In FA’s Mortgage Extra supplement Peter Gladdy, director of mortgages at Mortgages Direct, says an up turn in first-time buyers should be used to trigger innovation, not recycle old ideas.
Gladdy points to the innovation shown by HSBC in offering interest only payments for two years, then automatically switching to repayment without any additional cost fees payable by the borrower.
In MI Roger Taylor, director of sales and marketing at Preferred, discusses the non-conforming market.
He says there are a growing number of people whose circumstances require something different; from those with impaired credit to a growing demand for buy-to-let. The non-conforming sector has evolved into a fiercely competitive arena, which is excellent news for the customer. There is an incredible array of non-conforming products offering more choice than ever.
Griffiths says:
“I can only endorse Roger’s view. Everything I hear and read, from Datamonitor reports to presentations from the likes of HBOS and RBS, are unanimous in their belief that growth in the non-conforming market will exceed the mortgage market as a whole.”
Later in MI Nigel Payne, managing director of The Mortgage Business, says brokers have a wealth of experience in the self-cert sector of the non-conforming market. After railing against the pseudo or ‘pretend’ self-cert products, he reminds brokers to ensure they have a robust advice and sales process.
Matthew Arena, managing director of Exclusive Connections, talks in MD about the importance of being online. Distributors making the most of technology will have a secure future, as brokers and lenders benefit from speed and lower costs.
MS contains the first of the new advertisements for edeus, with its gloves-off campaign of attacking its competitors. Here, edeus takes a pop at lenders with branch offices dealing directly with the public, and asks the question, how can they say they are committed to the intermediary market?
Griffiths says:
“I’ll give edeus 10 out of 10 for innovation, straight talking, and balls. However it flies in the face of convention in attacking competitors, and in print. But what else would you expect from Messrs Bolton and Cleary? Conventional advertising? Forget it.”
In MSL, James Taylor, corporate account manager for West Brom for Intermediaries, questions the accuracy of long-term forecasts of house prices and lending. One conclusion is that we are not going to see huge increases in business activity simply as a result of organic growth of the market. Any growth in trading figures will have to be hard won.
Publications mentioned
Financial Adviser FA 22 Feb
Mortgage Introducer MI 24 Feb
Mortgage Solutions MSL 26 Feb
Mortgage Distributor MD February
