HAVE THE CONTINUOUS CHANGES IN BTL PRODUCTS AFFECTED YOUR BUSINESS?

Shazad Ahmed, director at Elan Property Finance

We have not had too many deals where the changes have made them unworkable—one of the reasons why is that we are stressing the urgency of getting the correct information upfront to the clients and how speed of decision is important in the current market. Where there have been issues, customers have had to make the choice of perhaps waiting it out (if there is no urgency) or continuing to proceed if there is a need for speed (for instance, when coming off of a bridging loan). Plan B is essentially re-sourcing the deal and moving it to another lender; this is inconvenient and doesn’t provide a good customer journey, but we’re here to manage expectations and keep things moving. Some clients understand, while others don’t; at the end of the day, firefighting is part of the job. I think the key skill right now for brokers is to avoid having to resort to a plan B—you have to work with deftness and skill.

Toby Breeden, new business director at Crystal Specialist Finance

No, as we were all in the same boat and reacting as an industry to circumstances beyond our control. Obviously, the situation was difficult at the beginning, as lenders couldn’t give us much— if any—notice when withdrawing products or amending criteria, but they quickly adapted by improving their communication with us which, in turn, meant we could keep either the broker or the client fully up to speed with developments.