In Partnership with
With the market settling after last year’s turbulence, there’s lucrative potential for the specialist finance sector to provide something different from high-street lenders, as Mortgage Introducer’s round table discussion discovers.
Claire Askham
Buckinghamshire Building Society
Industry experts
Gareth Lewis
MT Finance
Steve Smith
Roma Finance
Claire Askham is the head of mortgage sales at Buckinghamshire Building Society, a mutually owned business founded in 1907. With over 20 years’ experience in the mortgage industry, Askham has a wide knowledge of the market, coupled with a straightforward and uncomplicated way of explaining complex issues in the sector.
Buckinghamshire Building Society
Claire Askham
Gareth Lewis is the commercial director at MT Finance, a property finance lender specialising in bridging loans and auction finance. Lewis has more than 15 years’ experience in the short-term lending market, having previously held roles at Tiuta and Cheval Property Finance. He oversees product development and identifying new propositions.
MT Finance
Gareth Lewis
Steve Smith is sales director for Roma Finance, an independent lender, which provides short-term bridging loans, secured by first- or second-charge charges on residential investment. With an extensive background in the industry, Smith is dedicated to supporting the intermediary market. He executes Roma’s commercial strategy and manages its sales team.
Roma Finance
Steve Smith
“There’s no escaping that this year is going to be a challenge for everybody ... [but] this creates a great opportunity. There is a need for advice,
more than ever”
Claire Askham,
Buckinghamshire Building Society
BY ANY standards, it’s been a memorable six months for financial services – and not for the best of reasons. The market turmoil that closed 2022 followed a widely derided mini budget, a biting cost-of- living crisis, sharply rising interest rates, and ballooning inflation.
A plethora of lenders temporarily withdrew from the market to take stock and rethink their product portfolios. Gradually, they have returned to the fray, some venturing again to offer sub-four per cent rates, which had been off the table since last September.
The waters are certainly less choppy than they were, though few would be bold enough to suggest that there aren’t still ripples from those heady few weeks of market upheaval. The silver lining is that they’ve created new opportunities for specialist lenders in the ways in which they can assist borrowers in difficult or niche circumstances.
“The specialist world … does provide opportunity because it has the ability to be a bit more fleet of foot, less restrictive when it comes to criteria points, and more bespoke”
Gareth Lewis,
MT Finance
“If you're a property developer who has been doing this for 20 or 30 years, you've seen a lot of this before,” he said. “There’s too few properties in England, too many people, so at the end of the day, there's a big market out there for us to really continue and have some cautious optimism about.”
While acknowledging there were still hurdles to overcome, Askham saw potential business for both intermediaries
and lenders.
“There's no escaping that this year is going to be a challenge
for everybody,” she ventured. “However, for me, this creates
a great opportunity. There is a need for advice, more than
“There’s too few properties in England, too many people, so at the end of the day, there’s a big market out there for us to really continue and have some cautious optimism about”
Steve Smith,
Roma Finance
Smith pointed to the speed of the bridging market.
“It is all about service, really,” he offered. “It's always good to have a human voice in your ear, a human touch, some empathy, really, with the borrower, either via the intermediary or the broker who's talking to you. They can speak to us directly; they can speak to an underwriter directly.
Lewis reasoned that it had been “very easy” to lend money in a benign interest-rate environment.
“What we probably found off the back of last year was a dysfunctionality that came into the mortgage market,” he said. “And that's where that diversification and that ability to be bespoke really come true because you help educate a
Lewis agreed that those markets were ripe with promise.
“If you're a portfolio landlord or a buy-to-let investor who's remortgaging properties, there's a strip of equity there that can be put toward another transaction,” he said. “So, you could look at refurbs, renovations, opportunities to buy property at auction – whatever it might be. It is that branching out, not being singly focused.”
Smith was confident that, with its reputation for innovation, the specialist market would be introducing new products, so it was important to maintain meaningful dialogue with brokers.
