Checkoutthisweeksupdate,plusanimportantmessagefromL&Don Mutlitiesupport–getreadyfor1 December! st
Iampleasedtoconfirm,Smartrwillsoonbelaunchingaseriesofshort, practicalfocussessionsdesignedto:
✔ ExploremoreSmartr365toolsandfeatures
✔ Helpyousaveevenmoretimeinyourworkflows
✔ Sharetipstoimproveefficiencyandclientexperience
Keepaneyeonyourinbox sessiondatesand detailswillbelandingsoon!
JessEarey,HeadofCentralOperations
IntroducingHalifaxFullMortgageApplication's Weareverypleasedtoannounce thatSmartrnowsupportFull MortgageApplicationswithHalifax directlythroughSmartrConnect.
YoucannowgetfromDecisionin Principle(DIP)rightthroughtoFull MortgageApplication(FMA), withoutneedingtorekeydataor switchplatforms.
Thisnewintegrationallowsyouto submitapplicationsseamlesslyvia Halifax'sAPI,including reprocessingandresubmissions whenapplicantdetailsorlender criteriachange.
TheHalifaxlaunchmarksamajorstep forwardindigitisingtheend-to-end mortgageprocess,reducingadmintime, improvingaccuracy,andstrengthening complianceacrossbrokerfirms.
Thisenhancementbuildsonourexisting lenderconnectivityandcontinuesour missiontocreateafullyconnected mortgagejourneyforadvisersandtheir clients.
Smartr – duplicate clients IfyoutrytoaddaclientthatisalreadyonSmartrthe systemwillflag‘speaktoyoursystemadmin’.
JessicaEareyisyourSystemAdmin,pleaseemail withyourquestion/query.Donotaddtheclientwith adifferentemailaddressunderanycircumstances. AnyclientduplicationwillbeflaggedwithyourDSD, CMDandJohnPhillips.
Learning and Development Update Aswemovetowardsthetransitiontomulti-tieon1December,it’svitalthat adviserstakesometimeforself-studytobuildconfidenceandproduct knowledgeacrossallproviders.
Twonewlearningmoduleshavebeenreleasedthisweektosupportthat journey:
Provider USPs and Add-Ons (Interactive Module)
Exploretheuniquestrengthsandadditionalfeaturesofeachprovidertohelp identifyvaluebeyondprice.
https://mylearningspace.thinqi.co.uk/go/t5ij3l
Tools for Your Toolbox: Protection Foundations for Newer Advisers
Covershowtointroduceprotection,ajargonbuster,andguidanceonhandling clientobjections.
https://mylearningspace.thinqi.co.uk/go/vlrbwi
Bothmodulesaredesignedtohelpadvisersprepareaheadofthemulti-tie launchandtocontinuedevelopingtheirownexpertise.
Support Directory toyourDSD.
Googlereviews–Chris.Pavlou@justmortgages.co.ukChrisPavlou managesthereporting,pleaseemailChriswithanyquestionsonthe reports.
JMFinancialPromotions-financialpromotions@justmortgages.co.ukFor allquestionsoradviceonwhatyoucanpostonsocialmediaandwhat mayneedapprovalfromOpenwork.
DigitalMarketing–digital@justmortgages,co.ukforsupportonhowto usesocialmediaplatforms,Googleplatformquestions,requestsfor socialmediapostsandaccesstoourdigitalmarketinglibrary(SPOS)
Smartrsupport–usetheAIchatbot,thiswilldirectyoutothesupport teamifyourquestioncannotbeanswered.Thisisanintuitivefeature,so themoreyouuseitthemoreitlearns!
ConcertHubsupport–forallConcertHubrelatedqueriespleasecontact First.Ifthisispasswordrelated,pleasechoosetheIToption.
Mortgage News TheOpenworkPartnershiphas againpartneredwithMortgage FinanceGazetteandMortgage Strategytobringyoutheonly annualservicerankingsfortheUK mortgagelendingindustry.
MortgageFinanceGazetteRated forServiceisbasedona comprehensiveannualsurveythat tracksbrokers’assessmentsofthe lenders’levelsofservice.
Lendersareappraisedacrossfive keyassessmentareaswithinthree separatepeergroupscategorised asmainstream,specialistandbuyto-let.Resultswillbepublishedby
MortgageFinanceGazetteand MortgageStrategyinMarch2026.
MortgageFinanceGazetteRatedfor Serviceprovidesanimportant barometerofbrokerexperience, helpinglenderstoimproveservice levels,helpingyoudeliverbetter clientoutcomeswithimproved efficiencies,soyouropinionmatters. Pleasetakethetimetocompletethe surveyasitprovidesvaluableoutput forustouseinourlenderreview meetings. Asathankyouforgivingusyour thoughts,we'llenteryouintoaprize drawtowinoneoffour£250John Lewisvouchers.*
Take the survey
Hodge introduces 80% LTV on Interest Only Mortgages Hodgehasintroduced80%LTVonInterestOnlyMortgagestohelpyour clientsexpandtheiraffordability
Keyinformationforyouclients:
Saleofpropertyacceptedupto75%LTVwiththeremaining5%achieved viaasecondrepaymentvehicle
InterestOnlyassessedonanInterestOnlybasisforaffordability
Availableuptoandintoretirement
Nominimumincomerequirements
80%LTVonInterestOnlyupto£2mand75%LTVupto£3m MaximumLTIx5.5
ThisenhancementisavailableacrossHodge’sResiandResiRetireproduct rangeswithimmediateeffect.
