The Intermediary – June 2025 - Flipbook - Page 13
RESIDENTIAL
Opinion
Parking fines:
Driving near
prime mortgages
M
any of us know
that sinking
feeling when you
spot a parking
ticket on your
windscreen. It’s
a frustration that millions experience
each year. In fact, research from
Confused.com at the end of 2024
revealed that a staggering 16 million
parking fines were issued in the UK
between 2022 and 2024.
It’s obviously an infuriating
experience, particularly if you didn’t
think you were doing anything wrong,
or thought you’d followed the rules
correctly. However, that parking fine
can be far more than just a nuisance –
it can have an enormous impact on the
recipient’s finances.
Should a fine go unpaid, it can
escalate into a County Court Judgment
(CCJ). These stay on a person’s credit
file for six years and can have a longlasting influence on the driver’s ability
to access finances, particularly a prime
mortgage product.
Brokers we have spoken with in
recent months have highlighted that
clients who would otherwise have a
great credit score are instead paying
the price for a simple oversight.
It just serves to highlight the need
for lenders to step up on supporting
those who only just miss the mark for
prime, by offering a product such as
near prime.
Broadening support
The past few years have been marked
by sustained financial pressure for
UK households, with rising outgoings
on everything from energy bills to
Council Tax. This increase in costs has
resulted in some households missing
the odd payment.
In many cases, the credit issues in
question are minor, just a temporary
issue which has now been resolved.
Yet the long-term consequences can be
disproportionately severe.
The only way to do that, however, is
to introduce products and criteria that
genuinely meet the needs of these near
prime borrowers.
For example, when we increased
the maximum level of unsatisfied
registered defaults last year, from
£1,000 to £2,500, it was because it
had become clear that a higher cap
was necessary to support more near
prime borrowers.
This was also the driving factor in
our recent move to raise the maximum
loan-to-value (LTV) available on our
near prime products to 90%. It’s about
ensuring that those with more modest
deposits can still access the funding
they need.
As lenders, it’s crucial to work
closely with brokers, and use
their insights to pinpoint where
improvements can be made to make
the process easier. Obviously lenders
must be responsible, but where
flexibility and more understanding
criteria can be introduced, it will
make a significant difference to the
options at the disposal of brokers and
their clients.
The increase in activity we have
seen for near prime in recent months
has been striking. The number of
applications in April was up by 28% on
the previous month, which itself had
set a new record high.
Compared with a year ago,
applications nearly tripled, while
there was also substantial growth seen
in the value of applications.
This growth not only demonstrates
how our improvements have resonated
with brokers, but it also highlights
the level of need for this sort of
flexible lending by a mainstream
lender, rather than relying entirely
DAVID CASTLING
is head of intermediary
distribution at Atom bank
The past few years
have been marked by
sustained financial
pressure for UK
households...from energy
bills to Council Tax”
on the specialists that cannot support
borrowers as and when they regain
prime status.
The bigger picture
The escalation of a simple parking
fine into a CCJ may sound
disproportionate, but it illustrates a
broader truth: minor credit events
can significantly restrict mortgage
options. In such cases, intermediaries
play a critical role in ensuring that
clients are not automatically excluded
from homeownership, and that their
borrowing journey can progress.
It is essential that brokers have
a clear understanding of which
lenders are equipped to support near
prime borrowers – not only at the
point of need, but over the life of the
mortgage. We not only proactively
monitor a customer’s circumstances,
but automatically offer them a prime
rate at maturity, if they are eligible.
Lenders and brokers should always
think about the long term, alongside
the immediate need.
With the right support, today’s
near prime borrower can become
tomorrow’s prime customer. ●
June 2025 | The Intermediary
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