Mortgage brokers have given mixed views on the MMR’s impact almost one year in.
James Carter, principal of London-based Independent James, claimed the MMR had a positive effect overall.
He said: “It has created more additional work for brokers for each application. Being organised and getting the documents up to scratch is an absolute must.
“There is still a little way to go in terms of lenders communicating and working with intermediaries – but generally it is all coming together.”
In some cases, he said lenders had sped up application process times, adding that a sensible lending environment would create longer-term market stability.
Others were less positive, however. Stuart Duncan, mortgage adviser for Sussex-based The Personal Mortgage Service, said: “The ability to place business has reduced, but that has been offset by the increase in enquiries due to compulsory advice and the reduction in dual pricing.”
He warned that the rules were expensive for all parties concerned – leading to added consumer costs – and that they had several unintended consequences.
Meanwhile, Donna Hopton, director of Kent-based mortgage broker network Cherry, said: “Some say that business levels are unaffected, while others maintain it has made it harder, if not impossible, to place what they view as perfectly viable cases.”
