Top lenders on what's needed to get a deal over the line – and it starts with clear communication
Affordability issues and qualification struggles continue to pose significant challenges for borrowers in the current mortgage market. But while homebuyers and owners might despair at the steep hurdles they face in securing a loan, leading lenders are urging mortgage brokers to maintain a clear line of communication to their lender partners – and provide as much information as possible in submissions – to try and get a deal over the line.
Brokers might be surprised by how much difference it makes to give their lenders a comprehensive rundown of their client’s current situation and financing needs, with those details sometimes offering a sizeable boost to the borrower’s chance of being approved for a mortgage.
For Sebastien Kuperhause (pictured, top left), director, business development at Community Trust, the message to brokers is clear: help your lenders. “The information that we receive to make a deal go faster is predicated on what you tell us, and it’s shockingly often how little information we get in a submission,” he said. “It helps all of us.
“As you get to these products, and you get to features and benefits [that are] a bit more unique: if you don’t tell us, it makes it harder for all of us.”
Mitigation vs. exception a key consideration for lenders
Details matter, according to Susan Thomas (pictured, middle left), Haventree Bank’s vice president, sales. In some cases, deals that are raised with the lender as an exception could have been approved earlier if the broker and borrower had provided the right information to properly underwrite the deal.
That means communicating the borrower’s circumstances both verbally and in written form, she said. “What I’d recommend… is not necessarily putting it in the loan notes [first]. Have that conversation with your business development manager or deal run desk. Do it that way first [and] save time.”
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The question can often come down to one of mitigation over exception – circumstances that make the borrower’s application more palatable, rather than the lender having to make an exception to their standard lending criteria or policies.
Leanne Conroy (pictured, middle right), regional sales director at MCAN, reiterated that running a deal by a BDM or deal run desk first can help brokers understand where a mitigation might be possible. “It’s typically that – not an exception, just a story,” she said. “Help us with the story.”
Productive communication an asset for brokers and borrowers
Each executive underlined that their company is taking a prudent and responsible approach to the current market, one that remains unpredictable even with interest rates on a steady downward retreat in recent months.
Still, willingness to work with brokers and talk through solutions to the challenges facing their clients was a common theme for each.
Susan Fidgen (pictured, top right), senior manager, regional sales at CWB Optimum Mortgage, agreed that lenders will probably be able to offer a solution if they know what those issues are – and as long as the broker and borrower articulate them clearly. “That’s why it’s so important to have relationships with your business development managers and take the time to really talk to them about the deal before you submit it,” she said.
“Let’s be honest: there are very few simple, straightforward deals these days. They’re typically pretty complex. If we can’t help you, then we may know another lender who can. And at the end of the day, we want to help you find a solution for your client and hopefully if that happens, you’ll think about us for the next deal.”
Kuperhause urged brokers to gain a clear understanding of what constitutes an exception and what a lender might be able to accommodate within their standard guidelines, rather than assuming the worst. “A lot of the time it looks like an exception, but… it’s because the person didn’t truly understand how far or what we can do to mitigate the deal,” he said.
“A lot of it is just [that] it falls into a program that you may only touch 5% of the time. And that’s OK, that’s why we have those guidelines. [If] it’s not an exception, then we just put it where it needed to go.”
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