More and more borrowers in the UK are using the services of
specialist mortgage advisers to help them secure the best home loan
deal.The Council of Mortgage Lenders revealed that brokers increased
their market share across all business types in the first quarter of
2013; a clear indication that customers want to draw on the financial
and mortgage experience of these advisers.
As interest rates continue to be driven down due to
various government schemes to boost the property market, the range of
mortgage deals available has also reached its highest level for more
than 5 years.
Data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders shows
that more than half of first-time buyers and those people securing a
remortgage deal arranged the loan through a mortgage broker while 48 per
cent of other home movers also used an intermediary to assist with the
funding for their purchase.
These data reveal that more and more
people are appreciating that selecting the right mortgage for their
specific set of circumstances is not always a straightforward process
and that consulting a professional adviser can not only streamline the
process and make it less stressful but also ensure the right choice is
made.
Affordability criteria by which mainstream lenders assess
potential borrowers remain tight, and high value mortgage clients are
often much more likely to find the right deal by using the services of
an intermediary. Brokers take the time to understand the needs of a
client and assess their financial circumstances in detail, unlike
mainstream banks, which still tend to use a tick box list to determine
affordability.
The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) have been predicting
for some months that recent initiatives would encourage consumers back
into the market and intermediaries continue to be able to help those
consumers. AMI anticipate that this tendency will continue during 2014.
So the number of borrowers asking a broker for guidance and help has
been continuing to increase but so too has the number of home loan
products available to those potential borrowers so much so that the
choice of mortgage deals in the UK is now higher than at any time in the
past 5 years.
A report from the analysts Money facts indicated
that there are approaching two thousand home loan products available
from UK lending institutions. This is the greatest range of options
since early 2008 and more than double the number of deals available in
March 2009.
Large mortgage specialists are suggesting that as
the choice of mortgage products increases, so does the complexity of the
mortgage market. This makes it increasingly hard for a typical home
owner to find the best mortgage from the options available to them. This
is one of the reasons that brokers have seen a rise in interest from
clients in recent months. Mortgage advisers have access to a variety of
products not available from mainstream lenders and can establish exactly
what a borrower is looking for and match the client with the right deal
from the right lender.