in health who have great all-round knowledge but who refer to specialists for detailed treatment and care. Whilst we do offer 'vanilla' services we specialise in larger and complex cases like Title Splitting. We know the needs of this customer base and have developed the network, products, expertise, knowledge, and skills to be able to create the outcomes they want. Being a specialist helps you focus, reduces distractions and enables you to innovate. For creative brokers that's a very satisfying place to be.