Advisers debate whether they favour certain property finance providers
Do mortgage brokers have favourite lenders – and if they do, would they admit it, given that the process of finding a solution for a client is supposed to about taking a subjective, case-by-case approach to what the market has to offer? Relationships between advisers and lenders will inevitably build over time, but maintaining an open mind about which lender might provide finance has to be key, surely?
“Property finance brokering is, by nature, a subjective business,” acknowledged Saam Lowni (pictured), founder and managing director of Merryoaks Finance, “With so many lenders in the market, it is neither efficient nor necessary to approach every single one for every single case. Not every lender has a consistent track record. One lender might shine for one broker and fall flat for another, and that usually comes down to timing, capacity, or how well a specific case was handled.”
He continued: “Sometimes, a lender quietly offers a brilliant product. While the deal volume is manageable, service levels stay high, and borrowers are happy - but as word spreads and demand rises, some lenders fail to scale their operations. Without hiring fast enough or investing in infrastructure, service standards begin to slip. This can lead to one of the most frustrating broker experiences: the slow no. A delayed rejection can be more damaging than a fast one. Whether it is systemic or just the result of a slow BDM, overwhelmed underwriter, or a dropped ball by a case handler, the effect is the same.”
Relationships matter, of course, Lowni notes, and the best outcomes often come from smooth, communicative partnerships with lenders. “We try to remove emotion from the equation,” he said. “But we also have to be realistic. Sometimes, the best lender for a case might be a hero in one broker’s experience and a villain in another’s.”
Anne-Marie Blackler (pictured second from left), a mortgage broker with Prestige Private Finance, is clear about her approach as an adviser. “You can’t have a favourite lender that you are swayed towards, and place all your cases with - you'd be doing a disservice to your client,” Blackler said. “What we do is take an unbiased approach to things and seek the best, most affordable option for a client. I have lenders that I know who can turn things around very quickly. If I need a mortgage offer in 24 hours, I know who to go to. I know which lenders take an outside-of-the-box approach.”
She continued: “I have excellent business relationships with all of my business managers. If I want bounce things off someone, I can just pick up the phone and speak to someone about it. So, relationships with lenders are important, but you need to take the emotion out of it. It's about a good connection, but for good, solid reasons which make them a good choice for your client.”
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The benefit of experience
Mortgage adviser Steve Humphrey (pictured second from right), director of The Mortgage Pod, confirms there are some lenders he prefers to go with. “Yes, I do have preferred lenders in theory, based on experience,” Humphrey said. “But I’m sure I speak for most brokers when I say that I just start with the cheapest product on souring, and work down the list until I find the right lender or product, based on a client's circumstances.
“I start with a huge list of products, cheapest at the top, then try to get this cheapest product for the client. If they are not eligible, I move to the second product, and so on, sometimes looking at 200 products before finding a suitable option to recommend. I am able to use my experience and knowledge to skip some of the products in the list. So, for certain scenarios, such as a 95% loan on a flat, for example, I’ll know which lenders I can skip, and therefore jump straight to my ‘favourites’, which I know can consider a client's mortgage application.”
A lender having a responsive, supportive BDM is crucial, in Humphrey’s view. “They need to answer the phone, as we usually call when there’s a problem,” he said. “Every case is different, so there’s never a one‑size‑fits‑all solution, which is fortunately why mortgage brokers can’t be replaced by AI.”
Meanwhile, mortgage adviser Serena Smith (pictured right), from Mortgages with Serena, wryly shares that she has a rather different way of marking out lenders. “I don't have a favourite list, it’s an avoid list instead,” Smith said, “Your eyes roll when you see their name at the top of sourcing and pray to God you won't have to use them – because of poor systems, incompetent staff or their criteria saying one thing and in reality being another. The list started with one, and has slowly grown with time.”
Brokers absolutely have to impartial when it comes to lenders, believes Hannie Mason (pictured inset, above), founder of Mortgages with Hannie. “Our responsibility is to the client, and any recommendation must be based on what’s genuinely in their best interest,” said Mason. “So no, we can’t favour lenders in the formal sense, and rightly so. But that said, we all have lenders we enjoy working with because of their consistency, service levels, or how well they support both us and our clients. If we get to place a case with one of those, it’s a bonus, not a bias. That being said, it’s not necessarily just about the cheapest rate anymore.”
She added: “Clients are becoming more discerning, they want to know the process will be smooth, that their application will be handled with care, and that the lender won’t leave them in the dark. In some cases, they’re happy to pay a little more for that reassurance. So, while we absolutely assess each case on its individual merits, taking criteria, affordability, and client preferences into account, the ‘best’ lender isn’t always the one with the lowest rate. It’s the one that fits the client’s needs, timeline, and expectations best. Service matters just as much as cost in today’s market.”
