Inform 31st March 2023

Fluent Money

INTRODUCING THE FLUENT PARTNERS 15 MINUTE CHALLENGE

Fluent get it. Sometimes all you want is a quick quote and an answer for your client.

So if you’re struggling to complete a complex case, get in touch now and quote FP15 for an indicative quote delivered straight to your inbox – in just 15 minutes!

Click here for a quick quote

MULTIPLE PRODUCTS, ONE SPECIALIST.

Fluent Partners offer a fully advised service across a range of specialist finance products including secured loans, mortgages, equity release and bridging loans.

So if you’re looking for a simple, no fuss financing solution for your clients, get in touch.

To find out more, click here or simply contact Fluent Partners on 01204 472030 or email fluentpartners@fluentmoney.co.uk and quote FP15.

Pure Retirement

Equity release lender Pure Retirement

Equity release lender Pure Retirement have returned to full range availability following the reintroduction of its whole-of-market Emerald range.

The range will accept applications from consumers aged 55-85, with applicants being able to access maximum LTVs of up to 46.1% depending on their age, and advisers are asked to note that the reintroduced product will be lumpsum only.

The range offers a 21-day post-KFI rate guarantee, allowing applicants to assess their options with the peace of mind that they’re insulated from any potential rate increases. Customers will also continue to benefit from the ability to repay up to 12% annually without incurring any early repayment charges.

The latest move comes following the recent reintroduction of the lender’s Heritage range, which re-entered the market last month as a specialist high-LTV product for the over-80s.

You can view Pure’s full product range using this link

InterBay Commercial

Changes to BTL procuration fee scale

As part of a recent procuration fee review InterBay have taken the decision to harmonise our Buy to Let procuration fees so they are more aligned with the wider OSB Group.  As a result they will be changing the InterBay Buy to Let procuration fee with effect from tomorrow Friday 31st March.

0.7% Gross
0.5% Net

Please note that any pipeline cases submitted on or before 30th March 2023 will be honoured on the original procuration fee agreement.  Semi and commercial procuration fee scales remain unchanged at this time.

For any queries speak to your specialist account manager.

Melton Building Society

reopen Mutual House Office after major refurbishment

Melton Building Society are pleased to announce the reopening of their Mutual House offices after undergoing a major transformation.

The building society partnered with local business, Blueprint Interiors, to undertake a full refurbishment of the Melton Mowbray site, resulting in state-of-the-art facilities and an eco-friendlier environment.

The newly refurbished office space is a reflection of Melton Building Society’s commitment to providing its members and colleagues with the best possible experience. The renovation project includes a complete overhaul of the building’s interior, resulting in a modern and spacious workspace that fosters productivity and community collaboration.

Creative and Commercial Director of Blueprint Interiors, Chloe Sproston, commented on the completed project: “Melton Building Society now has a relevant workplace with the tools and spaces they need to deliver their great service. We are also delighted that the response to the finished workplace has been so well received by the team, as they continue to position Melton Building Society as a modern mutual. The delivery stage of the project has been a huge success, thanks to all stakeholders cooperating for the benefit of the joint end goal. We’ve delivered a space that future proofs the Societies operating base by creating a diverse and flexible workspace for its people, as well as creating a valuable asset for their customer communities and local business network.”

To celebrate the reopening, colleagues have been invited back in for a tour of the premises and a demonstration of the new technology and amenities. Blueprint Interiors have created a range of work and meeting spaces designed to improve efficiency and customer service.

Simon Taylor, Chief Executive of Melton Building Society, says, “We are thrilled to reopen our head office and welcome our colleagues back into this fantastic new space. The transformation of the building is a testament to the dedication and hard work of everyone involved in the project, and we’re confident that the new facilities and technology will enable us to deliver an even better experience for our members.”

The Mutual House office will serve as the hub for Melton Building Society’s operations, offering savings accounts and mortgage solutions, as well as welcoming in members and inviting community groups to use the meeting spaces for educational workshops. Local charities will also be welcome to use the facilities for free to hold fundraisers or meetings and Melton will look to hold broker events in the future, so watch this space!

