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Five ways to speed up the offer process

by: Ian Wilson, head of Halifax Intermediaries
  • 15/02/2019
  • 0
Top tips for brokers to avoid delays and get it right first time.

 

 

The quicker you can get an offer on the right deal for your client the better. It gives you valuable reassurance that the case is locked down, or as close to a guarantee as you can get.

And you can maximise your chances of getting an offer within a week by ensuring you don’t make the most common submission mistakes, revealed by Halifax’s underwriters and processors.

These errors and omissions have been highlighted by those working on the front line of the country’s busiest and biggest mortgage lender, as those that frequently cause delays on broker-submitted business.

By avoiding these pitfalls, you can boost your conversion rate and make your business more efficient.

So, what should you look out for?

1. Get the documents at interview stage

It doesn’t matter which lender you use, getting the right documents from your client upfront is a smart move. Having the right information ready to submit means the processor can verify the documents during the initial phone call and progress the case as far as possible.

Ask your client to bring all of their relevant information to the mortgage interview so you already have it. When you submit the application at the DIP stage, you will typically receive a list confirming exactly what the lender needs and it can help to have this to hand. With Halifax you can phone and run through the submission on day one, uploading the documents while you are on the phone.

2. Check the source of deposit

Always ask your client where the deposit is coming from, even if it currently sits in their savings account. Brokers often key in the deposit as ‘savings’ when in fact, all or part of it is a gift, from the Bank of Mum and Dad for example.

Always specifically ask your client if it has been gifted so that you and the lender know this at the first opportunity.

This is important because it invariably gets flagged by the conveyancer later in the process under money laundering checks, when having to clarify the deposit source can cause delays. Get it right on submission to avoid this.

3. Make sure the income breakdown is correct

Don’t key in your client’s income under ‘basic’ when the payslip shows there are other elements to their pay – for example a bonus, overtime, additional hours.

Each lender has its own requirements as to how this information is presented but they all will require income to be inputted in a way that can be checked against the payslips and other documentation.

Make sure you present it to the lender in the format required. This is another area where mistakes frequently lead to delays that could have been easily avoided.

4. Double check the details match up

Double check all the details on each document against the details you input. A classic mistake made by brokers is middle names being missing from the submission despite being on the client’s documents, or the names not matching in some other way.

Another common error is that the address on a document doesn’t match the address the broker has submitted on application. Make sure every bit of information matches up.

5. Find out who else will live there

Have you asked your client whether there are any other adults who will live in the property who are not on the mortgage? All adults who will occupy the property have to waive their right over the property, so it’s essential the lender knows who will live there. This is often missed off the initial application leading to delays down the line.

Triple check to save time

The most common mistakes made by brokers come down to discrepancies between what is inputted on submission and what the documents reveal.

You can’t know by heart the submission form quirks of each and every lender you use. However, by sense-checking the application alongside the evidence you can avoid some of these errors.

By asking your clients for documents upfront you can also avoid the time-consuming back and forth between you, them and the lender that disrupts your working day and leads to uncertainty for all.

For the use of mortgage intermediaries and other professionals only

If you do not have professional experience, you should not rely on the information contained in this communication. If you are a professional and you reproduce any part of the information contained in this communication, to be used with or to advise retail clients, you must ensure it conforms to the Financial Conduct Authority’s advising and selling rules. Halifax is a division of Bank of Scotland plc. Registered in Scotland No. SC327000. Registered Office: The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ. Bank of Scotland plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 169628.This information is correct as of February 2019 and is relevant to Halifax products and services only.

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