Inform 13th September 2024

Hodge

Queenagers: More phenomenal than fad

Queenagers—a term coined to describe educated, financially independent women aged 45-60—are a demographic driving 93% of household spending decisions in the UK. These 8.5 million women are anything but a fleeting trend; they’re a dynamic force reshaping society, the economy, and even the way we approach financial services.

Despite their power and influence, Queenagers are often overlooked by major brands and media. At Hodge, we believe that acknowledging and understanding this group is not just a matter of fairness but a significant opportunity. Many of these women are highly educated, hold senior roles, and have stable financial backgrounds. However, they’re still underrepresented, and underserved, particularly when it comes to financial products and advice.

The financial world remains dominated by men, and Queenagers are often underestimated when it comes to financial literacy and control. But as women close the income and education gaps, they are gaining more financial power than ever before.

At Hodge, we’re focused on adapting our mortgage offerings to meet the unique needs of this growing demographic, from flexible loan terms to Retirement Interest-Only (RIO) mortgages.

Read the full blog here to learn how understanding this influential demographic means that together, we can support Queenagers take charge of their financial future.

By Emma Graham, Business development director at Hodge

Legal & General

Just Covered | New Podcast Episode

In this episode of the Just Covered podcast, Hazel and Wayne meet Monica Bradley, award-winning mortgage adviser and owner of MB Associates. During this chat, she sets out the unique vision and ethos behind her firm, including her persistent emphasis on strong leadership. She also explores her approach to having a specialist team which ultimately enables each adviser to reach their maximum potential while delivering exceptional client outcomes.

This episode also covers:

Understanding the financial adviser’s role as a lifelong partner to clients by helping them plan appropriately for unexpected events and navigate challenges as they arise.
The importance of truly caring for your clients and effectively preparing teams so that they’re able to confidently and compassionately ask tough questions.
How to keep clients regularly informed and engaged with the evolving financial landscape and the best channels, approaches and communications tools for doing so.

Listen now.

HSBC Life

UK Expands Online Health Services

HSBC Life UK is thrilled to announce the expansion of its online health services to include policyholders’ partner (spouses, civil partners, or co-habiting partners) for both new and existing customers*** and also increase the dependent children’s age from 16 to 23. The range of benefits remain unchanged, however, young adults aged 16-23 can now access mental health services:

Unlimited Digital GP
Mental Health Services
Second Medical Opinion
Remote Physiotherapy
Annual Health Check

HSBC Life UK is dedicated to providing support and peace of mind to its valued clients. That’s why they have partnered with Square Health, experts in medical assistance and wellbeing support. With the HSBC Life health app, your clients and their families can conveniently access these essential services.

Please note that HSBC Life UK’s online health services are not a part of the insurance policy, and HSBC Life UK reserves the right to modify or remove these additional health services at any time. Rest assured, any such decision will not impact your clients’ insurance coverage with HSBC Life UK. The services are available to HSBC Life UK’s existing and new protection customers who purchased their cover via intermediary distribution partners including price comparison websites.***

HSBC Life UK will send letters to existing customers to notify them of the new features and they will receive reminders of their online health services in their annual statement.

You can find out more information in HSBC Life UK’s adviser toolkit.

Darlington

Launches 95% LTV Rate Reducer new build mortgage

Darlington Building Society has partnered with Own New to launch a brand new Rate Reducer mortgage.

First time buyers and home movers alike can enjoy the economic benefits of buying a new build home while maintaining affordable monthly repayments, with as little as a 5% deposit.

How it works:

Housebuilders typically offer up to 5% of the value of the property as an incentive to buyers, such as cashback or as a deposit contribution, to people buying new-build homes. For Own New Rate Reducer mortgages, this is instead invested into the mortgage to lower the interest rate during the fixed-rate period, unlocking a more affordable mortgage with lower monthly repayments for the initial term.

