The Intermediary – October 2025 - Flipbook - Page 85
M E E T T H E B RO K E R
seen recently and over the past few
years. I don’t think anyone would
have wished for the challenges we
faced on the rollercoaster that was
2020 to 2024, but I believe now
that we are on the other side there
is significantly more innovation and
opportunity out there for consumers.
Brokers had it relatively easy, I
believe, between five and 10 years
ago. The market was pretty stable,
rates hadn’t ridden any rocket ships
or done any base jumping for a while,
lenders knew their corner of the
market, and we had Help to Buy to
save the day!
Fast forward to today and we are
spoilt for choice with low (and 0%)
deposit products, higher income
multiples, not just for first-time
buyers (FTBs), seriously longterm fixed but flexible rates, joint
borrower sole proprietor (JBSP)
options, lenders offering early switch
product transfers (PTs), retirement
interest-only mortgages (RIOs) now
filling the chasm between ‘normal’
mortgages and equity release,
lodger income being used towards
affordability, credit repair ranges,
one year’s self-employed figures
and less, and much more! Despite a
challenging journey, rates are also at
a much healthier level.
Tough times cause more creativity,
creativity brings more competition,
so it’s a great time to be an adviser!
What are some of the
main challenges?
While the protection market also has
some fantastic policies and criteria
available, I am sure others share
our frustration with the amount of
declines and exclusions by providers,
lengthy underwriting timescales –
thankful for the ‘Protection Promise’
from Aviva and others – and to be
quite honest the timescales for gross
payment references (GPRs) is utterly
disgraceful in most cases.
Consumer Duty shouldn’t just
apply to us, there are genuinely
clients out there who want cover but
give up chasing or lose faith in the
system, it’s heartbreaking.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and
tech are moving at light speed, and
while that is super exciting, the
dangers and risks are not lost on me
if misunderstood or misused. There
are radical and exciting ideas being
discussed, but if matters such as
remortgaging without affordability
checks or an increase in executiononly transactions aren’t monitored
closely, it will be the consumers that
have the most to lose. We are proud
to be with Mortgage Advice Bureau
(MAB), who embrace and drive
our ambition to be as efficient as
possible with our time. I would rather
spend my time with clients, solving
problems, or educating the public,
than stuck in a dark room typing into
duplicated boxes.
No one benefits from having to
enter the same data in four different
places just to submit one mortgage!
With all of the extra options and
complexities in the market, our time
– especially that spent with clients –
is more valuable than ever.
Could lenders better
support brokerages?
All lenders should understand
the difference a good business
development manager (BDM) makes!
We have half a dozen BDMs who are
genuinely able to, and regularly do,
save a transaction or get cases over
the line where they wouldn’t have
without their input. There are others
who don’t know their own criteria,
don’t answer the phone, or even
worse, don’t exist! Lenders cannot
rely on an out-of-date criteria page,
which happens more often than you
think, or an inadequate chatbot to
solve complex cases. A great BDM is
worth their weight in gold.
In addition, I don’t think there is
much in my life more frustrating than
inconsistent or unclear underwriting
decisions. Things will go wrong,
that is just a fact of being a broker.
It’s why we have a job! But all too
often cases are delayed, and clients
are stressed out because of rushed
or unclear underwriting decisions,
as well as irrelevant documents or
underwriting and support staff not
knowing policy. One of my favourites
is ‘Can you explain what the student
loan deduction is for on the payslip?’
That caused an eight day delay!
Thankfully, this is not the norm.
Are there any exciting
plans in the pipeline?
I can’t share details of them all,
but LionHart has always been
about building a legacy and ‘grow,
grow, grow’, so we can attract and
retain the most amazing people in
the industry and provide the best
service bar none. We now offer all
of our clients a Will or Mirror Will
on completion at no cost to them.
We will be expanding our protection
offering to include business
protection, working towards
launching our commercial finance
proposition, and investing in our
affordable housing offering, as that is
a huge passion for the team.
We’ve also got a stand at the
London Home Show, run by Share
to Buy, in September which we are
super excited about!
Do you have a message
for the industry?
We have such an amazing
community in the mortgage and
protection industry. I have met or
connected socially with countless
people that have influenced,
inspired, reassured, and educated
me, and I only hope I can give back
in return. It can be a very lonely and
high-pressure job without the right
team around you, so if you haven’t
found your people yet, keep looking,
and don’t be afraid to put yourself
out there and make new connections
either way. There will be significantly
more friends out there than foes.
Finally, it is such a privilege to be
trusted by clients to advise them and
directly impact their lives, we should
never take that for granted.
This job can be testing, stressful
and certainly demanding, but I am
proud to carry that stress so my
clients don’t have to. ●
October 2025 | The Intermediary
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