Speaking at The Mortgage Administrator Online Event, Leeds Building Society’s corporate account manager James Chutter (pictured) said: “Having a good knowledge of how the lender works is a really good way to ensure that the customer gets a good offer quickly. Having a good contact, such as your business development manager (BDM), is really important to ensuring that you know every little trick about the lender, which will help your case go faster.”
He said that as lenders had different systems, processes, packaging requirements and contact preferences administrators needed to have an overview to help customers navigate the complex landscape.
“Knowing how a lender works from start to finish will always help in the long run… so getting detailed knowledge of the best system and the quirks is a really valuable exercise and it will also build relationship with them as well,” he added.
Chutter noted that knowing the lender’s technology and systems, as well as sending information all together, would also improve administrators’ relationships with lenders.
Chutter added that “telling the story,” of the customer to the lender, whether that was in a separate document or notes attached to the case, could improve the chance of a customer getting a positive income.
He continued that having a good working relationship and effective communication with brokers was key for administrators to provide good service for customers.
He said: “In some firms the brokers have very little involvement once the case has been submitted, so a lot of the responsibilities fall to the administrators to get the case over the line.”
Chutter added that because of this, this could mean that administrators would have to engage with third parties, such as solicitors, estate agents and surveyors, to support the broker.
“This can be immensely stressful, so being able to handle these situations with a cool head is definitely required,” he said.
Chutter noted: “Most importantly of all the administrator has to ensure that the customer is informed at all times so that they feel they are being looked after and are in good hands.”
Trends in mortgage fraud
Chutter added that some of the more common trends in fraud included staged income — where someone says they have a job with accompanying payslips, but it’s fictitious.
This could be because they have just started in a role, so it is vital to ensure that payslips are valid.
Inflated income, where customers may exaggerate their income, is also becoming more common. Chutter recommended working with the client to ask their employer or HMRC for records that verify income.
Affordability manipulation, where a customer may try to conceal debt or other commitments that may impact their affordability, was also mentioned.
To help combat payslip fraud, Leeds Building Society’s business development manager Emma Evenett, said administrators should check employee numbers, salary numbers and examine year-to-date figures.
She also recommended that the quality of bank statements, including font size and type, colouring, bank logo and transactions could be checked.
The presentations from the MAOE event will be available to watch on demand on Mortgage Solutions YouTube channel tomorrow morning.