Key Features of the Darlington Own New Rate Reducer Mortgage:

Skilled Worker VISAs eligible up to 90% LTV
Generous Affordability model
95% LTV new build mortgage
Credit Search, not Credit Score
Non-guaranteed income considered (overtime, bonus, commission)
Minor credit issues considered
Family gifted deposits acceptable
Low monthly payments
Available nationally

Over two thirds (68%) of people consider the affordability of monthly mortgage repayments as a growing barrier to owning a home. (Property Tracker, June 2024). Darlington’s Own New Rate Reducer mortgage provides a workable solution to this increasing consumer challenge.

Additionally, newer homes are more economical to run; therefore, the financial benefits of owning a new home with Darlington’s Own New Rate Reducer mortgage extend far beyond lower monthly mortgage outgoings.

Louise Thorpe, Chief Customer Officer at Darlington Building Society, said, “Darlington is pleased to launch our Own New Rate Reducer mortgage, serving the needs of both existing and aspiring homeowners. We work closely with our broker partners to deliver products that are responsive to the changing needs of the modern mortgage market. Darlington’s Own New Rate Reducer proposition is unique in that we accept Skilled Worker VISAs and have adapted our affordability criteria in response to broker feedback and market conditions. It enables first-time buyers and home movers to attain or maintain a lower rate and the lower repayments they’re accustomed to.”

UTB

Helping make a First-Time-Buyer’s dream a reality

A first-time-buyer in his mid-30s has moved into a 2 bedroom terraced house with his uncle in the East Midlands and intends to buy the house from his uncle who will continue to live in the property post- completion.

The applicant is employed full time and is receiving a gifted deposit of 45% of the property value from his uncle. A Deed of Consent was obtained for the uncle for his continued residence.

The applicant has previous historic adverse credit in the form of a default from 2018 which is unsatisfied but well within appetite for lending. There’s strong affordability with £300+ surplus income per month and a low LTV required at 60% over a 25-year term. Our Prime Plus 5 year fixed residential product was selected.

Check out our product guide for more information or speak to our enquiries team now on 0207 031 1551 or email at mortgage.enquiries@utbank.co.uk.

Barclays

Product Transfer window

Barclays has become the latest lender to halve the amount of time borrowers have to lock down a new rate from six months to three.

It follows similar moves from Halifax, Nationwide and Santander.

In a message to brokers, Barclays says it is reducing its product transfer window from 180 days to 90.

The lender says it originally increased the window to 180 days in 2022

“to help provide certainty to customers in a volatile rate environment”.

However, it is now going back to the previous 90-day window from Wednesday 25 September.

It says: “We are making these changes in the context of the current stable rate environment and the vast majority of our customers applying for product transfers within the last 90 days of their maturity.”

Trinity Financial product and communications director Aaron Strutt says: “Mortgage lenders have been trying to get away from the six-month window often because of the sheer level of administration work it takes to make multiple rate switches.

“Now rates are coming down there is not as much urgency for borrowers to secure a new deal quite so quickly although problems may come up when rates start to rise again.

“There is a chance more borrowers will remortgage to other lenders rather than take a product transfer, especially if they want to make sure they lock into a new deal earlier.”

Pepper Money

Specialist Mortgages on the rise?

The mortgage market is looking increasingly buoyant. As rates continue to reduce, more customers are returning to the market. Are you prepared?

We’re pleased to share news around the opportunity to help more customers and increase business volumes. The good news is the total number of judgments registered against consumers decreased by 19%, from 234,768 in Q2 2023 to 190,023 in Q2 2024.

However, the value of consumer debt increased by 6%, from £364 million to £387 million. The average value of debt against consumers also increased by 31%, from £1,550 to £2,038. Have you seen more customers seeking debt consolidation?

This means the cases you come across may not be vanilla and could fail if a recently registered CCJ comes to light or the ‘computer says no’ due to high but manageable debt-to-income ratios. We understand our broker partners may increasingly require the clarity and certainty of our human approach to specialist lending.

