First time landlord was the second most searched term, followed by houses of multiple occupation, day one remortgage, and lending to limited companies, according to the results from the criteria search system.
For the second month running, self-employed with one-year’s accounts were the biggest search in residential mortgages.
Maximum age and end of loan term, maximum loan to value (LTV), interest only and first-time buyers made up the top five most popular residential filters.
Brokers typically searched 4.5 different criteria categories for each case.
Knowledge Bank said the number of searches demonstrates how complex borrowers’ lives are today and the importance of factoring in unique circumstances at the same time.
More than 250,000 criteria searches have been made using Knowledge Bank since its launch in September 2017, the firm said.
Brokers find complex borrowers more challenging
Nicola Firth, chief executive of Knowledge Bank (pictured), said: “These results do really show what’s happening on the ground in terms of mortgage activity.
“The buy-to-let category, for example, shows that despite several years of negative conditions and decreasing tax incentives for private landlords, the second most searched criteria by brokers is for first-time landlords.
“This shows that there is still an appetite out there for first-time landlords looking to invest and that the enquiries are still there, even if they are not being followed through with applications.
“This could, perhaps, show that some are being put off by the levy on the stamp duty and other taxation.”
She added that it was beyond doubt that brokers were finding it increasingly challenging to find lenders that were willing to accept clients with ever more complex personal and financial circumstances.
“The fact that brokers are on average searching on 4.5 criteria categories for each case shows very clearly how complex individual mortgage cases have become and how much effort is needed to find a lender willing to consider a case with multiple parts,” Firth added.
