Pure Retirement has become the first specialist lifetime mortgage lender to be added to Mortgage Broker Tools’ sourcing platform, in a move designed to raise awareness of equity release products among mainstream mortgage advisers.
The partnership signals Pure Retirement’s ambition to bring lifetime lending further into the advice mainstream, particularly as interest-serviced options become more competitive with conventional residential deals. It also highlights the potential of technology to bridge the gap between later life products and advisers who may not typically operate in the equity release market.
The MBT platform offers brokers integrated access to criteria, affordability and sourcing through a single input form, returning results in under a minute. It also allows advisers to evidence their research processes, helping them stay compliant while reducing administration.
The tie-up comes at a time when the interest rate differential between lifetime and residential mortgages has narrowed, particularly for products that allow interest payments – increasingly used by older homeowners with maturing interest-only plans. Both businesses say the partnership reflects a growing consensus that lifetime mortgages should form part of a broader, more holistic approach to mortgage advice.
Scott Burman (pictured), head of distribution at Pure Retirement, said the move would increase visibility of the lender’s later life propositions among a wider pool of advisers. “With the addition of interest serviced products in the later life space the difference in rates between residential and lifetime mortgages has never been so close,” he said. “And with lifetime mortgages offering the flexibility to move homes and buy properties, there’s never been a better time to partner with a holistic technology platform and widen awareness of the possibilities offered by modern later life lending.”
Tanya Toumadj, chief executive at Mortgage Broker Tools, added that integrating Pure Retirement into MBT would help advisers better serve older borrowers whose needs often fall outside mainstream lending parameters. “Later life lending is a growing sector given the aging population,” she said. “However, it can sometimes be difficult to compare the options provided by later life lenders with those from more traditional providers.
“With the integration of Pure Retirement into MBT, we provide an easy way for brokers to review the options side-by-side based on their clients’ circumstances. In our data we can see that for 30% of cases where an applicant is 55 years or older, no current lender on our panel will meet the loan requested – a clear area where Pure Retirement could help.”
