New additions to the top five residential criteria searches in February were for lenders allowing joint borrower/sole proprietor and a search on income multiples for affordability assessment.
The two most searched for criteria were maximum age at the end of the term and interest-only. Brokers also needed help finding lenders that offered mortgages to borrowers who have had defaults registered in the last three years.
Adverse credit was also a popular search for second charge brokers. Intermediaries searched for lenders allowing county court judgments (CCJs) registered in the past three years and existing secured loan or mortgage arrears or defaults, pushing this criteria into the top five searches for the first time.
The rise in searches for lenders allowing these criteria conditions suggests a worsening arrears picture within the second charge sector, said Knowledge Bank.
Equity release
In the equity release sector, there were five new most popular searches in February which is the first time that this has happened in over 12 months.
The most popular search was by brokers seeking the minimum age of the applicant lenders would accept. In second place was brokers searching for lenders offering an equity release inheritance protection guarantee.
Although this criteria has been often searched for in the past, this is the first time it has broken into the top five.
In the buy-to-let category, four of the top five searches were consistent with the previous month. The new addition to the most popular searches was for first-time buyers.
Matthew Corker, lender relationship manager from Knowledge Bank, said: “February really threw up some surprising results, most notably in the equity release sector where it was all change.
“The extent and speed of change in the criteria needs of borrowers from month-to-month shows just how essential it is for brokers and lenders to adapt to changing demands.”
