Written by Stewart Simpson, Second Charge Mortgage Specialist In many ways, Consumer Duty should provide little concern for mortgage brokers. After all, the core principle of securing good outcomes for the customer is woven into the DNA of most brokers. However, there...
How to help your clients beat the property famine
Written by Jo Logan, Bridging & Development Finance Specialist It’s not yet clear what impact the cost-of-living crisis and economic uncertainty will have on property prices. However, many experts predict that transaction activity is likely to fall before prices...
Converting opportunities for your landlord clients
Written by Neil Taverner, buy-to-let consultant Demand for rental property is growing at pace. According to Rightmove, rental demand increased by 6% at the end of Q2, compared to the same period last year and the number of available properties is down 26%. As a...
It’s time to think about consumer duty
Steve Burch, Group Head of Compliance New Consumer Duty regulations are coming. The FCA has confirmed that the rules will be introduced on 31st July 2023 for ‘new and existing products or services that are open to sale or renewal’. For closed products or services, the...
Are you prepared for cost-of-living crisis fallout?
Written by Gina Blagden, Head of Sales The cost-of-living crisis is taking hold and millions of consumers are turning to credit cards to help them meet rising prices. Bank of England figures show that credit card borrowing rose at its fastest rate in 17 years in June...
Putting you in a strong position for consumer duty
Written by Michelle Westley, Head of Marketing Working with a specialist distributor not only means you’re able to leverage our sector expertise across different areas of specialist lending, but it also gives your clients access to a wider choice of lenders than you...
Putting your clients in the strongest position to move
By Jo Logan, Bridging and Development Finance Specialist at Brightstar Financial The overall volume of property transactions may be lower than the heightened activity of the last couple of years, but ask any prospective homebuyer whether it’s easy to secure the...
Development exit bridging loans can open up new opportunities
An article written by Barry Searle, Managing Director, Property at Castle Trust Bank for Brightstar’s ezine. Development finance is typically available for terms of between nine and 30 months. Given the extended timeframes for many building projects at the moment,...
MUFBs can be harder to manage – but also provide higher yields
An article written by Barry Searle, Managing Director, Property at Castle Trust Bank for Brightstar’s ezine. An increasing number of landlords are looking to more complex investments in order to increase yield. This is particularly true among experienced investors who...
Holiday let demand continues to rise despite travel restrictions being lifted
An article written by Barry Searle, Managing Director, Property at Castle Trust Bank for Brightstar’s ezine. Various pandemic-fuelled revelations have shaped the past couple of years, from the so-called ‘death of the high street’, to the realisation that remote...
HMOs can provide an attractive investment opportunity
An article written by Barry Searle, Managing Director, Property at Castle Trust Bank for Brightstar’s ezine. A growing number of landlords are choosing to diversify their portfolio, from letting out property on a standard AST to investing in a house of multiple...
Helping your clients to streamline their finances with a second charge
Stewart Simpson, Second Charge Mortgage Specialist at Brightstar Financial In June 2022, the Bank of England’s (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee raised the base rate to 1.25%, in a move that came as a surprise to very few. While this is still a historically relatively...