We have made no secret of our determination at Atom bank to improve the timescales involved in commercial mortgage applications.
Doing so has meant working to identify the pressure points where delays can occur, the areas of the process where progress can be unnecessarily held up, and devising ways around that.
One of those points is arranging the valuation. Speak to any broker and they will have a handful of horror stories about cases where things seemed to be moving smoothly until it came to the valuation, where progress ground to an infuriating standstill.
It doesn’t have to be like this, however, which is why we made changes to put brokers in greater control over the instruction of the valuation, ensuring that cases can get to the finish line in a much faster fashion.
Creating certainty, faster
The introduction of broker-led valuations was the direct result of feedback from intermediaries – more than four in five brokers we spoke to wanted to see it available as a facility, and it’s easy to understand why.
Providing brokers with the ability to instruct a valuation at any point up to the decision in principle is issued means a significantly reduced time to complete. The fact that brokers can bring forward the valuation survey means that they can cut the time from offer to completion by upwards of two weeks, with some cases reduced by as much as seven weeks, a time-saving which can make an enormous difference to clients.
The cases that see the greatest timescale improvement are those where the valuation has been carried out before the application has been submitted or underwritten. Doing so cuts out the risk of the loan offer having to be reassessed or reduced in the event that the valuation comes in lower than estimated.
Being able to move more quickly in this way delivers greater certainty for everyone involved too; both broker and client will have a better understanding of the lending decision and loan facility from the outset, delivering far greater transparency over where they stand.
This is enormously important. Transparency is all too often overlooked by lenders, who opt instead to keep brokers – and clients for that matter – at a distance from the process.
This leads to great frustration. Borrowers want to know where they stand as early as possible, so that they aren’t enduring sleepless nights and undue stress trying to work out an alternative route if their application is turned down, or they cannot borrow a sufficient sum.
Brokers also suffer, as they end up having to set time aside during the working day to chase updates and put their client at ease. If lenders follow Atom bank’s lead in delivering a faster and more transparent process, then brokers can instead put that time to better use, whether that’s taking on more clients, working on continued professional development, or even enjoying some well-earned time off.
Flexibility matters
The response from brokers to the addition of broker-led valuations has been incredibly positive. They can see first-hand how putting them in greater control over aspects of the process can provide tangible benefits to their clients.
It’s evidence of how flexibility can make a real difference, with brokers even able to instruct a valuation before they have submitted an application in the first place.
Similarly, the fact that brokers have a choice over which of our valuation panels – Method and VAS – they register with means they enjoy greater choice. Brokers will always have their favoured options when it comes to things like valuations, based on their own individual experiences, so delivering a broader range of options is another example of why flexibility matters.
Delivering on speed
The introduction of broker-led valuations was just one example of how Atom bank is constantly striving to find new ways to provide a faster and more efficient experience for both brokers and borrowers.
We have invested heavily in delivering technology which can achieve this, having made more than 170 significant upgrades to our broker portal in the last year, recognising the crucial role that it can play in delivering a faster response.
This has been coupled with establishing the right team and processes, setting up a dedicated broker support team to provide the personal support as and when needed. It has led to tangible improvements too – Atom bank currently takes on average just one working day to move from application to decision in principle, and 14 days to get to an offer.
The success of broker led valuations, and the response it has had from intermediaries, demonstrates the value of working closely with broker partners in pinpointing ways to provide faster processing.
It’s only by communicating with each other properly, and understanding where the pressure points are, that we can identify better ways of working. We take that seriously at Atom bank, with broker feedback at the heart of not only the changes we have made to our processes in the last 12 months but of those still to come.
David Castling is head of intermediary distribution at Atom Bank
