Specialist Lending Expands Amid Market Complexity
Scottish Building Society has widened its intermediary mortgage proposition across England and Wales, while Castle Trust Bank has added a medium-HMO category for properties with seven to 10 rooms: a five-year fixed rate of 5.99% up to 75% LTV, with loans from £200,000. At the same time, more than 8,500 tenanted homes are reportedly being […]
Open Property Data Supports Smarter Advice
Property data and software firm Cotality has joined the Open Property Data Association, while Access Financial Services has launched its in-house adviser CRM, Elev8. Together, these developments point to a mortgage market placing greater value on connected data, workflow automation and better visibility of the client journey. For AI-minded advice firms, cleaner and more interoperable […]
Renters’ Rights Database Creates Data Challenge
The Government plans to begin a regional rollout of a private rented sector database across England from December under the second phase of the Renters’ Rights Act. Landlords with assured or regulated tenancies will need to register both themselves and each rental property, making compliance a new operational consideration for buy-to-let clients. For advisers, the […]
FCA AI Warning: Trust Needs Controls
The FCA’s research finds that 56% of younger investors trust AI tools, while 44% mistakenly believe AI-generated financial information is regulated. Although the research concerns investing, the lesson is directly relevant to mortgage and protection firms as clients increasingly use general-purpose chatbots to compare products, interpret affordability and form views on rates. For advisers, AI […]
Rate Rises Sharpen Remortgage Conversations
Nationwide is increasing selected fixed and tracker mortgage rates by up to 0.20% from 10 September, affecting first-time buyer, home mover, remortgage, switcher and additional-borrowing ranges. Principality, Accord and TSB have also repriced upwards, reinforcing the message that borrowers face a less forgiving rate environment. With Bank Rate held at 3.75% in July but swap-rate […]