What is the new tool for advisors from MBT?

September 16, 2020 by Brendan O'Neill

Mortgage Advisors

A brand new online index launched by Mortgage Broker Tools (MBT) is designed to enable advisors to get an up-to-date overview of current product affordability.

MBT is indicating that this Affordability Index is the first ever to provide advisors with a glimpse of current affordability calculations by the big mortgage lenders, as well as what size of loans are available for clients based on their individual situations. The data that goes to make up the index is derived from over 65,000 searches conducted by advisors on behalf of their clients.

The analysis of advisor searches during August suggests that £210,000 represents the average size of loan sought by advisors for their clients; with the average minimum offered by mortgage lenders being £127,965, while £284,880 was the maximum.

The Affordability Index includes information that goes back to the beginning of the year, so it provides evidence of how lenders handled product affordability as the COVID-19 crisis unfolded. It shows that affordability calculations were lowered during April before being gradually increased once the market came out of lockdown.

MBT CEO Tanya Toumadj told Mortgage Finance Gazette that affordability calculations often determine which lender an advisor recommends to their clients, adding:

“So we wanted to provide brokers with an accurate, data-driven snapshot of the latest affordability landscape to help them understand the likely borrowing potential for their clients from the outset.”

The frequent development of tools to save mortgage advisors time is another reason why CeMAP courses to become advisors are so popular.