“I think it's very difficult for anybody to be aware of all of the opportunities,” he acknowledged. “But I think that's where, as a
Specialist lending is arguably enjoying more attention than it ever has, and, with this in mind, Mortgage Introducer brought together three key industry professionals for a special round table, to get the lowdown on what the sector currently has to offer.
We welcomed Claire Askham, the head of mortgage sales at Buckinghamshire Building Society, Gareth Lewis, the commercial director at MT Finance, and Steve Smith, sales director at Roma finance.
Our panel began by assessing the specialist finance market currently. Did they think the cost-of-living crisis, with its associated pressures on borrowers, helped or hindered their market?
“We'd be foolish to think that the specialist
borrower and a broker alike along that journey, that says, actually, just because you went down this route previously because you thought it was the best solution for you doesn't mean there aren't other options available now.”
ever, as everybody's situation has changed and is a little bit more challenging.
“The market share for intermediary mortgage advice actually grew to 84 per cent in 2022. And the forecast is that by 2024, we'll be up to 90 per cent in that market.”
What do customers really need from a specialist lender that perhaps they don't get elsewhere?
“It's about the ability for the specialist lender to be able to offer something a little bit different from the high street,” Askham continued, “being a little bit more niche with our offering and looking at how we can support them. There’s the fact that the brokers have the ability to actually speak to the lender and discuss the client's situation in detail, and, you know, be more flexible around criteria because we tend to have more of a human-being approach.”
Read on
Next, the panel considered whether there were any specialist areas that they believed would present particularly good opportunities for brokers.
Smith wanted to highlight bridging and development as “an exciting part of a broker's armoury.”
“We've had some changes with COVID and Brexit and the rise of the internet and Amazon, and all of that,” he reflected. “Commercial premises may be coming on and there’ll be opportunities to buy them actually slightly cheaper probably because people don't need those big offices or those shop fronts.”
A bridging loan offered the ability to change those spaces to semi-commercial or residential with ease,
he said, adding, “Things like HMOs are still quite big in the market, and a lot of co-living is now coming in.”
Askham was keen to flag opportunities around the remortgaging, buy-to-let, and first-time buyers’ markets.
“We're seeing an awful lot more customers who are coming to us who are experiencing credit blips,” she noted. “Whether it's affordability or a lack of deposit that's an issue, there are options out there to help,
to support.”
Buckinghamshire Building Society is an award-winning, mutually owned independent building society founded in 1907. We have a diverse range of lending areas and focus on affordability as an alternative to income multiples. With a no maximum age policy, we have the ability to consider multigenerational, family-assist, retirement lending, holiday let, and BTL. This human approach also allows us to find solutions for some of the more complex cases.
MT Finance is a leading property finance lender, specialising in bridging loans and auction finance. Since our beginnings in 2008, we have been proud to assist numerous property professionals, business owners, and individuals with their finance requirements. We excel when it comes to delivering fit-for-purpose short-term loans at speed, and our approach to lending is something for which we have been consistently recognised within the financial services industry.
Find out more
At Roma Finance, we love to lend, and provide an extraordinary lending experience. We work with our partners to provide finance to property investors, developers, and landlords in order to help them create wealth through property. Our approach is to underwrite the borrower before the property and have solutions for a multitude of property project scenarios including auctions, conversions, refurbishments, standard bridging, developer exit, below-market-value properties, and development finance. Our solutions are tailored and available on residential and commercial properties. We also have a medium-term solution for buy-to-let properties, as well as holiday lets, HMOs, MUFBs, and serviced accommodation.
We also offer #RomaFLOW, the fast-process channel for bridging, auction, and light refurbishment cases, designed to be speedy, straightforward, and simple. We require minimal documentation and offer intelligent touch underwriting to ensure the process is streamlined. Electronic signatures have now been introduced for further-enhanced service.
