Reading through the 21st anniversary edition of Mortgage Introducer a couple of months ago brought back many great, and some not so great, memories. It was fascinating to track the rollercoaster journey experienced by mortgage intermediaries over this time. It’s also impressive to see so many brands and faces still operating within the industry.
The mortgage market has changed beyond all recognition over the past 21 years and the emergence of specialist lenders has driven much of this change. The buy-to-let sector has played a huge role within this journey and the increased professionalism shown throughout the sector really has propelled it to new heights. The experience accumulated has been a key factor in meeting a range of ever-changing borrowing needs, opening doors to new areas of lending and supporting intermediaries through areas of great complexity. Experience really does count when dealing with specialist lenders and this filters down from the top of the company to the bottom.
CHL Mortgages has been active in the specialist BTL market from the late 1990s through to 2008. We were one of the biggest buy-to-let providers with a well-earned reputation for providing borrowers with competitive mortgage products matching their specific needs and continue to service loans across a number of asset classes including buy-to-let and residential owner-occupied loans with a total value of c.£4bn.
This continued exposure to all facets of the BTL market, alongside the formation of a highly knowledgeable senior management team with a wealth of experience in the UK mortgage, banking and capital market sectors has enabled us to smoothly re-launch our lending proposition. Significant investment has also been made in our technology platforms which will be the future differentiator in making brokers’ lives easier. There is no point being the most competitive on price, having robust underwriting capabilities and intermediary support to service these products without the right technology to support origination and servicing and our brokers’ needs. It is this balance we aim to get right, first time. 2021 has already proved to be an interesting and challenging year for lenders and the buy-to-let sector. We’re looking forward to the further challenges it will bring over the next six months and working closely with our intermediary partners to help them tap into the many opportunities which will continue to emerge
Ross Turrell, Commercial Director, CHL Mortgages