Inform 10th December 2021

Recently we communicated changes to the online systems, these changes to the Applicant Summary table within the Personal Details screen provided help text and new headers on the table to make the functionality clearer, to help reduce instances where intermediaries were not keying correctly.

There has been a significant reduction in instances where intermediaries are keying incorrectly, however, it is still happening. Considering the potential impact on customers we’ve decided to make some further changes, which are set out in detail in the communication below.

In summary once a Decision in Principle (DIP) is submitted the following fields under ‘Personal Details’ will be ‘read only’ and so cannot be amended. This also applies when you reach DIP stage when keying a full application:

• Title
• Forename
• Middle name
• 2^nd Middle name
• Surname
• Date of birth

You can still amend all other details and submit to re-run a DIP decision e.g. other personal details such as address, loan amount / purchase price / term, incomes, credit commitments etc. However the above personal details fields cannot be amended to re-run the DIP decision or changed when converting to a full application.

If the personal details had not been keyed correctly:

• A new DIP will need to be keyed from the start with the correct details. A DIP with incorrect / incomplete details in any of these fields should not be converted to a full application but a new application keyed from the start    OR
• On a joint application in the Applicant Summary table at the bottom of the Personal Details screen you can ‘Delete’ the incorrect applicant and then click the ‘Add Another Applicant’ button to rekey the applicant with the full / correct personal details.

At the top of the Personal Details screen new text will remind you of the personal details fields that will not be amendable after a DIP has been submitted and it is important that these fields are completed correctly to avoid the additional work of keying DIPs again.

Where a full application has already been submitted and you become aware that an amendment is needed to any of these personal details fields, you should complete a Contact Form and upload this for our Broker Support Team to make the required changes.

Twenty7Tec are delighted to confirm that following a successful pilot phase, Leeds is now LIVE to all APPLY enabled firms. 

Yesterday Twenty7Tec announced that following a successful pilot, Leeds Building Society has been added to its APPLY module and has now been rolled out to all users of the CloudTwenty7 platform to enable them to submit applications without the need for re-keying

For this integration, Twenty7Tec have integrated with IRESS Lender Connect software, which Leeds Building Society are using to support the transfer of data into its intermediary portal. Users of CloudTwenty7 will be able to complete a Leeds Decision in Principle application in the CloudTwenty7 platform, re-using customer data already captured, before passing the data to the Leeds Building Society portal and submitting to the lender.

Martese Carton, Leeds Building Society’s Head of Intermediary Distribution, added: “We’re delighted we can now offer this extra functionality to all our intermediary partners after a successful pilot.

“The Twenty7Tec integration rounds off a year filled with innovations and technological improvements to streamline the mortgage journey with Leeds Building Society and our investment in our systems and service will continue in 2022.”

To support advisers with understanding the benefits of the APPLY integration with Leeds, we have created some useful materials:

• Leeds APPLY Registration and Integration Guide  – DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE HERE
• A video demonstration of the integration providing you with all you need to know – WATCH HERE

Coventry Building Society is extending its Green Together Reward, which offers borrowers an incentive of £500 in return for carrying out work designed to improve their property’s energy efficiency. Borrowers will now have until 31 March 2022 to apply for their mortgage and 31 March 2023 to submit their claim for the reward, an extension of three months.

The Green Together Reward is open to both Residential and Buy to Let borrowers who apply for a new mortgage or change their existing mortgage or terms.

To qualify for the Green Together Reward, borrowers must spend at least £2,500 on improvements designed to make their property more energy efficient, with the works being carried out by a TrustMark Registered Business.

Kevin Purvey, Director of Mortgage Distribution at Coventry Building Society, commented: “The climate crisis that we’re facing is very real and we want to continue to help brokers’ clients make greener choices.

“Our Green Together Reward directly incentivises borrowers to make changes aimed at improving the energy efficiency of their homes, and it’s been very well received by both brokers and borrowers. It’s particularly worth considering for landlords, as the Green Together Reward could help them to ‘future proof’ their properties for the proposed legislation around the EPC ratings of their properties in years to come.

“We’re delighted to extend this offering so that more borrowers can take advantage of this reward for carrying improvements designed to reduce their property’s carbon footprint and make a positive environmental impact.”

Moving up the property ladder isn’t always easy, especially for contractors, self-employed workers or those receiving inconsistent income.

The past few years haven’t helped. As recently as the end of 2019, there were just over five million self-employed workers in the UK – the highest number on record. However, back in April 2020, a report by the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) said that as many as 1.1 million people were at risk of losing their livelihood¹.

Although the ERC’s forecast hasn’t been quite as bad as predicted, the most recent records show there are now just under 4.3 million people working for themselves – that’s a staggering drop of almost 750,000 in just over 18 months².

Plus, with the average UK house price having risen to a record high of £255,000³, the prospect of taking that next step towards homeownership seems all the more challenging for so many people.

Read Kent Reliance for Intermediaries article on supporting complex income in a changing world, and discover how, despite the pandemic and the struggles that it’s brought, our flexibility and willingness to lend has enabled us to continue supporting those left underserved by high street lenders.

With the support of our dedicated sales team and a suite of products designed to offer solutions, at Kent Reliance for Intermediaries we could help put you into a better position to help support your contractor or self-employed clients.

If you have a self-employed or contractor client, speak with your business development manager for a more detailed discussion on how we could help. Alternatively, you can call our broker liaison team on 01634 888276 to find out how our products and criteria can support your complex income cases.

