Lender on the misconception affecting the buy-to-let market and why he wants to 'get rid of the noise on social media'
“I'll be honest,” shared Jonathan Stinton (pictured). “I didn't really know what I wanted to do until I was about 35 or 40. I just wanted to work in a business that involved people. I love meeting new people. I love finding out about them. I like feeling that I’m making people feel better about themselves – there’s so much negativity out there.”
The head of intermediary relationships at Coventry Building Society – the business that’s been his work home for over 17 years - quite clearly enjoys the people focus that his role affords him. Not that it was Stinton’s first choice of career, he explained. “I used to work for a newspaper selling advertising,” he said. “I absolutely hated it, and my father was speaking to a financial adviser who was trying to recommend a pension to him and he just happened to say that they were recruiting for financial advisers.
“I left my job at the newspaper and left my company car, and joined a life company, as a self-employed mortgage and investment adviser, and it really just started from there. I did that for six years. During that time in financial services, I loved to hate it. You could have four terrible days where things didn't go your way and you could get one phone call on a Friday afternoon to say that a mortgage offer had been issued and you’d think, ‘This is the best job in the world! Why would I leave it?’ It's infectious. There are so many highs and lows. Sometimes there were more lows than highs when I was a broker. But when you got those highs, you just couldn't beat it. All I wanted to do when I left school was to meet new people and get new experiences, and financial services has just given me a perfect doorway for that.”
Stinton has been in the industry since 2000, apart from a two-year hiatus, when he worked for British Telecom. He became a BDM in 2007, but the global financial crisis put paid to that. He lasted 11 months in the role before the business was closed. He joined Coventry Building Society, in what’s proved to be an enduring move. “I live in Northern Ireland,” Stinton said. “Coventry doesn't lend in Northern Ireland. I travel backwards and forwards every week. I've done that for the last 17 years.”
Why, then, has it proved so engaging for him? “It's people and it's ethics, and it's values,” he said. “You know, it's not about extracting every single ounce of profit out of every single deal. It's about doing the right thing, making the right decisions, having the right behaviours - and profit will follow. Sometimes the decisions will cost the business some money. Sometimes the decisions will make money for the business. We've got a responsibility because we're looking after members’ money. We treat people how we want to be treated as well. You do the right thing, especially with brokers. Be honest, be respectful, and business will come. Listen to the feedback. Don't think that you have all the answers either - because you don't.”
He continued: “I feel very responsible for the department that I lead. I want to make sure that everybody that works in my department has the same opportunities to grow and the same hunger to grow as I did. A lot of that sits on my shoulders as well, around creating the right environment for people to feel like they can grow. I do take it as a bit of a privilege that I've got that and I'm able to hopefully shape what people can do going forward.”
Coventry Building Society is an intermediary-led lender so what advice would Stinton have for brokers about managing business in the current climate? “I think it's about leveraging their relationships with clients,” he said. “Don't undersell themselves in terms of what they can offer and the value that they add to their clients as well. They work incredibly hard to get cases across the line, to get first-time buyers on the property ladder. Don't underestimate that value and - it's an obvious one and some people are really great at this - ask for referrals. Don't be frightened to ask for help. Don't be frightened to ask the question of your clients for support as well, because if anybody asks you for help, your immediate reaction is, ‘How can I help?’, rather than, ‘No, I won't.’ And I don't think that question is asked in every single situation.”
READ MORE: ‘I’m hugely excited for my next challenge – and to make a difference’
The evolving buy-to-let market
This week, Coventry has released research commissioned to help brokers better understand their clients and the market around limited company BTL mortgages. The findings suggest that recent changes to tax policy and new regulations, such as the Renters’ Rights Bill and capital gains tax, have meant that landlords have shifted their strategies, with 72% of limited company BTL landlords entering the market in the past five years. Furthermore, 70% of brokers reported an increase in clients seeking advice about limited company BTL. Only 35% of landlords arranged their most recent limited company BTL mortgage through a broker.
“It would be naive to say that landlords aren't leaving the market, but I think there's a lot of noise that people are leaving in their droves when they're absolutely not,” Stinton reflected. “I think clients going in to buy-to-let now potentially have a longer term…. I don't like to use the term ‘professional’… view because I think that gives a disservice to people who aren't in limited company. We've got an absolute mountain of really good landlords who are out there. But I think, because of the taxation, because of the regulation around the Renters’ Rights Bill and the green agenda, I think landlords are going into it now with a much clearer picture, and seeking advice not only from mortgage brokers but also from tax specialists as well, to make sure that it is actually going to stack up. The private rented sector is such an important part of the overall housing picture. We need a really healthy functioning private rental sector.”
And so, drawing the conversation to a close, this far into Stinton’s career, what would he most like to change about the industry? “I would like to get rid of all the noise on social media from people who aren't mortgage advisers but are professing to give advice,” he said. “I would love to be in a position where clients understand the value of brokers, and where to find the best advice rather than picking it up second or third hand off TikTok or off Facebook, or off their mate in the pub. It's too big a decision to risk and it's too big a problem if they don't get it right. So, I would love to be in a position where clients value and understand what brokers do and why they're there, and can point them in the right direction.”
