As the year draws to a close, brokers have told Mortgage Solutions about some of the big lessons they are taking from the past 12 months.
Learning lessons
The importance of owning and working your client bank has been reinforced by the experiences of 2022, according to Jane King, mortgage adviser at Ash-Ridge Private Finance.
She explained: “The fall out from the mini Budget meant that purchases have now reduced significantly and any adviser relying purely on this type of business is going to suffer. For those of us with a good client bank, we have been able to keep going with remortgages and product transfers and so have been able to keep ticking along during what has been a very difficult period for the mortgage industry and this may well continue into the early part of 2023.”
Graham Cox, director of Self Employed Mortgage Hub, said that the biggest lesson he was taking from 2022 was the importance of ignoring “vested interests who continue to talk the market up”.
He added: “We need to learn the lessons of this folly, and prevent a return to the absurd house price growth we’ve seen over the past two decades.”
The big lessons from 2022 have been much the same as from the last three years, argued Rob Gill, managing director of Altura Finance.
He suggested that it remained crucial for brokers to be flexible in their approach to business, both in terms of what they do and how they do it, as well as the role that technology can play in adding value and helping advisers work more efficiently.
“Definitely look after your most important resource, which is your people and above all expect the unexpected,” he concluded.
Brokers have never been more important
Andy Wilson, founder of Andy Wilson Financial Services, said that this year had “brought more trials and tribulations” for brokers than he could recall for a long time “and I’m pretty long in the tooth”.
He noted that many brokers saw their best ever years for overall business levels, and said that he was confident good brokers would survive and prosper even if 2023 ends up being particularly difficult.
Wilson continued: “Homebuyers will always need mortgages, and so will those with deals coming to an end next year – reasoned advice as to whether to stick on their lenders’ standard variable rate at the end of a deal or whether to twist to a new fixed rate will be invaluable.”
Scott Taylor-Barr, financial adviser at Carl Summers Financial Services, said that the year had reminded him of the value of the advice provided to clients by brokers, “helping them to adjust as best they can to the new reality of higher rates and guiding them through the maze of options available in the mortgage world as a whole”.
This was echoed by Justin Moy, managing director of EHF Mortgages, who said that 2022 had taught him not to undervalue the support provided not just to clients, but also peers in the broker community.
He continued: “Being a mortgage adviser is not just about selling mortgages, but creating and maintaining relationships with those who have come to rely upon your expertise and judgement.
“Those are clients who will be so appreciative and will need support, plus those you work with will also feed off that. It can be a nervous and difficult time for us all, so don’t underestimate that opportunity.”
Be prepared!
The importance of being prepared for everything is one of the key takeaways from 2022 for Craig Fish, founder and director of Lodestone Mortgages and Protection.
He added: “I’ve also learned that the free legals service available from lenders is something that should be avoided at all costs.”
Mike Staton, director of Staton Mortgages agreed that it was important not to try to predict what is going to happen in the property market.
“If ever there was a lesson to the public to take professional mortgage advice instead of doing a mortgage by yourself, 2022 has provided it,” he added.
This was echoed by Richard Campo, director of Rose Capital Partners, who noted that “it is the most unexpected events that leave the biggest impact, precisely as they are so unexpected”.
He continued: “No-one predicted Covid, no-one predicted the impact of the mini-Budget, and yet they are the single biggest events in the last few years on the UK economy, interest rates and society. So the thought that keeps rattling round my mind is – if the next thing that is coming down the line that will hit me like Mike Tyson isn’t anything I am worrying about, maybe I shouldn’t worry at all.”
Not taking anything for granted is the biggest lesson of 2022 for Lewis Shaw, owner of Riverside Mortgages.
He continued: “If I had a pound for every time, I said to a client, ‘don’t bank on rates staying low forever, they have to rise at some point, and when they do you don’t want to be over-leveraged’ I’d be a wealthy man by now.”
Shaw added that this year had also reinforced the need to draw boundaries and stop doing other people’s work. “Remember, we can’t be responsible for surveyors, solicitors, estate agents or anyone else in the chain. We can guide and advise, but ultimately we’re not responsible for everyone else’s role,” he concluded.
