Founder Jason Hegarty, mortgage adviser at Leiston Mortgage Centre, was adamant the site would raise industry standards. “1Bigtable has a number of functions but is intended as a knowledge-based system to benefit mortgage intermediaries,” he said.
“The site will include a lot of areas that brokers should find useful. The forum section of the site will have a broad range of general discussions and topics that advisers can refer to at any time.
“It will also provide links to every intermediary website with a key as to what is available from these sites and lender hyperlinks that include a rating table determined by members. This will give advisers the best chance of determining the level of service they should expect from lenders.”
He added that the core of the site is the live chat facility which will enable brokers to get advice and share experiences with every other member who is online. “The implications of this are massive and taking it a step further, if you printed your conversation with date and time, what better way to demonstrate your recommendation to a client in terms of research?” he said.
Hegarty confirmed 1BigTable would include a mortgage calculator and would also provide links to directory enquiries and route planners.
James Cotton, mortgage specialist at London & Country, thought the site would benefit smaller companies.
He said: “I don’t think we would have much use for the system as we have 80 to 90 brokers that can help each other if they have any problems but the forum and live chat may be useful for smaller brokerages and firms that have a small team.”
Following a trial run taking place over the next three to six months Hegarty hopes to secure an initial membership of 1,000, increasing this as the site becomes more popular and recognised within the industry.