Find out more
“There’s no escaping that this year is going to be a challenge for everybody ... [but] this creates a great opportunity. There is a need for advice,
more than ever”
Claire Askham,
Buckinghamshire
Building Society
“There’s too few properties in England, too many people, so at the end of the day, there’s a big market out there for us to really continue and have some cautious optimism about”
Steve Smith,
Roma Finance
“The specialist world … does provide opportunity because it has the ability to be a bit more fleet of foot, less restrictive when it comes to criteria points, and more bespoke”
Gareth Lewis,
MT Finance
In Partnership with
A time of opportunity
With the market settling after last year’s turbulence, there’s lucrative potential for the specialist finance sector to provide something different from high-street lenders, as Mortgage Introducer’s round table discussion discovers.
Read on
Steve Smith
Roma Finance
Gareth Lewis
MT Finance
Claire Askham
Buckinghamshire Building Society
Industry experts
Buckinghamshire Building Society is an award-winning, mutually owned independent building society founded in 1907. We have a diverse range of lending areas and focus on affordability as an alternative to income multiples. With a no maximum age policy, we have the ability to consider multigenerational, family-assist, retirement lending, holiday let, and BTL. This human approach also allows us to find solutions for some of the more complex cases.
Find out more
MT Finance is a leading property finance lender, specialising in bridging loans and auction finance. Since our beginnings in 2008, we have been proud to assist numerous property professionals, business owners, and individuals with their finance requirements. We excel when it comes to delivering fit-for-purpose short-term loans at speed, and our approach to lending is something for which we have been consistently recognised within the financial services industry.
Find out more
At Roma Finance, we love to lend, and provide an extraordinary lending experience. We work with our partners to provide finance to property investors, developers, and landlords in order to help them create wealth through property. Our approach is to underwrite the borrower before the property and have solutions for a multitude of property project scenarios including auctions, conversions, refurbishments, standard bridging, developer exit, below-market-value properties, and development finance. Our solutions are tailored and available on residential and commercial properties. We also have a medium-term solution for buy-to-let properties, as well as holiday lets, HMOs, MUFBs, and serviced accommodation.
We also offer #RomaFLOW, the fast-process channel for bridging, auction, and light refurbishment cases, designed to be speedy, straightforward, and simple. We require minimal documentation and offer intelligent touch underwriting to ensure the process is streamlined. Electronic signatures have now been introduced for further-enhanced service.
Find out more
Claire Askham is the head of mortgage sales at Buckinghamshire Building Society, a mutually owned business founded in 1907. With over 20 years’ experience in the mortgage industry, Askham has a wide knowledge of the market, coupled with a straightforward and uncomplicated way of explaining complex issues in the sector.
Buckinghamshire Building Society
Claire Askham
Gareth Lewis is the commercial director at MT Finance, a property finance lender specialising in bridging loans and auction finance. Lewis has more than 15 years’ experience in the short-term lending market, having previously held roles at Tiuta and Cheval Property Finance. He oversees product development and identifying new propositions.
MT Finance
Gareth Lewis
Steve Smith is sales director for Roma Finance, an independent lender, which provides short-term bridging loans, secured by first- or second-charge charges on residential investment. With an extensive background in the industry, Smith is dedicated to supporting the intermediary market. He executes Roma’s commercial strategy and manages its sales team.
Roma Finance
Steve Smith
“There’s no escaping that this year is going to be a challenge for everybody ... [but] this creates a great opportunity. There is a need for advice, more
than ever”
Claire Askham,
Buckinghamshire Building Society
“The specialist world … does provide opportunity because it has the ability to be a bit more fleet of foot, less restrictive when it comes to criteria points, and more bespoke”
Gareth Lewis,
MT Finance
In Partnership with
A time of opportunity
With the market settling after last year’s turbulence, there’s lucrative potential for the specialist finance sector to provide something different from high-street lenders, as Mortgage Introducer’s round table discussion discovers.
Read on
Steve Smith
Roma Finance
Gareth Lewis
MT Finance
Claire Askham
Buckinghamshire
Building Society
Industry experts
BY ANY standards, it’s been a memorable six months for financial services – and not for the best of reasons. The market turmoil that closed 2022 followed a widely derided mini budget, a biting cost-of- living crisis, sharply rising interest rates, and ballooning inflation.
