The future of the mortgage broker




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I bumped into former top industry scribe turned publisher Robyn Hall last week who gave me a right royal telling off for not writing about more business related topics in this blog………… Robyn as much as I love you I think you have missed the point.

  I don’t want to write the same old drivel churned out by the anti-depressant brigade, this I hope is not taken too seriously and on the odd occasion might make somebody with a low IQ smile at least once in the day. However, after saying all that it might be time for a bit of a reality check and at least make an attempt to find some subjects that don’t involve my recent elevation into the world of the celebrity.   I have read a great deal over the past few weeks about the future of the mortgage broker alongside that of the IFA and other associated specialists within the Financial Services industry and the consensus of opinion has been that there is still a future for those individuals.   Well, unfortunately, my opinion is somewhat different and this is based on the facts that present themselves. There is not enough space in this blog to go into much detail, however, anybody with half a brain can see that the FSA are keen to speed up the end of the traditional style mortgage broker and that in being so blatant about their strategy they are making it difficult for the lender to support that sector leaving the majority to pay only lip service.   In addition, the pressure appears to be on networks to widen the knowledge and experience of those left in the industry to a point whereby they are no longer seen to be specialists in the provision of mortgages.   The facts are plain to see……….if you are a small mortgage broker and you still operate in the same way you always have then your life is practically over. Look around, how many of your former colleagues are still doing the same thing? How many lenders do you have intermediary exclusives with? What was your last compliance visit like, did they ask searching questions that frankly were seen to be irrelevant to the advice given?   You won’t need me to tell you after giving this some thought that change is what’s needed and you need to do it now, even if it’s simply a change of name and strategy in the short-term. The point I am making is you cannot and will not survive in your current guise and I am giving you the last wake up call before it is too late……If you are still reading this then you are probably the dinosaur I am referring too……Change today or risk the slippery slide into oblivion.       PS – I didn’t see any celebrities this week!!!   Regards   Terry  

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