Martin has 30 years’ experience in mortgage lending, including several as a self-employed mortgage broker, while at Furness he was managing a new mortgage business team, overseeing end-to-end underwriting and processing of mortgage applications from application to completion.
BuildLoan, the intermediary arm of self and custom build specialist BuildStore, has hired Chris Martin as head of mortgage operations and customer service from Furness Building Society.
Martin (pictured) has 30 years’ experience in mortgage lending, including several as a self-employed mortgage broker. At Furness he managed a new mortgage business team, oversaw end-to-end underwriting and processed mortgages from application to completion.
Martin said: “Self-build mortgages are complex and it’s true more is required of the broker and the client when compared with a standard mortgage for house purchase.
“My role is to ensure that all of BuildLoan’s processes are as simple, quick and efficient as they can be.
“I will be using the survey feedback, as well as meeting brokers face to face, to fully understand what we need to do to meet the expectations of both brokers and customers.
“Building a home is an exciting and challenging thing to do. Our aim has always been to make financing a project as straightforward as possible for self-builders.”
Martin will first head out on the road to meet with mortgage intermediaries to listen to any concerns they have.
Raymond Connor, chief executive of BuildLoan, said: “We recognise that service is absolutely key to growing our business and handling cases more efficiently.
“We have increased headcount in our processing team this year and introduced a rigorous training plan and support in their roles.
“Our broker mortgage processing team will benefit from a newly designed, bespoke training course at the National Self Build & Renovation Centre in Swindon.
“Over the past couple of months we’ve surveyed brokers to gain insight into what works well and the areas we need to improve upon.
“As head of mortgage operations and customer service, Chris will be responsible for making sure our service is first class as we continue to develop new and innovative products for this specialist marketplace with our lenders, and design the products required to grow the self and custom build sector.”