A plethora of lenders temporarily withdrew from the market to take stock and rethink their product portfolios. Gradually, they have returned to the fray, some venturing again to offer sub-four per cent rates, which had been off the table since last September.
The waters are certainly less choppy than they were, though few would be bold enough to suggest that there aren’t still ripples from those heady few weeks of market upheaval.
The silver lining is that they’ve created new opportunities for specialist lenders in the ways in which they can assist borrowers in difficult or niche circumstances.
Our panel began by assessing the specialist finance market currently. Did they think the cost-of-living crisis, with its associated pressures on borrowers, helped or hindered their market?
“We'd be foolish to think that the specialist market was impervious to what's going on in the greater economic environment,” began Lewis. “But I think what happens within the specialist world is that it does provide opportunity because it has the ability to be a bit more fleet of foot, less restrictive when it comes to criteria points, and more bespoke in its nature from its lending environment.
Smith agreed, pointing to the many opportunities he saw within the market.
Specialist lending is arguably enjoying more attention than it ever has, and, with this in mind, Mortgage Introducer brought together three key industry professionals for a special round table, to get the lowdown on what the sector currently has to offer.
We welcomed Claire Askham, the head of mortgage sales at Buckinghamshire Building Society, Gareth Lewis, the commercial director at MT Finance, and Steve Smith, sales director at Roma finance.
“The market share for intermediary mortgage advice actually grew to 84 per cent in 2022.
And the forecast is that by 2024, we'll be up
to 90 per cent in that market.”
What do customers really need from a
specialist lender that perhaps they don't
get elsewhere?
Next, the panel considered whether there were any specialist areas that they believed would present particularly good opportunities for brokers.
Smith wanted to highlight bridging and development as “an exciting part of a broker's armoury.”
“We've had some changes with COVID and Brexit and the rise of the internet and Amazon, and all of that,” he reflected. “Commercial premises may be coming on and there’ll be opportunities to buy them actually slightly cheaper probably because people don't need those big offices or those shop fronts.”
A bridging loan offered the ability to change those spaces to semi-commercial or residential with ease, he said, adding, “Things like HMOs are still quite big in the market, and a lot of co-living is now coming in.”
Askham was keen to flag opportunities around the remortgaging, buy-to-let, and first-time buyers’ markets.
“We're seeing an awful lot more customers who are coming to us who are experiencing credit blips,” she noted. “Whether it's affordability or a lack of deposit that's an issue, there are options out there to help,
to support.”
Lewis agreed that those markets were ripe with promise.
“If you're a portfolio landlord or a buy-to-let investor who's remortgaging properties, there's a strip of equity there that can be
put toward another transaction,” he said. “So, you could look at refurbs, renovations, opportunities to buy property at auction – whatever it might be. It is that branching out, not being singly focused.”
Smith was confident that, with its reputation for innovation, the specialist market would be introducing new products, so it was important to maintain meaningful dialogue with brokers.
“I think it's very difficult for anybody to be aware of all of the opportunities,” he acknowledged. “But I think that's where, as a funder and as a specialist funder, especially, you have broker relationships that are stronger than just a phone call.”
He added, “We will take on board brokers’ needs and borrowers’ needs and actually look at getting products that are really suitable for the market that we find ourselves in right now.”
Askham favoured greater education in the market as a whole, to guide lenders and brokers on green mortgages.
“Consumers out there don't know what's coming, they're not fully aware of what the changes are,” she observed. “The green agenda, as we call it, is definitely going to be coming sooner than we think, and I think there's a huge opportunity there for brokers to have those conversations while they are speaking to their buy-to-let applicants now.”
Finally, the panel was invited to leave our broker audience with one tip to take away from the conversation.
“Educate yourself on what a customer truly wants,” Lewis declared. “Don't be afraid to ask a question even if you think it's a silly question, because ultimately, it's going to get you to the point where you are providing a solution. So, take the blinkers off and educate yourself.”
Askham said, “I would just encourage you, if a lender knocks on your door, to take 10 minutes out and have that conversation with them because they will be able to give you a couple of areas of lending that you may not have thought about before, or maybe not understood as much before. So, speak to the lender, speak to the key account managers, engage with them, and listen to what they have to offer.”
