Robo-adviceApr 3 2017

Mortgage robo-adviser to complete applications in 15 minutes

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Mortgage robo-adviser to complete applications in 15 minutes

Combining robo-advice with online broker advice, Mortgage Gym’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) - authorised online portal promises to streamline the application process and overcome the regulatory challenges posed by the Mortgage Market Review in 2014.

The portal will be integrated with consumer credit files provided by Experian, solving 95 per cent of the back office compliance brokers need to complete, while the need for physical documents will be eliminated by enabling applicants to upload documents online.

Consumers can expect a detailed insight into the mortgages they can afford within 60 seconds based on live affordability searches from 12 of the top 20 lenders.

Toward the end of the process, borrowers will have access to live advice and support from thousands of brokers nationwide, which will be rated by homebuyers via Trustpilot.

The pricing system will be a subscription-based model with four tiers, the first of which will be free and will allow brokers to acquire applicants at a percentage of the procuration fee that will be calculated automatically by the platform.

As subscribers move up the tiers, the percentage of the procuration fee charged will be reduced, with the exact figures involved yet to be confirmed.

While other websites are able to provide mortgage information, the bosses at MortgageGym, which is set to launch within the next few months, claimed it will be the only automated system that is able to offer advice.

This is despite the fact online mortgage adviser Trussle launched in December 2015 as a free service to automatically determine when borrowers are paying over the odds for their mortgage and help them switch products.

Founded by Ishaan Malhi, previously a mortgages analyst at Bank of America, and Jonathan Galore, a co-founder of automated investment service Wealthfront, the new venture is aiming to give borrowers peace of mind that they will never pay more than they should.

Trussle was later joined in the mortgage robo-adviser space by Habito, which launched back in April 2016 as an algorithm-based mortgage adviser and seeks the best deal for clients in just 10 minutes without the need for a human broker.

The Habito system works by matching the elements of a customer’s financial life with hundreds of real-time mortgage rates to calculate an indicative monthly payment.

John Ingram, chief executive and founder of Mortgage Gym, said: “Following tighter regulation of the mortgage market in 2014, we realised the UK’s mortgage application process is archaic, inaccurate, time-consuming and ripe for disruption from a holistic, online solution. 

“The mortgage industry in the UK is one of the last bastions of the financial services industry to still operate via paper files and telephone-based advice.

“By creating the world’s first, regulated mortgage robo-adviser, we aim to remove the guesswork, frustration and stress for homebuyers from one of the most important financial transactions in their life. 

“For brokers, we believe our digital network will empower them to develop their own business with a steady stream of high-quality, prequalified clients without the burden of endless back-office compliance.”

Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at London-based John Charcol, said: “In general, I think automating as much as possible of the back office processes, and in particular trying to link the initial fact-finding process with the decision in principle/application from broker through to lender, saves time and reduces risk.

"I am sure brokers will welcome a reduction in admin – that is not what brokers want to do. 

“But robo-advice can’t take into account soft facts. What the computer will never be able to do as well as a human is assimilate the soft facts – how important certain things are to the client. It is something that it will never be able to achieve as well as a human.”

simon.allin@ft.com