Day: May 30, 2025

OneDome has acquired the digital mortgage broker formerly known as Trussle, which now trades as Better.co.uk, for an undisclosed sum.   The homebuying business — which integrates mortgage, legal, and insurance services into a single online process — has agreed to buy the broker from US-listed Better Home & Finance Trading Company, according to Sky News. The broker business was founded in 2015 and raised close to £30m in a series of funding rounds, and was once backed by US investment bank Goldman Sachs.  Its 2021 sale to Better Home & Finance reportedly valued the business at a significant discount to that sum.  OneDome was established in 2017 by founder and chief executive Babek Ismayil (pictured) with an aim to build a “seamless, all-in-one homebuying platform”. Ismayil told Sky News: “Trussle has built an excellent team and a reputation for innovation and customer focus.  “Trussle’s Smartbuyer proposition closely mirrors our own award-winning HomeBuyer Service, and combining our strengths is a natural next step to transforming this historically outdated sector.”  In December, OneDome bought Coreco Group for a “seven-figure sum” amid a series of acquisitions in recent years.  These include Nethouseprices as well as mortgage and financial advisory businesses Contractor Wealth Management, CMME Mortgage and Protection and Albany Park.    The combined group says it will handle over £3.5bn in annual mortgage lending and process roughly 1,100 property transactions each month, with a workforce of around 230 people.  The post Former Trussle digital mortgage broker snapped up by OneDome: Report   appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

When it comes to the overall cost of homebuying — moving or remortgaging — I suspect conveyancing will be quite far down your clients’ list of concerns. They probably think it won’t be that expensive (online searches will show an array of cheaper options) and the service is likely to be similar, whatever they pay. As advisers, you’ll know this is not the case. But the reality is that, if you let clients go on their conveyancing journey alone, you run the risk of having a disappointed client, who may end up blaming you for any inflated costs or delays. You also risk missing out yourself on a strong income stream. Rising costs Take the cost argument alone. Conveyancing costs have risen by almost a fifth, or as much as 18%, over the past year, according to a March survey by property portal Moverly. I suspect that conveyancing costs are going to continue to rise The survey found that homebuyers paid an average of £1,375 when buying a freehold property, and £1,746 when they purchased a leasehold. This is an annual increase of 13% for freehold costs and 13.3% for leasehold costs. However, on a regional basis, the biggest freehold conveyancing cost increase was posted in the Northeast, where an annual rise of 18% put the average cost at £1,311. These increases are understandable given that, traditionally, conveyancers have underpriced their services. When you add in rising demand and the extra workload that brings, there was always going to be a point at which prices had to rise. Now that stamp duty thresholds have fallen (in April), you may anticipate demand will slow, and conveyancers will have to cut their cloth accordingly. If you let clients go on their conveyancing journey alone, you run the risk of having a disappointed client, who may end up blaming you Some may do this, but I suspect that conveyancing costs are going to continue to rise, not least because conveyancers’ responsibilities are going in only one direction: upwards. However, advisers will be best placed to mitigate rising costs by taking control of their clients’ conveyancing needs. Of course, it is possible to secure remortgage conveyancing for only hundreds of pounds. And, as we know, there are also ‘free legal’ options, which sound too good to be true — because they are too good to be true. Game changer Being able to guide your clients towards good conveyancing advice and to secure the accompanying referral fees, for even half of your existing customers, could be a meaningful game changer. It can provide a healthy revenue stream for life. Advisers will be best placed to mitigate rising costs by taking control of their clients’ conveyancing needs By becoming actively involved in the conveyancing process, you are much more likely to have a happy client at the end, who is probably worth their weight in gold in recurring business and referrals. If you’re not already involved in conveyancing, there is really no time like the present. This article featured in the May 2025 edition of Mortgage Strategy. If you would like to subscribe to the monthly print or digital magazine, please click here. The post Mortgage Business Accelerator: Harpal Singh, chief executive at Conveybuddy  appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

Gen H reopened its panel for new broker registrations as it looks to boost its intermediary partnerships.  The lender, aimed at first-time buyers, will accept applications from directly authorised and appointed representative firms. Two of its key products include an income booster loan, similar to a joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage.  And a new build boost loan, in partnership with Persimmon, for newly built homes. The business opened in 2020 and earlier this year became a broker-only lender committed to taking “a fresh approach to complex cases”. Its intermediary panel has grown to more than 22,000 broker partners, including networks and clubs such as the Legal & General Mortgage Club, MAB, Stonebridge, PMS, PRIMIS, Paradigm, TMA Club, and Simply Biz Mortgages.  This year the business has onboarded Mortgage Intelligence, HL Partnership and Quilter. Gen H head of growth Leanne Sarjant says: “A huge part of bringing genuinely innovative mortgage products to market is building a high-quality broker panel.  “After all, brokers are the experts who will be advising aspiring homeowners on the nuances of the myriad options that are available to them – we couldn’t do the work we’re doing without our panel.” The post Gen H reopens broker panel for new registrations   appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

The government has given the green light to build the first major reservoirs in 30 years to supply the building of new homes. Environment Secretary Steve Reed has seized control of the planning process to build two major reservoirs for the first time since the 1990s. The new reservoirs, located in East Anglia and Lincolnshire, will supply three quarters of a million homes and unlock the building of tens of thousands more as part of the government’s Plan for Change. These plans are part of the government’s commitment to build nine new reservoirs, supporting its plans to deliver 1.5m new homes by the end of this parliament. Anglian Water is proposing to build the Lincolnshire Reservoir to the south of Sleaford, aiming to be operational by 2040. They have also partnered with Cambridge Water to propose the Fens Reservoir, located between the towns of Chatteris and March, set to be completed in 2036. The Lincolnshire Reservoir would provide up to 166m litres of water per day for up to 500,000 homes. The Fens would supply a much needed 87m litres to 250,000 homes in the driest region of the UK. Water minister Emma Hardy says: “Today we are backing the builders not the blockers, intervening in the national interest and slashing red tape to make the planning process faster to unblock nine new reservoirs.” “This Government will secure our water supply for future generations and unlock the building of thousands of homes as part of the Plan for Change.” Last week, Crown Estate and Lendlease announced they had formed a partnership, which is set to unlock 26,000 new homes. The deal will see one-third of the 26,000 homes allocated to affordable housing and support the government’s aim to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029. The post Govt green lights first reservoirs in 30 years to supply new homes appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

Principality Intermediaries has made changes to its business development team including the appointment of Carly Scholes. Scholes will take on the role of business development manager and cover the East England area. She joins with financial service experience after working at Suffolk Building Society for almost seven years. Scholes’ new role will focus on Cambridge, Chelmsford, Colchester, Hemel Hempstead, Ipswich, Luton, Milton Keynes, Norwich, St Albans, Stevenage, Slough and Southend-on-Sea. Principality has also expanded Jo Silcox’s territory, extending from Newport to Hereford, and Cara Thompson has adopted the South-West of England region following Alan Browning’s retirement.  Principality Intermediaries national intermediary manager Helen Lewis says: “We’re delighted to welcome Carly to our team; she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience. Her expertise will be vital as we look to make more possible for brokers across the East of England.” “With the changes for the East of England, South Wales and South-West England, we’re continuing to enhance brokers support across the country as we implement our growth plans for 2025 and beyond.” Earlier this week, Principality Intermediaries announced it had cut selected fixed home loans by 20 basis points. The post Principality Intermediaries adds Scholes to business development team appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.