Sources:

¹ https://www.enterpriseresearch.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/ERC-Insight-Covid-19-and-self-employment-in-the-UK.pdf   

²https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/
employmentandemployeetypes/datasets/employeesandselfemployedbyindustryemp14

³ https://www.mortgageintroducer.com/halifax-house-prices-at-record-high-as-momentum-increases-in-march/

In his final blog in the series looking at the myths and misconceptions of protection, Robert Betts, Market Development Manager at Legal & General, discusses the sixth most common reason why clients don’t have income protection – because they believe that cutting back on spending during leaner times is enough. Here, Robert identifies the gap between spending perception and reality, shares how you can help clients appreciate the buying power of their earnings, and why you should show the prevailing need for a budget planner.

Read Now

To celebrate the festive season, we are giving away 3 Christmas hampers to 3 lucky brokers throughout the month of December. To take part, all you have to do is register to use our Online Portal via our website.

Congratulations to Hannah Russell at Miss Moneypenny Mortgages Ltd who was our first winner on Friday 3^th Dec. We’re also drawing winners on the 10^th and 17^th Dec, so the sooner you register the more chances you’ll have to win.

To read more about the prize draw and the full Ts & Cs see our news article.

To round off Monday we’ve also included last week’s Friday Fact for you. This ones about DIPs, but if you need help with any part of our submission process just give our experts a call on 0370 707 1894 (Mon to Fri, 9am – 5pm).

Have a great week.

Following the boost to property purchase cases prompted by the Stamp Duty Holiday, more2life has announced that it has passed the £5bn loans to management threshold, with more than £1billion written since Q4 of 2020.

Dave Harris, Chief Executive Officer at more2life, comments:

“Hitting £5bn of loans under management is a huge achievement and is testament to the hard work of our entire team. To achieve this during the turbulence of the last 18 months highlights our commitment to the market and drive to create better customer outcomes by supporting advisers.”

“The equity release sector looks on track for a record level of lending this year and, as the industry evolves, driving product innovation and working with advisers to ensure unlocking equity is seen as a viable option remains of paramount importance. We look forward to helping to push the industry forward as it enters an exciting period.”

This amazing milestone proves that this is an innovative sector which looks set to break the £4billion per year lending barrier in 2021.

Find out more about more2life here.

Would you like more time for advice, less for admin?

Our all-in-one research tool SmartrFit has been designed to help advisers quickly and accurately find their clients the most appropriate lender for free.

The tool combines criteria, affordability and products, from over 40 lenders both on and off the high street, across Residential and Buy-to-Let. SmartrFit helps you not only find out how much your client can borrow, but inform them of their likely monthly costs, interest rates and who might lend to them.

To book a demonstration click here

If you’re looking to adopt ‘Smartr’ ways of working in 2022 so you can spend more time with your clients, and less time on admin, why not give SmartrFit a try?

Available to all mortgage advisers with no licence fees or monthly costs, what have you got to lose?

Give it a try now and start 2022 working ‘Smartr’ not harder.

We understand that over the last decade the way in which people in the UK receive their income has changed dramatically. We consistently evolve our policy to be able to offer solutions to as many of your customers as possible.

Acceptable income highlights

• Employed: 100% of basic and fixed acceptable allowances if 12 month track record and sustainable
• Self-employed: Profit before taxation plus Directors remuneration used if 100% of Ltd company shareholders are on the application. Max LTV 95% subject to criteria & sustainability checks
• Contractor: Daily rate x 5 x 46, no minimum contract value, all industries accepted, no more than six weeks of gaps, umbrella companies accepted
• Investment income: Accepted at 5% of fund value over a maximum term of 20 years – subject to a minimum managed portfolio value of £250,000
• Private pension: SIPP/SSAS income accepted at 5% of the fund value, over a maximum term of 20 years, this can be considered even if not currently being drawn if the customer is over age 55 and the assets are liquid
• Variable income: We use 50% of cash bonus/commission/overtime from the latest/current tax year

For full details on the points above, please refer to our Mortgage Lending Criteria Guide and Product Guides.

Contact us

If you have any questions or need support, please get in touch with your BDM or call our Broker helpdesk on 020 3427 1019.

Find your nearest BDM here.

Christmas has come early this year from two of our lenders, Landbay & Foundation Home Loans. We are really excited about the new focus on Large HMO & MUFB from Landbay along with a Festive 5 Year Fixed Rate Special from Foundation Home Loans.

Semi Exclusive – Large HMO & MUFB – Landbay

• Landbay
• HMO up to 12 beds
• MUFB up to 12 units
• Up to 75% LTV
• £100k to £2m
• 2% Product Fe

Festive 5 Year Fixed Special with Flat Fee – Foundation Home Loans

• Foundation Homeloans
• Available to Limited Company BTL customers, individual BTL and portfolio landlords
• £250k to £1m
• Flat Fee £1,995

If you have a customer that you think either of these products could help, ring the Buy to Let team on 023 8045 6999 option 3.

We are writing to give you advance notice of our operational deadlines and opening hours for the forthcoming festive period.

Home Finance applications submitted on or before Wednesday, 15 December will be reviewed and an initial response given by 1pm on Friday, 24 December. Applications received after 15 December are not guaranteed to be reviewed before Tuesday, 4 January 2022.

Existing applications that are expecting to complete in 2021 will need to do so by Wednesday, 22 December, to ensure that funds are transferred prior to legal firms closing for the festive period.

The Bank will close for business at 1pm on Friday, 24 December and re-open in full at 9am on Tuesday, 4 January 2022. Between the 29 and 31 December a reduced team will be available to manage urgent enquiries.

To view our seasonal opening hours in full, please click here. If you have any queries or require further information our team remains available via phone and email, details of which can be found here.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support this year and send our warmest wishes to you over the festive holiday season. We look forward to working with you in 2022 and beyond.