For estate agents
The buyer your broker cannot place is not always unplaceable
Most mortgage cases are straightforward and your usual arrangement handles them. This is for the ones that stall — the self-employed buyer with one year of accounts, the director paid in dividends, the contractor on a day rate. A second opinion, not a replacement.
Where cases tend to stall
These four account for most of the offers that come back too low, or not at all.
Self-employed with one year of accounts
Most high street lenders want two to three years. A buyer who went self-employed eighteen months ago is often told no by default, even on a strong deposit.
Company directors paid in dividends
Profit retained in the business is invisible to a standard affordability calculation. The director looks like a modest earner on paper and the offer comes back far below what the purchase needs.
Contractors on day rates
A day-rate contractor with a long track record is frequently assessed on the tax return rather than the contract value, which understates income considerably.
Foreign nationals and recent arrivals
Visa status, limited UK credit history and overseas income each narrow the lender list. Several lenders will still proceed, but not the ones a generalist broker reaches for first.
Where the regulatory line sits
Worth being direct about this, because getting it wrong is a criminal offence rather than a technicality. An introducer introduces. Advice is ours.
Under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, giving regulated mortgage advice without authorisation is a criminal offence. An introducer agreement keeps the boundary clear for both sides.
How a partnership works
A short conversation
Fifteen minutes to understand the kind of buyers your branch sees and whether a specialist referral route is worth having at all. No pressure to proceed.
Terms agreed in writing
If it makes sense, we put an introducer agreement in place. It sets out what each side does, how referrals are passed, and how the arrangement is disclosed to the client. Nothing is introduced before that is signed.
You refer, we advise
You pass a name and number with the buyer's consent. We take it from there — the advice, the recommendation and the regulatory responsibility sit with us, not with your agency.
You get told what happened
You are kept informed of progress on the cases you refer, so you know where a chain stands without having to chase.
Start a conversation
No commitment and no agreement in place until terms are signed. If you would rather just pick a time, book fifteen minutes in the diary.