Smith was keen to see past “the doom and gloom.”
“There is a real opportunity, right now in 2023, to do well out of property,” he enthused. “There are opportunities here, maybe in things that you haven't thought of yet, maybe in certain products, but talk to the funders, talk to all three lenders on this panel right now and we will give you opportunities to do well in 2023.”
Buckinghamshire Building Society is an award-winning, mutually owned independent building society founded in 1907. We have a diverse range of lending areas and focus on affordability as an alternative to income multiples. With a no maximum age policy, we have the ability to consider multigenerational, family-assist, retirement lending, holiday let, and BTL. This human approach also allows us to find solutions for some of the more complex cases.
Find out more
MT Finance is a leading property finance lender, specialising in bridging loans and auction finance. Since our beginnings in 2008, we have been proud to assist numerous property professionals, business owners, and individuals with their finance requirements. We excel when it comes to delivering fit-for-purpose short-term loans at speed, and our approach to lending is something for which we have been consistently recognised within the financial services industry.
Find out more
At Roma Finance, we love to lend, and provide an extraordinary lending experience. We work with our partners to provide finance to property investors, developers, and landlords in order to help them create wealth through property. Our approach is to underwrite the borrower before the property and have solutions for a multitude of property project scenarios including auctions, conversions, refurbishments, standard bridging, developer exit, below-market-value properties, and development finance. Our solutions are tailored and available on residential and commercial properties. We also have a medium-term solution for buy-to-let properties, as well as holiday lets, HMOs, MUFBs, and serviced accommodation.
We also offer #RomaFLOW, the fast-process channel for bridging, auction, and light refurbishment cases, designed to be speedy, straightforward, and simple. We require minimal documentation and offer intelligent touch underwriting to ensure the process is streamlined. Electronic signatures have now been introduced for further-enhanced service.
Find out more
Steve Smith is sales director for Roma Finance, an independent lender, which provides short-term bridging loans, secured by first- or second-charge charges on residential investment. With an extensive background in the industry, Smith is dedicated to supporting the intermediary market. He executes Roma’s commercial strategy and manages its sales team.
Roma Finance
Steve Smith
Gareth Lewis is the commercial director at MT Finance, a property finance lender specialising in bridging loans and auction finance. Lewis has more than 15 years’ experience in the short-term lending market, having previously held roles at Tiuta and Cheval Property Finance. He oversees product development and identifying new propositions.
MT Finance
Gareth Lewis
Claire Askham is the head of mortgage sales at Buckinghamshire Building Society, a mutually owned business founded in 1907. With over 20 years’ experience in the mortgage industry, Askham has a wide knowledge of the market, coupled with a straightforward and uncomplicated way of explaining complex issues in the sector.
Buckinghamshire Building Society
Claire Askham
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market was impervious to what's going on in the greater economic environment,” began Lewis. “But I think what happens within the specialist world is that it does provide opportunity because it has the ability to be a bit more fleet of foot, less restrictive when it comes to criteria points, and more bespoke in its nature from its lending environment.
Smith agreed, pointing to the many opportunities he saw within the market.
Find out more
“Consumers out there don't know what's coming, they're not fully aware of what the changes are,” she observed. “The green agenda, as we call it, is definitely going to be coming sooner than we think, and I think there's a huge opportunity there for brokers to have those conversations while they are speaking to their buy-to-let applicants now.”
Finally, the panel was invited to leave our broker audience with one tip to take away from the conversation.
“Educate yourself on what a customer truly wants,” Lewis declared. “Don't be afraid to ask a question even if you think it's a silly question, because ultimately, it's going to get you to the point where you are providing a solution. So, take the blinkers off and educate yourself.”
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funds can be in place within days
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Roma Finance says 80% of its bridging completes within 28 days
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What exactly is specialist finance?