NatWest Launch Shared Ownership Mortgages NatWesthavetodaylauncheda rangeofSharedOwnership Mortgagesforthefirsttime.
Thebankwillnowallowcustomersto borrowtofundpurchasesfroma minimumofa25%share,while payingrentontheproportionofthe housethattheydon’town.
Overtimecustomershavethe optiontopurchaseadditionalshares toincreasetheirshareofthe property.
Sharedownershipmortgagecustomers willalsobeabletoapplyforadditional borrowingaftersixsuccessfulmortgage payments.
Sharedownershipmortgageswillbe availabletocustomersmakingnew purchasesandremortgaging, inclusiveofstaircasingscenarios. Sharedownershipmortgageswill initiallyonlybeavailableexclusively viamortgagebrokers.
NatWest’ssharedownership borrowingisn’tlinkedtoanyofthe lender’sindividualproductsandis availableonmortgagessuchasupto 95%loan-to-value(LTV)onnew buildsandthegreenfixedrate option.
Additionalborrowingwillbeinitially limitedforstaircasingpurposesonly.
NatWest Group head of mortgages Lloyd Cochrane says:
“We want as many of our customers as possible to be able to buy their own home Today’s launch of Shared Ownership mortgages means we are bringing more choice for customers who are thinking about the ways in which they can get on the housing ladder ”
More information on NatWest Shared Ownership can be found HERE
HSBC enhance reside lending policy WithimmediateeffectHSBC madethefollowingchanges residentiallendingpolicy.
Introducing Loan to Income (LTI) multiples for Premier customers
HSBChaveintroducednewLTI multiplesforcustomerswhoholda HSBCUKpremieraccount.
Whereanapplicationis90%LTVor less,theywillapplyanLTIof6.5x income(subjecttoanaffordability assessmentandexclusionsmay apply).
Pleasenote,inordertoqualifyforthe higherLTIatleastoneapplicantmust holdaPremieraccountatthepointof submission.
HSBChavealsoenhancedtheir affordabilitycalculatortoallowyou toselectaPremiercustomerand accessthenewloantoincome multiples.
Thecalculatorwillnowshowtwo maximumloanamountsbasedon whetherarateoflessthan5years or5yearsorgreaterisselected, providingadditionaloptionsfor yourcustomers’borrowingneeds. Forfulldetailsofthechangesand toviewtheLTItable(s)pleasevisit theirBrokerwebsite.
Lending Criteria Changes From Skipton Building Society for Intermediaries FromWednesday5 November,SkiptonBuildingSocietyforIntermediaries havemadethefollowingchangestoitsresidentiallendingcriteria: th
LoanToIncome(LTI)limits:
Income and LTV requirements:
DebttoIncome>10%
Totalincome<£40,000forSoleApplications
Totalincome<£60,000forJointApplications
LTV>90%
LTV<=90%
Avivawanttoacknowledgethattheyarecurrentlyexperiencingsignificant underwritingdelays,withturnaroundtimesforassessingGPR’saveraging around47days.
Avivasincerelyapologisefortheinconveniencethismaycauseandwantto reassureadvisersthattheyaredoingeverythingtheycantoimprovethe situation.Anumberofinitiativesandarobustactionplanarealreadyinplaceto addressthebacklog.
WhileAvivacontinuetomanageescalations,theymustalsobemindfulthatthis canfurtherimpactoverallprocessingtimes.Despitethesechallenges,straightthroughprocessingremainsstrongat80%,andarecommittedtomaintaining thislevelofefficiencywhereverpossible.Avivawouldliketothankyouforyour continuedpatienceandunderstanding.
TheBankofEnglandbaserateremainsat4%,andcommentaryby theChancellorRachelReevesemphasisedcreatingconditionsfor potentialratecuts,signallingpositivesentimentforprospective borrowers.
Severalmajorlendershavecutfixed-ratemortgageproducts significantly.Forexample,NationwideBuildingSocietyreducedits two-,three-,five-andten-yearfixeswithratesnowstartingat 3.64%foratwo-yearfixat60%LTV.
Theaveragemortgagerateacrossallloan‐to‐valueshasedged lowerto4.99%inNovember,downfromaround5.01%lastmonth, indicatingmodestdownwardpressureonpricing.
Marketcommentarysuggestscautiousoptimism:accordingtoa Novembermarketupdate,thetradebodyUKFinanceforecastsa ~10%riseinpurchaselendingfortheyear,pointingtoimproving
