Mortgage brokers are expecting to write more specialist residential mortgage business this year than ever before, research from Norton Home Loans has indicated.

The specialist first and second charge mortgage lender found that four in five brokers (80%) think they will write more specialist residential business in 2022 than at any time previously, including adverse credit, unusual income or property.

However, Norton highlighted that this increase in specialist mortgage business is “not necessarily a direct result of the pandemic”.

The research, based on a survey by Norton in association with Knowledge Bank, showed that when asked if they were seeing more adverse credit cases since the start of the pandemic, only 43% of brokers said yes, compared to 57% who said no.

Surveyed brokers said that unusual property types caused regular issues when trying to place cases, with the most difficult being timber or steel framed construction, according to 53% of respondents. This was followed by freehold flats which were flagged by 41% of brokers, and then flat roofs and flats with balcony access, both of which were cited by 29% of brokers.

Norton Home Loans commercial manager, David Binney, commented: “Specialist mortgages cater for a variety of circumstances, including adverse credit, unusual incomes and different property types and the experience of brokers is that they are seeing more of these more complex cases than ever before. But placing a specialist mortgage doesn’t need to be complicated.”

Binney added: “Specialist mortgages are going to prove a big growth area for brokers this year and we are on hand to help them grow.”

Share Story: