Sinclair said doing ‘right by the consumer’ would be key to professionalising the industry at the debating chamber at the London Film Museum.
BBC Radio 4 Moneybox presenter and debate chairman Paul Lewis said he wanted to know any adviser was qualified and would expect to pay for quality advice.
But Sinclair pointed out that property professionals are paid in inverse proportion to the qualifications they hold, with estate agents at the top and solicitors at the bottom.
“Why do we want to be more “professional?” he quipped to an amused crowd.
He said: “In the investment world, it’s taken 10 years to make the transition – for mortgage advisers it could take five. We need to start this journey. Advisers will still have to requalify with the majority at level 3 not level four like the investment industry,” he added.
Meanwhile, specialist lender Platform, which sponsored and opened the debate, urged brokers to work together to promote the benefits of intermediary advice to consumers.
Platform’s view was backed by its own consumer research that suggested unbiased advice was the key reason first-time buyers wanted to use a broker instead of going direct to a lender.
Almost half of those polled – 47% – who used a broker thought brokers offered better advice than lenders, against 22% who bought direct and thought lenders offered a better advice service.
Lee Gladwell, business development director at Platform urged brokers to promote themselves and said: “These results give further evidence of the value consumers put on professional mortgage advice.
“As the market gets ever more challenging, we believe it is this that the sector – including brokers, lenders and distributors – should focus on and work together to promote to ensure more consumers better understand what brokers can offer.”
The expert Big Debate panel included Joanna Elson, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust, Robert Sinclair from AMI, Jon Round, CEO of First Complete and group financial services director at LSL Property Services and IFA Harry Katz of Norwest Consultants.
To view The Big Debate gallery, click here
