Speaking at the virtual mortgage administrator iVENT 2020, Cockerill (pictured), head of sales, said landlords were looking to cash in on the stamp duty holiday by snapping up new properties to boost their portfolios, purchasing a short-term let or restructuring to a limited company.
But the increased demand combined with the extra supporting documents required by lenders was creating more work for support staff.
And as the 31 March deadline for the stamp duty holiday draws closer, Cockerill warned administrators to expect the last minute rush to mirror the same spike in sales seen before the 2016 second home surcharge was introduced.
Cockerill says mortgage support staff should lean on all the resources available to help them cope with the surge in demand and more complex document process.
“In the post-Covid world, the heavy lifting in the document process just got heavier,” said Cockerill.
Many lenders will “do the heavy lifting for you” when it comes to large portfolio clients, he added.
Engaging with business development managers can help speed up the application to offer process and help to get the packaging requirements right first time. Cockerill advised administrators to use Live Chat functions as well as the phone, which give staff a transcript of the call should it be needed for client records.
He also suggested that administrators kept their own library of past success stories to refer back to.
“Create your own case studies of what went well and when you have experienced a lesson that will help you in the future when dealing with a certain lender,” he said.
