Interestingly the top searches within equity release have shifted in recent months from factors affecting the loan to considerations relating to the property itself.
Tenure has become the most searched criteria category withinKnowledge Bank’s equity release section for the first time in criteria sourcing system’s criteria index.
Interestingly the top searches within equity release have shifted in recent months from factors affecting the loan to considerations relating to the property itself.
Nicola Firth (pictured), chief executive of Knowledge Bank, said: “As we head into the second quarter of 2019, the landscape for brokers advising clients continues to be more and more complicated.
“Everyone in the housing market is reacting to external financial and competitive forces within a period of unprecedented change with Brexit, and mortgage and loan providers are no exception.
“There are daily changes to both products and their underlying criteria so the task facing brokers in delivering advice is harder than ever.
“However, the reality for brokers is that borrowers are unaware or unconcerned as long as they can be paired with the right product from the right lender. This is why technology is crucial in helping brokers find the right product the first time.”
Brokers have also been interrogating the data for lenders who will consider timber and non-standard construction in addition to properties with an annex or outbuildings.
Within thebuy-to-letsector, searches for lenders who will allow first-time landlords once again takes the top spot and, with continuing uncertainty surrounding alternative investment choices, bricks and mortar seems to be offering an attractive option.
Additionally, within buy-to-let searches for lenders that allow houses of multiple occupation (HMO) has broken into the top five for the first time.
This search has been featured in the top 10 multiple times but has not been one of the top five searches since Knowledge Bank started the index in July 2018. Anecdotal evidence suggests that changes to rules surrounding HMOs is leading brokers to delve deeper into this area.
Residentialloan searches in March continue to relate to the needs of older borrowers with three out of the top fivecategoriesrelating to a borrowers age.
The most popular searches performed by mortgagebrokersin March included those for lenders who offered the most generous criteria regarding the maximum age at the end of the mortgage term.
For bridging loans the most popular searches were regulated bridging and adverse credit, for second charges it was maximum LTV and capital raising for debt consolidation and for commercial finance deals the most popular searches were maximum LTV and semi-commercial properties.
