Low-fee second charge firm targets mortgage brokers

The firm made the claim on its website and branded those second charge companies charging up to £7,500 to process a loan as cowboys.

The service, The Loan Processing Centre, aims to help mortgage brokers and IFAs who need assistance with second charge applications.

After the decision in principle, it will charge a non-refundable application fee of £249 or £795 on completion which can be added to the loan. It also confirms it is paid commission by the lender which it will share with the introducing broker. A matrix on commissions by lender is available on its website. Introducing brokers can also charge the borrower a fee for their services.

Commenting on the decision to launch the new venture, Tony Sutton (pictured), managing director at Specialist Financial Services, said: “We have had the trading style for a number of years and we have decided to launch it as a pure packager to IFAs and mortgage brokers in the industry on the basis that there are some whopping fees being charged in the second charge industry and this is bucking the trend.”

He added: “We also offer experience. I have been doing this for 32 years and all of my secured loans team, have been in the industry for over 10 years.”

Sutton said the packager deals with every major lender in the market and there were no restrictions on the IFAs or mortgage brokers who could use the service.

Looking to the future, he said there were no official targets around either the number of introducers he wanted the packager to work with or the amount of business he hoped to complete in the first year. However, he did say: “I would like packaging to become a significant part of the overall business.”

In addition to its new packaging arm, Specialist Financial Services offers borrowers a range of second charge, commercial, buy-to-let and bridging loans.