What a decline actually tells a broker
The first step, Stevenson said, is to understand what triggered the refusal. The reasons can be straightforward – adverse credit, deposit amounts recorded incorrectly on the initial application – and the solution correspondingly simple. He described cases where first-time buyers had been declined after stating a 5% deposit on their decision in principle, when in fact they had 10%. That extra 5% could have been enough to ease the credit assessment through.
For brokers handling clients who have been turned away by mainstream lenders and are unsure where to turn, identifying the exact trigger matters before placing the case elsewhere. Stevenson aims to complete his research within 24 hours. He estimated around 80% of the clients he sees following a decline do have some form of viable option, but whether the rate attached to that option is one they can stomach is a separate question.
“It doesn’t take us more than a couple of days,” he said. “I try to get my research out in 24 hours.”
From product finder to problem solver
The broker role has shifted, Stevenson argued, in a way that is not always visible from the outside. His own expectations when he entered the industry were shaped by listening in on a broker call his parents made when remortgaging. What he heard sounded simple – a list of lenders on a screen, a client asking for a mortgage, the broker pointing at the top name.
The reality, he said, is substantially more demanding. “That is so out of touch with the reality of the job. As I’ve learned the hard way, it is significantly more stressful than that. Every case is unique. Every case has its own risk elements and pros and cons as to why the bank should or shouldn’t consider it. Every bank is unique in what they will and won’t do. And being very biased as a mortgage broker, knowing how to navigate that could be the difference between getting your dream home or leaving it another three years.”