Specialist finance can be generally defined as non-bank finance that is granted by a private lender or institution. Put simply, it’s the means of getting a loan from somewhere other than your bank, and, as such, the terms can be a lot more flexible and the criteria can be more open to those with different credit histories, limited company histories, and asset-backed lending. In essence, the funds can be for personal or business mortgages, or for business purposes. Today specialist finance is a multi-billion-pound industry. It’s been around a long time, but came to greater prominence
after the banking crisis
of 2008,
when banks became more
restrictive about their loans.
funder and as a specialist funder, especially, you have broker relationships that are stronger than just a phone call.”
He added, “We will take on board brokers’ needs and borrowers’ needs and actually look at getting products that are really suitable for the market that we find ourselves in right now.”
Askham favoured greater education in the market as a whole, to guide lenders and brokers on
green mortgages.
Askham said, “I would just encourage you, if a lender knocks on your door, to take 10 minutes out and have that conversation with them because they will be able to give you a couple of areas of lending that you may not have thought about before, or maybe not understood as much before. So, speak to the lender, speak to the key account managers, engage with them, and listen to what they have to offer.”
Smith was keen to see past “the doom and gloom.”
“There is a real opportunity, right now in 2023, to do well out of property,” he enthused. “There are opportunities here, maybe in things that you haven't thought of yet, maybe in certain products, but talk to the funders, talk to all three lenders on this panel right now and we will give you opportunities to do well in 2023.”
A time of opportunity
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Smith was confident that, with its reputation for innovation, the specialist market would be introducing new products, so it was important to maintain meaningful dialogue with brokers.
“I think it's very difficult for anybody to be aware of all of the opportunities,” he acknowledged. “But I think that's where, as a funder and as a specialist funder, especially, you have broker relationships that are stronger than just a phone call.”
He added, “We will take on board brokers’ needs and borrowers’ needs and actually look at getting products that are really suitable for the market that we find ourselves in right now.”
Askham favoured greater education in the market as a whole, to guide lenders and brokers on green mortgages.
“We're seeing an awful lot more customers who are coming to us who are experiencing credit blips,” she noted. “Whether it's affordability or a lack of deposit that's an issue, there are options out there to help, to support.”
Lewis agreed that those markets were ripe with promise.
“If you're a portfolio landlord or a buy-to-let investor who's remortgaging properties, there's a strip of equity there that can be put toward another transaction,” he said. “So, you could look at refurbs, renovations, opportunities to buy property at auction – whatever it might be. It is that branching out, not being singly focused.”
Next, the panel considered whether there were any specialist areas that they believed would present particularly good opportunities for brokers.
Smith wanted to highlight bridging and development as
“an exciting part of a broker's armoury.”
“We've had some changes with COVID and Brexit and the rise of the internet and Amazon, and all of that,” he reflected. “Commercial premises may be coming on and there’ll be opportunities to buy them actually slightly cheaper probably because people don't need those big offices or those shop fronts.”
A bridging loan offered the ability to change those spaces to semi-commercial or residential with ease,
he said, adding, “Things like HMOs are still quite big in the market, and a lot of co-living is now coming in.”
Askham was keen to flag opportunities around the remortgaging, buy-to-let, and first-time buyers’ markets.
Smith pointed to the speed of the bridging market.
“It is all about service, really,” he offered. “It's always good to have a human voice in your ear, a human touch, some empathy, really, with the borrower, either via the intermediary or the broker who's talking to you. They can speak to us directly; they can speak to an underwriter directly.
Lewis reasoned that it had been “very easy” to lend money in a benign interest-rate environment.
“What we probably found off the back of last year was a dysfunctionality that came into the mortgage market,” he said. “And that's where that diversification and that ability to be bespoke really come true because you help educate a borrower and a broker alike along that journey, that says, actually, just because you went down this route previously because you thought it was the best solution for you doesn't mean there aren't other options available now.”
“The market share for intermediary mortgage advice actually grew to 84 per cent in 2022. And the forecast is that by 2024, we'll be up to 90 per cent in that market.”
What do customers really need from a specialist lender that perhaps they don't get elsewhere?
