Social media, search engines and best buy tables are shaping buyer expectations - but not always with facts
For brokers like Rachel Lummis, managing expectations is as much a part of the job as arranging the mortgage itself. The founder of Xpress Mortgages sees it almost daily: buyers arriving at her desk armed with rates, rules, and “facts” they’ve found online - many of which don’t apply to them.
“The biggest thing that really winds us up is when a client says, ‘But I saw this rate on MoneySuperMarket,’” Lummis said. “You have to explain that what they saw is either not available to first-time buyers or doesn’t include the helping hand product they need. It can take 30 minutes to undo five minutes of Googling.”
In a digital-first world, mortgage misinformation isn’t just common - it’s increasing. And brokers are bearing the burden of correction.
Too much information, not enough context
Lummis is quick to point out that she’s not anti-information. What concerns her is how readily clients, and even newer advisors, trust online tools, best buy tables, and influencer advice without context or verification.
“Even I tested ChatGPT recently on three technical mortgage questions,” she said. “It got all three wrong. One was about stamp duty on additional properties - something we always tell clients to confirm with a tax expert. But I just wanted to check my own understanding. It told me it was 3%. It’s 5%. That’s a major difference.”
Online sources, she added, often make confident-sounding claims that fall apart under real scrutiny. “They sound right. They read it back to you like it’s gospel. But they’re wrong.”
For Lummis, the key issue is that mortgage suitability isn’t about headline rates or simple comparisons. It’s about nuanced criteria - some of which are hidden in the fine print or tied to highly specific borrower profiles.
The complexity behind a simple ‘yes’
Brokers often face a second uphill battle: explaining why a pre-approved mortgage isn’t a guaranteed deal. “People look at these best buy tables, but even getting a mortgage in principle doesn’t mean you’re all set,” Lummis said.
Property criteria, in particular, can derail deals. “If a flat has a 71-year lease, that could knock out half the lenders. Or if the service charge is £2,250, that affects affordability. Even the number of floors in a block without a lift can kill a mortgage application.”
There are other traps too - ground rent limits, lease conditions, or buildings made from specific materials. “Sometimes we’re so focused on the client’s income, we forget a small detail like lease length - and suddenly the deal falls apart.”
These nuances aren’t captured on comparison sites or in flashy social media tips. And they rarely fit into a snappy headline.
Buy-to-let: an even tougher maze
While residential mortgages are complicated, buy-to-let has evolved into something even more intricate. “Gone are the days of easy two-bed flats for landlords,” Lummis said. “Now we’re dealing with HMOs, mixed-use properties, higher-yield investments - each with their own criteria.”
Layered onto that is a minefield of rental income calculations, which differ between lenders depending on whether the applicant is a limited company, a basic-rate taxpayer, or a higher-rate taxpayer. “You almost need to be a forensic accountant,” she said. “You start at the lowest rate, then work backwards to see what the client and property qualify for.”
In this landscape, even experienced brokers need multiple tools - sourcing systems, mortgage metric software, deep lender knowledge - just to stay ahead. “It’s not something you can learn on TikTok,” she said.
Why broker guidance is more essential than ever
Lummis worries that too many buyers - and even some newer brokers - mistake information access for insight. “There are so many schemes, so many rules that change based on the tiniest details. You can’t Google your way to the right mortgage.”
She’s particularly conscious of how much harder the role has become over the years. “I pity anyone coming into this industry now, just passing CeMAP,” she said. “When I started out 20 years ago, people used to say CeMAP was just the beginning—and it’s ten times harder now. You’ve got to know the ins and outs. Know the lenders, know the criteria, know the products. There are loads of different schemes. You have to live and breathe it.”
In an industry where speed and complexity continue to rise in tandem, clarity is what clients need most - and that still comes from experience, not algorithms.
