Edward Brook Principal Edward Brook Financial Associates Lincoln
First Complete
Business is flying! I’m doing lots of protection business and I’ve taken on more staff this year because I want to do more General Insurance next year - I think it’s the add-ons where the business will be done. I do 40% mortgages, 60% protection but next year I expect that to be more like 50/50. I can’t see the mortgage market changing as lenders are very cautious about over exposure and still cherry pick. Buy-to-let is booming though as professional landlords take advantage of low interest rates and a competitive housing market. However there are no first time landlords, all are existing landlords expanding their portfolios. I still do quite a lot of first-time buyers but haven’t seen a single one this year that hasn’t had help from their parents. Parents are now expecting to help their kids through saving or re- financing their own property. There is little competition in terms of independent brokers. People need genuine advice to get the deal through; fewer people go along the high street and the number of brokers has gone down so significantly that there is business to be had if you hunt it down and work hard. If you’re sitting waiting for business to come in however, you will struggle.
Tony Phillips Principal True Financial Solutions Glasgow Pink
I’ve been surprised about the lack of remortgage business in the run up to Christmas. The market has slowed since the beginning of November as people are getting nervous again. People whose deals are coming to an end in February/ March are looking for advice now and are more willing to pay a fee as they increasingly value the advice. I think I’m going to have a good start to the year because of the level of enquiries now. I’m doing much more protection business especially with the self-employed. Self-employed people are looking to protect themselves and their businesses with critical illness or income protection and even releasing some equity to invest in their businesses or the buy-to-let market. The number of first-time buyers is dropping away again after getting higher in the middle of the year, there’s nervousness again in what is round the corner and the old problem of raising the deposit. I’ve done more mortgage business this year than in 2010 but in order to survive, advisers need to get better at offering protection and understanding the value that will provide; gone are the days where you do a mortgage and bolt protection on the back of it. I now do 70%/30% split between protection and mortgages.
Jonathan Clark Principal
Chadney Bulgin Fleet, Hampshire TMA
We are up about 10-15% up on last year mostly with purchase work, only 20% of our business is remortgage. We get a lot of referral business. We have many clients, first-time buyers a few years ago who are now on their second or third house, if you look after them when they first come to you they stay with you. I think there is too much negativity about first-time buyers; it’s a fallacy that they need a 25% deposit when there are 90% LTV mortgages out there that are more affordable than renting. London is very busy and the home counties are buoyant, but the job cuts haven’t started to bite yet. Lots of stories report a lack of mortgages but most lenders are so busy they can’t cope with the volumes. I’m placing most with Abbey for Intermediaries at the moment - easily the most improved lender of 2011. I think it will stay tough in 2012 and 2013 - you have to work harder to get the same business but the work is out there. I’m concerned about the lack of new blood coming into the industry; it will be interesting to see the effect of the Retail Distribution Review and whether that will drive more IFAs into the mortgage space next year.
mortgage introducer JANUARY 2012 31
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