Ladder, will deal with residential, buy-to-let, limited company buy-to-let, as well as product switching, is being marketed as a ‘hybrid broker’, combining traditional expertise with new technology.
A technology-driven broker called Ladder is set to launch in mid-February spearheaded by Vince Sammon, director of London broker Sammon Mortgages.
Ladderwill deal with residential, buy-to-let, limited company buy-to-let and product switching.
The firm is being marketed as a ‘hybrid broker’, combining traditional expertise with new technology.
Sammon(pictured) spent two years with developers building a CRM system after becoming frustrated with rekeying vast amounts of customer data as a broker.
Using Ladder much of the journey should be paperless, with digital ID verification for example, though the broker is limited by how some lenders operate, as some do not accept e-signatures with an SA302 document for instance.
Sammon said: “As our industry evolves, all mortgage brokers will inevitably adopt a Ladder-style hybrid advice model.
“In order to stay relevant, brokers must embrace new technology whilst playing to their individual strengths, using their technical know-how to maintain and develop long-term associations with clients.
“The hybrid model is about ensuring clients experience the very best journey, whilst making brokers increasingly efficient.”
The broker will have a strong commitment to life and general insurance, as whenever a customer gets a mortgage offer they will also be quoted a price for life and contents insurance.
Sammon estimated that brokers can typically handle 15 deals a month but he claimed Ladder’s brokers will be able to handle 50 and 60 cases owing to a more streamlined approach.
Comparing Ladder with digital brokers
Sammon said the key differences between Ladder and other ‘digital’ brokers like Habito and Trussle is it won’t try and steer customers down an online route.
Instead he claimed that all aspects of the mortgage process will be tailored to the consumer, whether they want to deal online, face-to-face or over the phone.
Ladder will have one strong similarity to those two firms though, which is a focus on remortgaging.
The firm will offer constant mortgage reviews as part of the process to assess if and when it makes sense to switch deal, while it will also monitor the status of life, buildings and home insurance, or simply notify customers if there is a hole in their financial planning.
It will then proactively contact customers by email and/or over the phone.
Though Sammon said he will listen to customers regarding how they want to deal with Ladder, the advice part of the process must be on the phone or face-to-face.
He also noted that the online model is most likely to be attractive for remortgagors, while first-time buyers will be typically more suited to face-to-face advice.
All change at Sammon Mortgages
When Ladder launches Sammon Mortgages will reshape itself as a specialist mortgage broker, focusing on bridging, commercial, development, portfolio buy-to-let and complex and buy-to-let – to differentiate the pair.
Vince Sammon will work with his brother Kieran Sammon at Ladder, who is taking the role of head of mortgages.
The new broker will move to anoffice in London’s Rivington Street to coincide with next month’s launch.
