The second charge mortgage sector is no longer a “dirty market” and high broker fees are “purely a myth”, United Trust Bank has said.
Mike Walters, head of sales at the lender’s mortgages and bridging division, made the remarks at The Specialist Lending Event (TSLE) in Birmingham.
He said: “Fees are a common conversation within our market. There are many different specialist distributors out there who’ll work with you on the fees. Some distributors won’t charge a fee, some will just charge for costs such as valuations and BSQs (building society questionnaires) but they will work with you.”
“High broker fees are purely a myth,” he added.
Lending responsibly
Walters also said when it came to second charge mortgages, the lender was not lending to customers who could not afford its loans. He claimed this was evident in repossession rates for second charges being at the same level as first charges.
He added: “This is not the dirty market that we once saw.”
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS