Features

Not what it seems

A friend recently asked me if I could have a word with his brother-in-law,...

Problems with free legals have not gone away

In this business, issues which at one point seemed incredibly important often get resolved...

The ‘professionalisation’ of buy-to-let is dominant

Sporting contests are often described as a ‘game of two halves’ which tends to...

It really is harder for today’s first-time buyers

Whenever there is a debate about the difficulties younger people have today in purchasing...

Closing the window on cyber threats

It’s no secret that small businesses are often over-stretched with their workload. That’s the...

Don’t be apathetic about protection

The ‘protection gap’ is often mentioned but, as time passes, there seems little progress...

Saving and spending

While we are working, we earn money; we spend some of that money, and...

Softly softly approach to secured loans

2017 was a strong year for second charge loans and while we wait for...

Tackling the construction skills shortage is only the first step

It’s no secret that there is a skills shortage in the construction sector. It...

Ex-pat buy-to-let mortgages an opportunity for brokers 

Ex-pat mortgages were back in the news recently when challenger bank, Aldermore, launched a...

The stamp duty conundrum

I’ve often thought that if stamp duty land tax didn’t exist, those within industry/economic/regulatory/political...

Will the naysayers be proved wrong once again?

If you’re looking for any sort of respite from a news agenda firmly focused...

How brokers can improve the conveyancing process

Ask most mortgage professionals what drives a case and you would probably get the...

Was the stamp duty change a red herring?

We may not have any 2018 data to currently work with, but judging by...

COMMENT

Complexity is rising and broker enablement has never mattered more

 For many years, success in the mortgage market was built off efficiency. If a broker understood the mainstream lending landscape, packaged cases well and kept...

Industry pushes to build next generation of home valuers

According to RICS, the average qualified surveyor is in their mid-fifties. Couple this with new entrant numbers failing to keep pace with retirements, and...

Supply side continues to drive the change agenda

Regulatory change is no longer something firms respond to periodically. It is now a permanent feature of the landscape. Whether it is capital treatment...

Searching for sunny uplands

There is a growing sense, shared quietly in boardrooms and rather less quietly over kitchen tables, that the UK has lost a degree of...

How advisers can find and secure powerful introducers to grow their business – Pt2

I hope you found my earlier article useful and enlightening and if so, please read on, as in this piece I complete the steps...

Latest news

FCA to join Bristol summit as later life lending sector weighs market study

The Financial Conduct Authority will join advisers, lenders and industry figures in Bristol next...

Targeted deposit scheme could help one million first-time buyers onto housing ladder

A new government-backed deposit scheme could provide a route onto the housing ladder for...

Hodge raises holiday let lending limits with 80% LTV move

Hodge Bank has widened its holiday let criteria, increasing maximum loan-to-value to 80% and...

Family BS expands fixed rate range across core lending lines

Family Building Society has launched a refreshed range of fixed rate products spanning owner-occupier...

PROFILES