“It's about the ability for the specialist lender to be able to offer something a little bit different from the high street,” Askham continued, “being a little bit more niche with our offering and looking at how we can support them. There’s the fact that the brokers have the ability to actually speak to the lender and discuss the client's situation in detail, and, you know, be more flexible around criteria because we tend to have more of a human-being approach.”
“If you're a property developer who has been doing this for 20 or 30 years, you've seen a lot of this before,” he said. “There’s too few properties in England, too many people, so at the end of the day, there's a big market out there for us to really continue and have some cautious optimism about.”
While acknowledging there were still hurdles to overcome, Askham saw potential business for both intermediaries and lenders.
“There's no escaping that this year is going to be a challenge for everybody,” she ventured. “However, for me, this creates a great opportunity. There is a need for advice, more than ever, as everybody's situation has changed and is a little bit more challenging.
Our panel began by assessing the specialist finance market currently. Did they think the cost-of-living crisis, with its associated pressures on borrowers, helped or hindered their market?
“We'd be foolish to think that the specialist market was impervious to what's going on in the greater economic environment,” began Lewis. “But I think what happens within the specialist world is that it does provide opportunity because it has the ability to be a bit more fleet of foot, less restrictive when it comes to criteria points, and more bespoke in its nature from its lending environment.
Smith agreed, pointing to the many opportunities he saw within the market.
The waters are certainly less choppy than they were, though few would be bold enough to suggest that there aren’t still ripples from those heady few weeks of market upheaval.
The silver lining is that they’ve created new opportunities
for specialist lenders in the ways in which they can assist borrowers in difficult or niche circumstances.
Specialist lending is arguably enjoying more attention than it ever has, and, with this in mind, Mortgage Introducer brought together three key industry professionals for a special round table, to get the lowdown on what the sector currently has to offer.
We welcomed Claire Askham, the head of mortgage sales at Buckinghamshire Building Society, Gareth Lewis, the commercial director at MT Finance, and Steve Smith, sales director at Roma finance.
BY ANY standards, it’s been a memorable six months for financial services – and not for the best of reasons. The market turmoil that closed 2022 followed a widely derided mini budget, a biting cost-of- living crisis, sharply rising interest rates, and ballooning inflation.
A plethora of lenders temporarily withdrew from the market to take stock and rethink their product portfolios. Gradually, they have returned to the fray, some venturing again to offer sub-four per cent rates, which had been off the table since last September.
“Consumers out there don't know what's coming, they're not fully aware of what the changes are,” she observed. “The green agenda, as we call it, is definitely going to be coming sooner than we think, and I think there's a huge opportunity there for brokers to have those conversations while they are speaking to their buy-to-let applicants now.”
Finally, the panel was invited to leave our broker audience with one tip to take away from the conversation.
“Educate yourself on what a customer truly wants,” Lewis declared. “Don't be afraid to ask a question even if you think it's a silly question, because ultimately, it's going to get you to the point where you are providing a solution. So, take the blinkers off and educate yourself.”
Askham said, “I would just encourage you, if a lender knocks on your door, to take 10 minutes out and have that conversation with them because they will be able to give you a couple of areas of lending that you may not have thought about before, or maybe not understood as much before. So, speak to the lender, speak to the key account managers, engage with them, and listen to what they have to offer.”
Smith was keen to see past “the doom and gloom.”
“There is a real opportunity, right now in 2023, to do well out of property,” he enthused. “There are opportunities here, maybe in things that you haven't thought of yet, maybe in certain products, but talk to the funders, talk to all three lenders on this panel right now and we will give you opportunities to do well in 2023.”
Copyright © 1996-2023 KM Business Information UK Ltd.
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“It's about the ability for the specialist lender to be able to offer something a little bit different from the high street,” Askham continued, “being a little bit more niche with our offering and looking at how we can support them. There’s the fact that the brokers have the ability to actually speak to the lender and discuss the client's situation in detail, and, you know, be more flexible around criteria because we tend to have more of a human-being approach.”
“There’s too few properties in England, too many people, so at the end of the day, there’s a big market out there for us to really continue and have some cautious optimism about”
Steve Smith,
Roma Finance