Making mortgages simple for customers

It’s no secret that integrating technology into the borrowing process has revolutionised the customer experience. Despite the homebuying process being notoriously stilted and reliant on paper-based processes, Smartr365’s tools are helping to build a better, more efficient level of service.

Can technology assist landlords looking to expand property portfolios?

Average rents in the UK have soared at the fastest pace for at least 16 years, as a rising number of tenants compete for an increasingly short supply of homes available to let. According to Rightmove, the average cost of renting a home outside London has risen by another 3.5% over the quarter, to a new record of £1,126 per calendar month. Likewise, rents in London have reached record highs of £2,257 a month, having increased by 15.8% over the past year.

Don’t skimp on protection – future-proof your finances instead

As the cost-of-living crisis persists, UK consumers are increasingly looking for ways to reduce spending. As a result, one in ten people with protection plans in the UK are now considering reducing or stopping their protection premiums.

Beat the burnout: it’s never too late to streamline your mortgage business

A recent study of brokers suggests that mortgage brokers are more likely to be overworked and face burnout as a direct result of the nature of the role. The survey of property professionals found that a third of brokers have taken time off over the last few years due to fatigue or burnout, citing heavy workloads and client engagement as contributing factors.

As the government misses housebuilding targets by -39%, brokers should turn to technology to cope with a competitive mortgage market

The government has missed its latest housebuilding target by -39%, falling 120,000 homes short of its overall manifesto target of 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s. This follows a trend of subsequent governments failing to deliver on their housebuilding targets since 2007.

How can brokers best assist self-employed people secure a mortgage?

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen trends such as a larger desire for flexibility over work hours, the Great Resignation and a heightened interest in entrepreneurship contribute towards a growing number of self-employed people. As it stands, there are currently 4.2 million self-employed in the UK, and this number is surely set to increase over the course of 2022 and into the next year.

Finding harmony in the mortgage journey

The mortgage industry hasn’t always been the quickest to adopt new technological tools, but the tides have turned quite dramatically. COVID-19 restrictions saw the emerging creation and adoption of innovative technology to modernise mortgage applications, and, whilst it’s great that advisors have begun to embrace digital processes, these features are too often used inefficiently in isolation.

How are data prisons holding back the mortgage industry?

The digitalisation of an industry should propel it forwards, yet in some cases, the mortgage industry is being held back as many brokers find themselves data prisoners to their technology platforms.

How can technology help ease the transition into a post-Help to Buy market?

Many people aspire to homeownership, and schemes such as Help to Buy have helped several first-time buyers take their first steps onto the property ladder. The initiative was first launched in 2013 to kickstart the housing market in the wake of the financial crash.

Hint of a market slowdown?

The latest HMRC Property Transaction data certainly made for an interesting read, showing the first hint of a market slowdown for many months.