The overall number using the system, which acts as a conduit for online Agreements in Principles (AIPs,) application submission and 24/7 case tracking and auditing control, has tripled since the beginning of 2006.
SMS has confirmed that more business is now being contracted online, particularly for AIPs and initial application, than by traditional paper based methods. Ian Balfour, sales and marketing director at SMS, said: “The adoption of the online service by so many of our introducers shows that intermediaries are ready to move away from traditional methods of administration and communication when they see that there are significant savings in terms of time and money both for them and their clients.”
Managing director Kelvin Cooper commented: "We took a decision three years ago to invest in developing a true online capability which would benefit our partners, both intermediary and lender and that decision has paid off handsomely. SMS is now able to offer lenders a realtime live link to our intermediaries as soon as we can link them to our system. For intermediaries, they can now apply online and receive instant AIPs and, in more and more cases, a binding offer just by using The Porthole. This has got to be the way forward.”
Keith Street, director of sales at Kensington Mortgages, said: “Solent Mortgage Services was one of the first mortgage distributors to link directly with K-link and as a valued business partner it continues to offer us great value through its early continuing development and online integration. We are not surprised how popular its online system has been and we look forward to working with Solent on further developments into the future.”