To find out more about Melton’s products & criteria, visit their intermediary website www.themeltonbrokers.co.uk or call the dedicated Sales Team on 01664 414144 option 1 / sales@mmbs.co.uk

We like to keep our partners in the know. Here are 3 ways we can help your 50-90+ cases when the property’s construction makes it tricky.

We can lend on:

• Non-standard construction, including timber framed properties
• Listed buildings, including grade 1 and grade 2
• Flat, thatched, or shingle roofs subject to valuer’s comments

Sound helpful for a case you’re working on? We love helping in those ‘not-your-average’ cases, so give us a call today.

Call your BDM

West One have made several criteria changes to products within their Buy-to-Let product range. Changes include increase to <55% LTV Standard and Specialist Limited Edition product rates. Standard and Specialist Limited Edition rates above this LTV are unchanged. West One have also provided introduction of ERCs to Core Discount Tracker products.

5 years fixed product with a 3 Year ERC. The product targets borrowers who want the stability of a fixed product across five years, but the flexibility of the possibility of an early exit after 3 years.

After recent increases in Bank of England base rates, West One understand the need for flexibility for borrowers who may be nervous with current market conditions and where interest rates may be headed. Borrowers want the security of fixing an interest rate now but want the security of knowing they can change in 3 years if circumstances change in three years.

Product Changes;

• Increase to <55% LTV Standard and Specialist Limited Edition product rates. Standard and Specialist Limited Edition rates above this LTV are unchanged.
• Introduction of ERCs to our Core Discount Tracker products.

At The Mortgage Lender, our underwriters are real people, they don’t rely on computer systems to make decisions. They’re interested in real lives. They’re the best in the biz and along with our BDMs and Online Broker Portal, they mean we can offer end-to-end specialist lending solutions.

Meet Katie, one of our expert Underwriters…

Tackling complex cases like a flanker – a diligent member of TML, our Katie is passionate about team ethos. When you’re one of us, you’re a part of the family. But get her on a rugby pitch and she takes no prisoners, tackling the game like she does your complex cases!

Katie’s a real character, but she’s also in great company.

Our underwriters are:

• Perspective seekers:
  Our manual underwriting means we see the bigger picture before making a case decision.
• Well connected:
  Our underwriters work closely with our BDMs to make sure all cases are well prepared before submission and you’ll get direct access to them when your case has been submitted.
• Expertly trained:
  Our underwriters aren’t generic. Or anonymous. They’re personable people who are highly skilled in dealing with complex cases.

Ready to explore more?

What are the improvements?

Children’s Critical Illness Extra

• Increasing the maximum Children’s Critical Illness Extra payments from £30k to £35k (or 50% of the amount of cover if lower)
• Increasing the maximum Children’s Critical Illness Extra Children’s Terminal Illness from £10k to £35k (or 50% of the amount of cover if lower)
• Increasing Children’s Critical Illness Extra Child Funeral Benefit pay-outs from £5k to £10k
• Increasing the maximum Children’s Critical Illness Extra Family Accommodation benefit from £1k to £3k
• Improvements to cancer, heart attack and dementia including Alzheimer’s disease definitions to provide greater clarity in the event of a claim
• Updates to Changing Your Policy (also known as GIO’s) means your clients have more opportunities to increase their cover without answering further medical questions for certain life events

Critical Illness Extra and Children’s Critical Illness Extra are intermediary exclusive products.

Plans that change with your client

Legal & General understand it’s important to find the right plan for your client.

With the updates to our Guaranteed Insurability Options (GIO’s), clients can increase their cover for certain life events, such as getting married/entering into a registered civil partnership or increasing a mortgage due to a house move. Eligibility criteria applies.

In addition to our cover changing with your client, our products include extra layers of protection with Umbrella Benefits (our range of value-added services and optional benefits). With Wellbeing Support (provided by RedArc Assured Limited) included as standard, personalised help from a registered nurse is just a phone call away.

