As we power towards the year end, there has been plenty to reflect on in 2016 – another year of change both in the world at large and in the mortgage industry.
For our part, at NatWest, we have had some changes of our own in recent weeks. With the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme coming to a close at the end of the year, we acted early in launching two new 95% LTV deals to replace the products that had been in place specifically to support the scheme. With less restrictive criteria it means that more of your customers will be able to apply for a 95% LTV mortgage on an existing, not New Build, property.
We also recently launched a new broker web site to provide you with a much improved online experience by redesigning the navigation and content.
From the NatWest home page, you are now able to quickly register or log in, submit business and access helpful tools including the LiveTALK instant messaging service, our popular affordability calculator, the ‘real-time’ Mortgage Application Tracker and find up-to-date processing timescales.
We’ve also introduced a new A-Z of lending criteria that provides a comprehensive run-down of many of the common policy queries that get raised.
Looking forward to the New Year, we will all have to get to grips with the new PRA regulations being introduced for assessing affordability for buy-to-let mortgage applications. We have already begun the communications process for this so you’ll be hearing from your BDM very soon.
New Build is an area of the market that will be keenly watched. Last month, we held a round table event, in conjunction with Mortgage Introducer, on this sector. The panel debated a number of issues that they felt that the industry needed to address. For the market to progress, they felt the priorities were:
• Look at planning regulation and how to free up planning at the start of the process
• Address the labour shortages by investing in apprenticeship schemes
• Get full lender support for the new tenures that are coming on board
• Have a housing minister that is in office for the long term
• Ability for lenders to offer higher LTV mortgages on New Build properties
• Large scale social and affordable housing whether for renting to buy or custom build
So, thank you for your support in 2016, have a great Christmas from myself and the team at NatWest, and we will see you in the New Year.
With the festive season just around the corner, thoughts will soon be turning to the once-a-year Christmas celebrations. At Precise Mortgages, however, we are thinking of solutions for your customers 365 days of the year.
By supporting customers who are underserved by high street lenders and developing new products to help brokers submit more cases, we are the specialist lender you can bank on.
In 2016, for example, we helped more customers with less than perfect credit scores get their first step up on to the property ladder by launching Help to Buy and Right to Buy loans. We also gave landlords more choice by introducing Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) and Limited Company Buy to Let loans.
We streamlined a number of our existing products to ensure they remain competitive in an ever-changing marketplace. We enhanced the criteria for Residential and Buy to Let loans enabling customers to extend the term to 35 years and benefit from improved affordability. We have reduced the rates and maximised the loan size on our Residential Second Charge loans. We have even increased the size of our sales team to ensure brokers have support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
With the PRA introducing changes to the way regulated lenders underwrite buy to let applications early in the New Year, and the effects of Brexit still to fully reveal themselves, 2017 promises to be a challenging year.
However, thanks to our robust product range, our flexible approach and our specialist understanding, we are well placed to offer the competitive products and support you need in the year ahead.
If you have never tried Precise Mortgages before, why not make finding out more about us your New Year’s resolution?
You can find out more by calling myself and team on 0800 116 4385. You can also log on to www.precisemortgages.co.uk
For all of our existing intermediaries, thank you for your business in 2016 and we look forward to working with you again in 2017.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Head of Sales and Marketing Sharon Mawby takes a look at five marketing trends to keep an eye on in 2017.
1: Social realism
Sharing stories and pictures of real people, in real situations. It’s a simple idea, but designing creatives using people that truly reflect reality, is a powerful marketing tool in both modern advertising and lead generation.
Celebrity endorsements no longer have the pull they once had. That’s why many marketers in the industry are moving to a more grounded and relatable form of advertising.
Therefore, to keep up with current marketing trends we are redesigning all the marketing collateral available to Mortgage Intelligence advisers. The new designs will be modernised and focus on using imagery of real and relatable people.
2: CRM
Good customer relationship management (CRM) is critical to reach the right people, with the right content, at the right time. It can be a challenge, but getting close to the customer using relevant content will increase trust and brand loyalty.
But there can often be a thin line between “helpful info” and “sales-pitch”, which is why 2017 will see many sharpening their CRM tools to get their marketing right.
This means it will be crucial for advisers to use their point of sale systems to review clients and contact them at appropriate times. This can help advisers return to clients who declined protection and prompt remortgage opportunities.
3: Newsletters
Client newsletters provide an important touchpoint in B2C and B2B email marketing. According to experts, 2017 is a good year to launch a client newsletter, as email open rates are generally increasing.
It’s hard to believe that just a couple of years ago some were predicting email was facing a decline. It seems that offering free and relevant content in exchange for potential business is still a fair trade.
Appointed representatives of our network have access to a free monthly newsletter service. This marketing tool provides advisers with a branded email newsletter that contains three relevant and compliant articles each month. We send out the newsletter directly to the clients on behalf of the adviser.
4: Social media
In the congested world of social media, standing out from the crowd is one of the biggest challenges today. But marketers are still keen to take advantage of the potential exposure, with many looking to expand their social media presence in 2017.
Having a good plan and clear goals will help ensure a return on investment. It’s also important that advertisements and creatives are optimised for all the different devices available today.
In 2017 new marketing collateral for advisers will be available that can be used on social media. The new collateral will help capture the attention of our scrolling nation.
5: Niche targeting
The number of available consumers has been far outpaced by the millions of new businesses that now engage with their audiences online. This crowded digital space has made competition for marketers really tough.
Experts suggest that 2017 could see more marketers targeting niche audiences and tackling specific topics out of necessity. Not only can this narrow the field of play, but can also produce a more healthy return on investment.
This means that 2017 may be an opportune year for advisers to increase their engagement with the trickier cases that other firms may avoid tackling. Recently we have worked hard to expand our panel to encompass more specialist lenders that deliver solutions for those with more complex borrowing scenarios.
If you would like to know more about how to join our award-winning Mortgage Network as an appointed representative or becoming a member of our Mortgage Club, call our Broker Support Team on 0845 130 7446, option 1.