The sale of Tenetlime, whether brokers are looking at the end of the ‘fee-free’ model and frustrations with green mortgages were three of the most talked about topics in September on the cherryplc.co.uk Industry Forums.
cherry, the forums which attracted more than 5,000 visitors in September, has detailed the most active threads during the month.
Most popular were various threads which discussed the news that LSL had bought the TenetLime network from Tenet Group in a £12.9m deal.
Brokers debated the difficulties, fears and ramifications of the news, with some of those affected asking for opinions within the community about Primis, to whom the Tenet Appointed Representatives (ARs) may be transferred.
Others expressed deep concern and anger about what may happen to their often-substantial back books (and by extension, their renewal and ‘drip’ payments), especially those relating to providers who aren’t on the Primis panel.
Another popular thread on cherry featured views in response to an industry publication’s article on whether the ‘fee free’ broker model was dead.
The majority of participants on the thread disagreed with the article, which largely contained opinions from various industry figures who believed that the fee-free model was unsustainable.
The prevailing view on the thread was summed up by one user who wrote: “Personally, I don’t charge a fee but don’t have any issues with those who do because everyone has different models, circumstances, priorities and goals.
“To be brazen enough to say that a fee free business model has never worked, is pretty strange as I’m someone who comfortably earns £10,000 per month or more on average and who has been in business for close to two decades.”
Meanwhile, green mortgages were once again a popular topic on the adviser forum; this time advisers outlined their frustrations with those sourcing systems which (in brokers’ views) make it very hard to establish if the product they are recommending is ‘green’ or not.
A number of users said it only becomes clear that the product is a green mortgage a long way into the advice process, therefore wasting time and, ironically, paper.
Advisers suggested that sourcing system providers could differentiate green mortgages, possibly by colour, to make it clear from the outset that the product’s eligibility was predicated on the property’s EPC status.
Other popular topics on cherry in September included ‘side hustles’ for brokers, fees and whether regulation was bad for advisers’ health.
Donna Hopton, director at cherry, said: “As brokers have started getting used to Consumer Duty, the most popular topics on cherry last month were more diverse in their subject matter than in immediately preceding months.
“While the adviser sections of the cherry forum are literally for advisers only, intermediaries, and now providers too (as providers can communicate with brokers by having their own free Provider Forum areas on cherry) are finding cherry an excellent place to share information, advertise, communicate and discuss important matters.
“Feedback from advisers is that cherry is immensely useful to them as they can, amongst other things, garner valuable opinions from their fellow industry colleagues.
“Overall, the forums have become integral to the industry, with cherry now providing an enormous opportunity for mortgage market participants to use their own Provider Forum areas to engage directly with advisers and thus improve their understanding of the pressing matters and frustrations that intermediaries face.”
