All signs point to a hectic 2025. With the stamp duty holiday ending in March, millions of expiring fixes driving a wave of remortgages, and incoming rate cuts, brokers have immense an opportunity to seize the day, but only if they’re prepared.
Consider the recent market developments. Zoopla has found buyer demand tracking 14% compared to this time last year, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is investigating simplifying mortgage rules to boost loans and inflation coming in lower than expected is supporting further Bank of England rate cuts.
With this backdrop, it’s no surprise that many homeowners are reviewing their mortgage situation.
The last market upheaval in 2022 saw some brokers turn away business due to the volume of new enquiries and slow conveyancing. So how can we make sure this doesn’t happen again? What can brokers do now to make the most of this busy time?
Efficiency is everything
Speed and momentum are key when managing cases and this goes hand-in-hand with ensuring process efficiency. From the moment the lead comes in right up to submission, staying on top of each case and streamlining the process if possible is critical.
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Technology makes this possible. If you are yet to embrace digital transformation or are not yet fully utilising the tools you’ve got, then now’s the time to do so – and quickly.
Tech-enabled processes, such as collecting online payments directly from clients, automated meeting scheduling, and centralised workflows for things like document creation and case status, streamline the mortgage journey, reducing administrative overhead and boosting broker productivity.
This ultimately results in a smoother experience for both advisers and clients alike.
Data – have you got everything you need?
Manually re-keying data across different databases, spreadsheets and paper-based systems is inefficient, slowing everything down at a time when you want to be at your fastest. You also risk introducing errors that further lengthen a case’s timeline, as well as opening up brokers and their firms to regulatory risk.
To complete client cases within the 11 weeks before the stamp duty holiday deadline, consider how you efficiently and effectively gather all the data you need upfront – for example with a client portal fact find.
Furthermore, how can you make that valuable data easily accessible to lenders, solicitors, protection providers and other involved parties?
Again tech tools that can aid this – from all-encompassing platforms like Acre’s to simple integrations you can make like linking your website to your CRM so you can automatically capture leads without rekeying.
Conveyancing remains the sticking point
Conveyancing remains woefully slow, with the average transaction in England, for example, taking over 13 weeks. New data suggests 51% of homebuyers have already seen a slowdown thanks to solicitor delays and a lack of material information.
Rather than leaving conveyancing to the lender or the estate agent (as is often the case) brokers can refer clients towards a high quality conveyancer who will work with the broker to progress the case. This approach often results in cases that exchange faster with fewer problems and delays. Losing fewer cases and transacting them faster leads to an overall uplift in productivity for the broker.
Whilst technology can’t solve everything, it can certainly help – even today.
Some systems share property search data upfront for each property, and the Land Registry’s LLC programme is slowly revolutionising local authority searches. And estate agents are increasingly using chain management software to play their part. We also believe an increased use of search indemnities will speed up the process.
And finally…
The saying “the best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today” is advice to take heed of. No one can claim to know exactly how the year will unfold but the steps you take to improve ways of working now will deliver far better returns in the long run.
