Home Buyer Systems has used feedback from users of its HBSLite sourcing system to reveal the top six direct-to-lender mortgage products they are currently using for both purchase and remortgage. These include: three deals for purchasers at under 3.5% from HSBC, NatWest/RBS, and First Direct and three deals for remortgage customers under 4.0% from Woolwich, NatWest /RBS, and First Direct. All of the remortgage products have free legals and some have free valuation, furthermore two are completely fee free.
Commenting, Richard Angliss, managing director of Home Buyer Systems, said: “The Home Buyer Sourcing Index, which uses whole of market product data supplied by Defaqto, is still showing both a lack of intermediary products above 85% LTV, and customer savings of as much as £4000 over a two year period if a customer chooses the direct-to-lender product rather than the equivalent intermediary option. Clearly, intermediaries must now be in a position to source direct products, and then, should they wish to, charge the customer a reasonable research and admin fee, if they hope to retain a competitive advantage.
“For example, I took a new customer through a demonstration yesterday. She had identified that the NatWest/RBS 3.49% two year fixed was the product for her customer and could not believe the rate. She then asked me to find the equivalent NatWest/RBS Intermediary product and compare them. She was absolutely horrified to learn that the difference over two years in total cost was £4,000 and that was after she had added £500 in fees for herself to the Direct product.
“It is reported that remortgage and first time buyer enquiries are high at present, with 38% of all enquiries being for remortgage and 35% for First Time Buyers. With these rates intermediaries could clean up on this business, if they have access to whole of market sourcing.”
