The growing array of products available in the market means mortgage advisers are being forced to think laterally more than ever before when dealing with cases.
Andy Brown, managing partner of TFC Homeloans, said: "In recent months we've seen providers develop and diversify into areas to fill many gaps in the mortgage market. For example, secured loans, short term finance, and sale and rent back can all be viable options for customers, making for a very complex market indeed. It’s a trend that is opening up an opportunity for our company, but more to the point it is making the market more complex for advisers to navigate."
TFC feels the complexity is evident particularly where advisers are dealing with remortgage cases due to the significant gap in the rates on new deals when compared to older variable rate products.
Brown explained: "We are dealing with an ever-increasing number of instances where an adviser contacts us to discuss remortgage options for a client but ultimately decides to recommend them an alternative solution. A popular example is where a client wants to remortgage to release equity, but is on a low SVR type deal. In this instance a remortgage can see their interest rate double, so the best option can be to leave the mortgage as it is and take out a secured loan for the additional borrowing. The overall cost of borrowing is favourable for the client, and it leaves them free to consolidate into a remortgage in future when the products in the market are more competitive."
Commenting, Guy Garrard, head of business development at Tiuta, said: "There's no doubt a new landscape is evolving in the financial services market. It's inevitable that this impacts on the role of the intermediary and it's important for advisers to keep abreast of the latest product offerings. There's an important role for providers, the media, and distributors to help educate and support the adviser community and ensure they are best placed to advise their clients appropriately."
