Magellan Homeloans has introduced a priority service for new applications received that include all the necessary client documentation on day one, aimed at ensuring they are presented to an underwriter for credit review within 24 hours of receipt.
The specialist lender’s managing director Simon Read said the firm has invested heavily in both staff and systems to provide the best service to intermediaries.
He said: “The new systems, which are now live, offer complete transparency to intermediaries and allow us to deliver tangible service benefits to those who send us the right documentation at the outset.”
Along with recruiting specialist staff, Magellan has upgraded its mortgage processing system so intermediaries are notified of the case progress at every stage of their clients’ application.
For example, not only are intermediaries now provided with a borrower specific ‘shopping list’ of documents upfront, but it also highlights which ones are required to ensure the application benefits from the new priority service.
Mr Read said applications are usually delayed because of missing or drip-fed client documentation.
“By giving intermediaries immediate and dynamic information about the supporting documentation required, they are in control of their application turnaround times and thereby can access faster mortgage offers.”
During a trial run over the last month, the lender has been achieving a turnaround time from application to fully manually underwritten and sanctioned mortgage offer of 10 days.
“By offering this new priority service for new ‘fully packaged’ applications, we’re ensuring they don’t get held-up by applications that are missing information.
“The changes we’ve made to the way in which we keep intermediaries informed and the way in which we prioritise applications, means our turnaround times are amongst some of the best currently available in our sector.”
Last autumn, the firm made its mortgage range available to directly authorised advisers for the first time, following a pilot of its Near Prime range, which targets borrowers turned down by mainstream lenders because of their credit profile.
peter.walker@ft.com
