Katherine Simmons, head of business development at Cardiff-based packager AS Financial Solutions, said many brokers feel this way because the second charge sector isn’t explaining the proposition properly.
She said this is because there are so few business development managers left in the secured loan sector.
Simmons said: “Most mortgage brokers have previously seen the secured loan market in a negative light due to the mortgage lenders having been willing to lend to most and rates being more attractive.
“Times have changed as we know and the high street is still tough to place business.
“In my opinion if a company is faceless, brokers do find it hard to trust who they are placing their business with.
“They also, need educating on a market that most have not been heavily involved with before.”
Shaun Ginley, mortgage broker at Magic mortgages, said speaking to a BDM has given him more confidence in recommending secured loans.
He said: 'AS Financial Solutions has given me more options to offer my clients in an alternative market.
“As a broker secured loans can be daunting and this in turn can then affect how confident we are in offering the option to our client base. But I can depend on AS Financial Solutions services to help me understand the market in greater depth.”
And Neil Page, broker at JW Financial, said he was “pleasantly surprised” when he learned more about second charges.
He added: “I can now retain many more clients than before due to offering an alternative product. I always knew this product was there but having a BDM visit the office to educate us made us sit up, listen and understand.”
Amy Smith, managing director at AS Financial Solutions, added: “Education is key in a growing market that is about to face regulation.
“This should see mortgage brokers having to offer secured loans as an option for clients. What better time to make them aware of this and offer a face to face contact who is already known to most that help guide them.”
Simmons has been a BDM for 10 years as has worked for NatWest, edeus, GMAC RFC and Paymentshield.
She recently joined AS Financial Solutions to bring “a different approach” to the broker market.
