Mistakes other brokers make
I am often asked what makes Lime different, why we succeed where others fail and why we are sometimes asking for details that appear unnecessary.
The easiest way to do this is to explain some of the mistakes other brokers make and the impact this can have on you.
Let me give you a few of the top mistakes (queue top of the tops music).
In at number 3
National Insurance Numbers
Most lending applications ask for a national insurance number for the borrower or company director. This is used to verify the details given and acts as a quick check against fraud. It doesn’t make an application more or less likely to succeed.
When a national insurance number is not held then we have seen other brokers make a number up, just to get the application moving, after all it doesn’t change the overall proposal, right?
Right. It doesn’t. What it does do is much worse, the lender checks the details of the applicant, the national insurance number is incorrect and it generates a fraud warning. Queue a problem the next time the client applies for borrowing. Ouch.
This week at number 2…
Listed Property
Not checking the Historic England (or other) website to see whether a property is listed. Because more and more large properties are being split into apartments or flats then it is common to see these buildings listed in whole or in part.
It is pretty common for a flat in a regency town, say Brighton, Bath, Eastbourne etc, have some form of listing. That could be the exterior walls, railings, roof or the whole building.
If this listing isn’t picked up at the outset then the client can often end up spending on a valuation and legal fees before the lender declines because they won’t lend on listed property.
It is a simple check that many brokers don’t do.
And this week’s number 1…
Invoicing on offer
There was a case a short while ago where a broker had arranged finance for a property development. The lender made a finance offer with the broker then invoicing the client.
During the legal process it came to light that the client had changed their proposal slightly and was now building from the ground up rather than refurbishing a property. The lender being used wouldn’t do ground up development and withdrew their offer.
The broker was paid by the client and the client had nothing to show for it. Unhappy customer. Unlike some brokers we invoice on completion because it is the fair thing to do, it means we are committed to seeing things through, which is how it should be, right?
That’s it pop pickers
Not every finance broker is the same. There are some very good ones out there and some less good. It all comes down to knowing the industry and understanding how thing work.
If you want to talk about raising commercial borrowing then get in touch, if you are not using Lime then bear the above in mind before you decide who to work with.
By Dave Farmer