News
Proportunity expands broker panel distributing shared equity product
Proportunity has added intermediary Affinity Mortgages to its panel of over 200 broker firms distributing its shared equity products.
Proportunity offers would-be home buyers shared equity loans, which work somewhat like the Help to Buy scheme but are not limited to first-time buyers.
The loans are available for up to £150,000 or 25 per cent of the value of the property, and allow the borrower to access a mortgage at a more competitive rate of interest than if they pursued a 95 per cent loan to value mortgage.
Proportunity loans are only available through partner brokers, with Affinity Mortgages the latest intermediary to be added to its panel of over 1,000 brokers from 200 firms.
The lender said it is in the process of expanding its broker, lender and estate agent partnerships, with chief executive Vadim Toader telling Mortgage Solutions last month that the firm was targeting stronger relationships with brokers. It has already partnered with lenders including Halifax, Tipton and Kensington Mortgages.
Toader said that the addition of Affinity Mortgages would allow Proportunity to “expand its reach” as well as provide the broker with a way to help clients which wasn’t previously available.
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Eric Miller, mortgage adviser at Affinity Mortgages added: “Proportunity has given a number of my clients the chance to purchase properties they would not have been able to afford unless they continued to save for a significant period of time. The team are also on hand whenever we need to review a case and respond promptly.
“Their ethos and desire to help people progress on the property ladder goes hand in hand with the values in Affinity’s DNA.”
Second steppers face significant ‘black hole’
The partnership follows new research from Proportunity which found that some buyers face a “£145,000 black hole” when hoping to upsize. Based on analysis of Halifax’s studies into the costs that second-steppers have to tackle when moving up the ladder, Proportunity’s research noted that the price of typical second homes are increasing at as much as twice the rate of smaller homes.
As a result, buyers hoping to move from a semi to a detached house might have to find an extra £145,087 to cover the move ‒ an increase of nearly £24,000 on the figure from 2020 ‒ while flat owners moving to a terraced home will have to find almost £54,000.