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Proc fees and lender criteria top broker priorities in 2016

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  • 07/01/2016
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Proc fees and lender criteria top broker priorities in 2016
Higher procuration fees and more options for underserved borrowers top the list of changes brokers want to see in 2016, a poll by Mortgage Solutions shows.

According to the findings, 40% of brokers would like to see improvement in the way proc fees are priced, while just over a third want more tailored lender criteria for customers.

Just 8% of readers are hoping for more lenders to join the market while 16% would like the widely alluded to interest rate rise to come into effect.

Jeremy Duncombe, director of mortgages at Legal & General Mortgage Club, said that proc fees for retention, rather than higher rates, are likely to be the ‘driving force’ in 2016.

“We’ve worked very hard over the last 12-18 months with lenders to talk about procuration fees and on the whole we have seen a good increase from most lenders. But where we need to be this year is to see a growing wave of lenders paying procuration fees for retention.

“We do know that there are some lenders considering it and working on their processes at the moment. I think the more lenders that come with this to market, the more other lenders will need to follow suit. I’m hoping that it will create a chain reaction.”

Paul Shearman, proposition director for mortgages, protection and general insurance at Openwork, agreed that lenders should recognise the value advisers can play in retaining clients at the end of term.

“There’s been lots of talk about remunerating advisers for the work they do on retention, but too few lenders have grasped the mettle and fully embraced intermediaries. I’m hoping that 2016 will be the year that changes,” he said.

Regarding lender criteria, Duncombe added that lending to older borrowers needed to be addressed: “I personally think that there’s no reason to stipulate an end date on lending criteria. It should all be done on the basis of affordability and ability to pay, so I would like to see lenders remove their maximum age and work purely on affordability and ability to pay.”

Dudley Building Society announced today that the upper age limit for mortgage borrowers would be scrapped in a bid to help older clients who may have difficulty buying, downsizing or remortgaging.

Pad Bamford, business development director at Genworth, also emphasised the need for first-time buyer support as the end date for the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme looms closer.

“Building societies have done much in this area but it also needs the larger lenders to evolve and develop their offerings. The market is now much more fragmented and therefore the need for tailored solutions, for first-time buyers and older borrowers, has never been greater.”

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