Meet Steven and Laura Lyons of The Mortgage Pride
Tell us about your business?
The Mortgage Pride is a family-run whole of market mortgage and protection brokerage. Our aim is to provide not only provide accessible and tailored advice to meet our client’s individual long and short-term goals, but to educate future clients via our social media pages.
Our husband and wife team approach means our clients feel supported and informed throughout the process and beyond, and our commitment to our clients is evident from our 5* reviews on Google, VouchedFor and Facebook.
Our business mainly comes from repeat business from previous clients and recommendations.
Where are you based and where do you operate geographically?
Our office is based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. Whilst primarily our clients are local to Stoke-on-Trent, our secure online client portal and video appointments allow us to help our clients wherever they are located in the UK.
What are the main issues impacting your local market?
Both locally and nationally there is a lack of housing stock which in return means inflated property prices.
This is impacting both our first-time buyers who are trying to get onto the housing ladder as well as home movers who are unable to find their dream next home.
Our first-time buyers are not only up against other first-time buyers and homeowners who are downsizing, they are also typically up against investors who are looking to increase their BTL portfolios.
What challenges are you facing as a broker?
The cost of living is now starting to impact affordability along with lenders withdrawing mortgage rates with little or no notice. Conveyancing time is also still impacting time between application and completion regardless of whether it is a re-mortgage or a purchase.
What are the main opportunities for brokers in your area and nationally?
Brokers should ensure that they don’t just focus on the mortgage side and instead, provide a full consultative/holistic approach, ensuring that all needs are fully identified and addressed throughout the client relationship.
From the initial conversation, we are discussing protection with our clients and last year we introduced estate planning into our business as a separate arm of The Mortgage Pride which all add value to our clients.
Keeping in contact on a regular basis with clients is also important as it not only reminds them of the products they hold, but also allows you to identify if they remain suitable for them as their circumstances change over the years.
What could lenders do to help further your business?
Listen to and act on the feedback provided by brokers in regards to notice provided for product withdrawals to ensure clients are not being negatively impacted – either because brokers do not have sufficient time to submit their full mortgage applications or the client feels under undue pressure to make a decision about their mortgage immediately because a recommended rate is being withdrawn with little advance notice.
Lenders who have dedicated BDMs and are easy to contact (webchat facilities as opposed to phone call only) demonstrate their value on a weekly if not daily basis. Being able to discuss cases in detail with a named contact who can continue to support the application as it progresses makes certain lenders stand out against others.
What sets you apart from the competition?
In our opinion, long gone are the days where advice needs to be provided by someone in suits and ties, in a formal office environment. Our clients value the down-to-earth approach we offer them and often tell us that it makes the entire process less daunting for them.
In fact, one of our recent first-time buyers purchasing a new build property, admitted to us that they expected the homebuying and mortgage process to be much more stressful and they were surprised to admit t it had actually been stress-free for them.
As advisers we need to be flexible to the demands and needs of our clients.
How should potential borrowers contact you?
Find us on Google, visit our website www.themortgagepride.co.uk, call us on 01782 450050 or email [email protected].
