Back when ‘I were a lad’ at the very start of my self-employed mortgage career, as I sat in that broom cupboard we had to make a decision about how to compliantly travel through our mortgage broking life…
The way the industry is, you have one of a few routes to market – the simplest way to do this is to position yourself under a network – what this essentially means is that you represent them as a firm and they will fulfill their part of the bargain by making sure that you are giving advice that is up to their standards of delivery…
So, there I was, a young mortgage broker, with big ideas but with still so much to learn – and the decision was taken that this would be the safest way for us to operate… Myself and my then business partner decided on a particular network and off we went…
Amongst the huge amounts of positive’s of trading under a network there were also some restrictions – they give you the panel of lenders that you can transact freely with, and any others that may work for a particular client – you would have to ask permission to approach – this may or may not be granted… so clearly this would and does still have an impact on that end client if they were to say no. Also, 9 times out of 10 when a mortgage broker searches for a particular deal, the system we are given to do this work will show the broker the lenders they have available…. So if your network has 10 lenders on their panel… that’s where they are choosing that mortgage from… simple!
Within about a year of us being with our then network a rumour started to spread that they may be facing some ‘financial issues’… you can therefore imagine my thinking when I heard this… if they went down – so did we… a lifetime of work to become self-employed – all of the things I’d given up to get there… and this had the potential to de-rail all of it…
So, we started looking into our options and we started to see our direction quickly…
Under the FCA we were allowed to register with them directly – this does not come easy and by doing so there are many things which, as a firm, you have to do to make sure that you remain compliant in all areas of trade however the reasons for doing so… well these became clear:
·     We could become INDEPENDENT mortgage brokers
·     We could decipher the rules and principles of the FCA and apply them to our client process
·     We could manage our relationships with banks, building societies, funding houses and private banks of our own accord
We have now been a directly authorized firm under the FCA regime for nearly 7 years and I would not change it for the world…
It most certainly gave us our wings – it means that our clients really do receive the best advice they possibly can… our products are not worlds apart from a broker within a network but we are able to do things they can’t and access money from anywhere… so for the client, even if only a small saving, it is always something they should demand…and actually in my humble opinion it should be the benchmark!
We are now able to choose from high street lenders or funding houses – from new market entrants or the eldest private banks in our great land… bridging needs, developments of any size a commercial premises… we have even managed to secure funding against a Boeing 747!
There is a place for the wonderful networks that scatter the UK and absolutely for the brokers whom sit under these plying their trade… truth be told the market here in the UK would be so very different… but ask me if, as Managing Director of this truly independent mortgage brokerage if I would ever go back… it would be a no… not on your nelly!
Every client deserves Independent mortgage advice… every time!!!!
Jamie Lewis
Managing Director
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