The purchase of the TenetLime network by LSL for £12.9m was the most searched thread on cherry’s industry forums in September.

Cherry is a provider of a number of forums for brokers, which attracted more than 5,000 unique visitors in September.

As part of the threads, brokers debated the difficulties, fears and ramifications of the deal between LSL and Tenet Group, with some brokers affected asking for opinions within the community about Primis, to whom the Tenet appointed representatives may be transferred.

Others expressed deep concern and anger about what may happen to their often substantial back books, especially those relating to providers who aren’t on the Primis panel.

Other popular threads included responses 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.

Green mortgages were once again a popular topic on the adviser forum, with advisers outlining their frustrations with those sourcing systems which make it hard to establish if the product they are recommending is ‘green’ or not.

A number of users said it only becomes clear that a product is a green mortgage a long way into the advice process, therefore wasting time and 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.

Director at cherry, Donna Hopton, 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.

“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.”

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