Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions highlight the top comments from readers each week.
The first comment was a response to our Star Letter last week, which outlined comments on a Marketwatch piece debating whether broker fees should be on a par with solicitors fees.
Rehan Shams said: “I think the word ‘broker’ should be eliminated from our industry and should be replaced with the word ‘adviser’ only.
“I find the word broker demeaning and perhaps therefore some customers perceive that advisers should not be paid as they are just brokers.
“Advisers are actually intelligent people just like the solicitors and customers really need to be made fully aware of this information.”
Managing risk
The second comment was in response to Bank of England research which showed that younger borrowers, first-time buyers and those with low credit scores were more likely to pick expensive mortgages as lenders offered them worse choices.
SOX said: “I’ve always been amazed how mortgage companies are allowed to charge more for perceived higher risk business. It’s the same with sub-prime, the client is either a risk or they are not, they don’t become any less risk just because the lender is charging two per cent more.
“The lender should decide they are either going to lend or they are not, there should not be extra costs, it is exploitation yet it’s gone on for years.”
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
