The Leeds Building Society has altered how it instructs surveyors for valuations to help to speed up the mortgage application process.

During the summer, the Society launched a pilot scheme to instruct a valuer the same day it received a mortgage application, instead of waiting until it received a fully-packaged case from the intermediary.

This change has now been made permanent although a mortgage broker can choose to have the case fully assessed before the valuation if they prefer.

“We received a really positive response to the pilot so we’re delighted it was a success and we’re able to make this change permanent,” said Martin Richardson (pictured), Leeds Building Society’s director of business development.

“In our tests instructing the surveyor sooner during the application process saved up to five days overall so intermediaries and their customers can receive confirmation of their mortgage offer more quickly.”