Find out more about our upgraded critical illness offering and how it can continue to help your clients and their families.

Santander

Protecting you and your clients

We’re aware that fraudsters are sending emails impersonating mortgage lenders. If you get an email that says it’s from us, but you suspect it’s not please forward it to phishing@santander.co.uk

Your security is our priority

So you know that an email is genuinely from us, we’ll:

• Address it to you personally.
• Only include links that take you to information pages.
• Never ask for your personal information, such as passwords or security details.

For more help and support please visit our fraud and scams webpage.

Lendinvest

Building simple residential mortgages for brokers and their customers

Building an application portal that works for brokers and their customers. LendInvest looks in detail at the portal it built from scratch to deliver simple residential mortgage applications for brokers, and get their homeowner customers fast decisions.

Find out more here.

Paymentshield

NEW QUOTE JOURNEY HAS BEEN REIMAGINED

Paymentshield have launched their new quote journey making it easier to offer a fully protected home to your client. Using property data from a global data provider, their question set has been significantly reduced by removing anything that no longer impacts the price, which saves you time when processing the quote meaning you can spend more time giving advice to your client instead of filling in boxes.

What’s new?

• Removal of questions with minimal impact on price and quotability
• Fewer pieces of information needed to get a price for your clients
• Removal of questions that are hard for clients to answer

Paymentshield’s latest video goes into more detail about the exciting changes and can be viewed here

Paymentshield will also be hosting a series of webinars which showcase the new system and answer you questions

Tuesday 4 April;

10AM – Sign up here
2PM – Sign up here

Thursday 6 April;

11AM – Sign up here
4PM – Sign up here

Kent Reliance for Intermediaries

Day one remortgages, £ for £ remortgages and enhanced affordability calculations could offer them the solution they need

With many landlords looking to remortgage to escape rising interest rates, it’s vital you can turn to a lender who offers a little extra flexibility when it comes to refinancing.

As the home of handcrafted mortgage solutions, Kent Reliance for Intermediaries’ common-sense approach to our decision making, together with a willingness to consider cases that fall outside of standard criteria, means we could help when other lenders may struggle to.

With options such as day one remortgages, £ for £ remortgages stressed at 1.05% above pay rate, and enhanced affordability calculations, we’re here to support you, whatever the case.

• £ for £ remortages available stressed at 1.05% above pay rate (no minimum stress rate applies)
• Day one remortgages available
• Rental cover from 125% ICR (dependant on property type)

Download our buy to let product guide →

To find out more about how we could help, speak with your business development manager, call our broker liaison team on 01634 888276 or contact us using Live Chat.

Mansfield Building Society

Flexible approach key to opening up retirement mortgages

There can be no doubt that demand for later life lending is strong at the moment. The latest data from Knowledge Bank, which digs into the most common criteria searched for by brokers using sourcing systems, makes that clear.

It found that in February the most common criteria was ‘maximum age at the end of term’, a vivid illustration of how clients are increasingly looking for mortgage solutions that will take them into their later years. This was supported by the fact that the third most common criteria – a new entry into the top five – was ‘maximum age for employed income’.

Encouragingly, while the Knowledge Bank data shows us that the demand is there from clients to be able to borrow into their later years, we also know that brokers are able to help those clients secure the finance they need, with UK Finance figures showing a steady increase in later life mortgages, including retirement interest-only (RIO) mortgage products.

This is particularly promising given the numbers of borrowers in their later years whose existing deals are starting to near maturity, and who want to review their options.

Read the full article here…

Impact Specialist Finance

Are your clients looking to purchase an auction property and need funds urgently?

Auction Finance is a bridging loan for when clients wish to purchase a property at auction but require funds in a short amount of time to complete a full payment within the deadline.

Impact Specialist Finance has access to a comprehensive panel of bridging lenders. We have built strong relationships with these lenders who will take a view on all aspects of an individual case, including limited distribution lenders.

Access a faster bridging solution, call the Impact team on 01403 272625 or email bridging@impactsf.co.uk