The lender, set for a full roll-out of its AVM proposition in November after the initial September launch, stated that intermediaries would look at lenders who offered a quick solution to their clients’ needs, and would not wait for the manual option other lenders provided.
Stephen Knight, chairman at GMAC-RFC, said: “AVMs and POSO will completely change the way that intermediaries and packagers operate. While there are just a few lenders offering this service at the moment, when a few more have launched I think people will start to take a bit more notice and will increasingly look at lenders who use AVMs. Brokers will begin to question ways they can improve profitability and AVMs are one such way, as they can reduce the time spent per case, allowing advisers to take on more business.”
Knight added that educating the industry and increasing the number of lenders with AVMs would take some time, but said: “Being the first to launch means that people are still getting their heads around it all, but when more lenders launch their systems, I can see it taking off.”
Melanie Bien at Savills Private Finance, said: “While the move towards AVMs and POS offers makes it easier for brokers to transact business, the role of the broker is always to give the best advice for the client. Going forward it is very likely that many more lenders will go down this route anyway, which is a good thing for the industry. However, we are governed by securing the best product for our client and if that means placing business with a lender not offering AVMs and the process takes a little longer, then it takes a little longer.”