Cirencester Friendly

Underwriting process to use NHS App

We have made some positive changes to our underwriting process that I wanted to let you know about and ask that you share with advisers. See draft message below for use on your news updates, comms channels etc.

We are always looking for ways to enhance our underwriting process for you and your client and are delighted to share that we are now able to receive medical records from applicants via their NHS app.

We’ll be offering this option as an alternative way to provide medical information in certain situations. Instead of always requesting a full GP report, we can gather relevant letters and/or test results for specific medical conditions.

If you would like further information on this new process, our teams are on hand to help. You can chat directly to your Business Development Manager or Key Account Manager, or you can email our Adviser Services Team at adviserservices@cirencester-friendly.co.uk

Zurich

Our latest Zurich Accelerate webinar series has launched

We recently launched a new optional benefit, Zurich Accelerate, which provides access to experts from around the world to offer a package of medical services for cancer, heart and neurological conditions.

If you’d like to learn more about Zurich Accelerate and how it can benefit your clients, you’re invited to join us for a series of five lunch and learn sessions, along with a joint CPD webinar with our trusted partner, Further Group. The sessions start from 16th September 2024.

You can register for as many as you like so please take a look at the options here.

Skipton Building Society

Exciting news about Track Record!

Here’s an update on our Track Record mortgage, please share it with your networks.

We’re excited to announce that as of today, Monday 2nd September, we’re making changes to our Track Record Mortgage, with a collection of policy enhancements and expansions.

Key Changes

Maximum mortgage term increase from 35 to 40 years.
Now available on New Build flats.
Now acceptable in conjunction with a Shared Ownership mortgage.
New flexible underwriting approach to the “household to household” criteria, where policy allows, meaning we may accept applicants without rental experience as long as an accompanying applicant meets all eligibility criteria.
Relaxed rent to monthly mortgage payment criteria – After 1 year of helping renters into their homes we have made various improvements to the way we calculate affordability which should help more customers step up on to the property ladder. This means in some circumstances we will lend loans which have monthly payments up to 120% of the rent the customer is currently paying.

View our Track Record Mortgage.

Please note
We’ve removed the Track Record calculator from the website as all rental calculations have now been incorporated into our standard Affordability Calculator. Please use our Affordability Calculator to determine how much we could potentially lend based on average rental payments and current income and outgoings.

Santander for Intermediaries

Edge Home launches with digital mortgage offers for your clients

On Thursday 5 September, we launched a new online service called Edge Home that’s built to complement the services you already offer your clients and make their mortgage journey even easier.

Edge Home allows your clients to track the real-time progress of their mortgage application from start to finish. Plus, your clients will be able to view and download their mortgage offer in Edge Home.

What can Edge Home do for you?

Edge Home’s real-time updates can help to reduce call volumes and free up time for you to deliver personalised, expert advice to your clients.
With Edge Home, you can offer your clients a cutting-edge way to manage their mortgage digitally and streamline the process.
You’ll stay in control of the relationship with your clients at all stages.

Elevate your services, boost your productivity and enhance your brand image with Edge Home.

Take a look at our demo video and new Edge Home page.

Hinckley & Rugby Building Society

Your new broker portal is here!

At Hinckley & Rugby for Intermediaries, we understand the importance of convenience and accessibility when it comes to managing your applications.

We are excited that the new face of our online broker portal, designed specifically with our Intermediaries in mind, has now launched. You are able to register by clicking below.

Through our new portal, we aim to modernise the way you engage with your submitted applications, introducing the following features:

Instant DIP decisioning
Ability to amend previously submitted DIP’s
Full Mortgage Application Facility
Secure messaging system, giving you the ability to speak with us directly about your cases
Clear visibility of how your case is progressing
Easily upload all of your packaging documents
ESIS production available

What do you need to do next?
You will need to register for the new service to manage your cases and take advantage of the features above. You can do this by clicking below.

Register now.