Donna Wells

A look at the lay of the land

Donna Wells

director, F4B

Potential buyers, existing homeowners, landlords, investors, developers, and businesses continue to contend with their fair shares of economic concerns in line with rising energy expenditure and general costs. From a mortgage market perspective, the result is an increased emphasis on the flexibility of a specialist lending arena that continues to rise to the fore when meeting ever-shifting challenges.

Of course, brokers, packagers, and specialist distributors remain at the heart of servicing an array of borrowing requirements. Education and awareness are vital within this process, as the intermediary market continues to ensure that valid and viable alternative lending solutions are readily available and accessible to such borrowers.

SPECIALIST EDUCATION

As such, it was good to see the Financial Intermediary & Broker Association (FIBA) and Association of Short Term Mortgage Lenders (ASTL) confirm a framework for their ongoing education programme for the commercial property finance industry, which is due to be launched later this year.

FIBA and the ASTL are reported to be working with the London Institute of Banking & Finance (LIBF) on the creation of a series of optional e-learning modules that will cover bridging, short-term finance, development finance and specialist buy-to-let. The modules will be recognised through the awarding of an LIBF digital badge and accredited for CPD purposes.

The desired outcomes of the programme are to raise professional standards within the specialist property finance industry, improve understanding of the roles played by brokers, lenders, and other professionals throughout the life of a loan, and provide agreed levels of knowledge set by the industry as a base standard to provide customers with the best possible outcomes at all times.

As an industry, the value of a more holistic approach has been talked about for some time, but the adoption of such an approach has been somewhat lacking – although this is something that we, as a packager, have always tried to integrate alongside a strong support offering for our intermediary partners and introducers.

After all, it’s all about achieving the best outcomes for clients, and the more brokers know – and the more they recognise the support of real experts in specialist areas they may not be familiar with – the better the outcome.

SHORT-TERM LETS

Staying in the shorter-term lending arena, but traversing a little across the sectors, the latest report from GetAgent.co.uk – which analysed data on active holiday rentals across 15 of the nation’s most popular tourist destinations, from Southend to Scarborough, Brighton to Blackpool – highlighted that short-term lets are still on the rise and now account for as much as seven per cent of total homes across these areas.

The research shows that, across the board, there are currently 54,657 holiday lets, accounting for 3.5 per cent of total homes in these locations – up from 2.8 per cent since 2019.

Holiday lets is an area that continues to generate a host of interest, opportunity, and discussion. It’s also a space carrying a level of complexity that certainly benefits from plenty of due diligence, research, and good, professional advice. As well, it’s an area that is proving attractive to a growing number of lenders, especially building societies and specialist lenders, and this will be an interesting journey to follow over the rest of 2022 and into the new year.

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY SALES

Another area of opportunity for brokers appears to be in the commercial space, with rising business costs, including rent and associated charges, driving business owners to buy their properties and acquire a freehold asset, rather than navigate a fluctuating rental market and uncertainty of tenure.

Data from Allica Bank outlines that commercial mortgage brokers are expecting to see a sharp increase in commercial property sales, with 42 per cent expecting to see more SMEs look to acquire their premises rather than rent. The study also revealed that many businesses were also taking action to protect against future interest-rate rises, with more than half of brokers (55 per cent) saying there is demand among their client base for 10-year fixed-rate mortgages, while five-year fixed terms were in significantly higher demand than two- and three-year terms.

The commentary around this data shows once again how vital the support of a broker can be in helping businesses find the right products to achieve these goals. And this really is an ongoing theme throughout the specialist sectors, as the value of advice, and the value attached to trusted packaging partners, continues to rise at a rate of knots.

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