The service is being provided via two of Mortgage Next’s existing AR’s, Commercial Choice and MansellBenoy. Both companies have agreed to act as ‘master brokers’ for other Mortgage Next members who may only have limited experience of dealing with commercial mortgages. The two companies will process applications on behalf of introducing AR’s and pay them an introductory fee when the case completes.
Justine Tomlinson, marketing director for Mortgage Next Network, commented: “We’re delighted to have agreed this ‘member help member’ scheme. There is no doubt that the commercial mortgage market is an important growth area for many of our members, but unfortunately a large number of them have limited experience of dealing with commercial applications.
“This scheme gives AR’s the opportunity to dip their toes into the commercial market, without worrying about making mistakes and letting clients down. Both Commercial Choice and MansellBenoy have a wealth of experience in commercial lending and are happy to share their expertise with other Mortgage Next AR’s.”
Nick Mansell of MansellBenoy said: “Commercial lending is different to arranging residential mortgages but that is not a reason to ignore this growing market sector, especially if help is at hand. With the residential market forecast to remain flat during 2006 these types of opportunities to spread into new markets should be taken up.”
Raj Bhandari of Commercial Choice concluded: “Every residential mortgage broker will have self-employed applicants amongst their clients and many will be considering either buying commercial premises or remortgaging existing property. Rather than saying ‘can’t help’ this scheme enables Mortgage Next AR’s to generate additional income from a growing market.”
