EDITION 11
And the winners are...
The largest annual event for the UK residential property industry took place on Friday 14th October when the prestigious ESTAS Customer Service Awards sponsored by Coadjute were hosted in London.
As with last year agents, conveyancers, mortgage brokers and suppliers gathered together under the theme of ‘Working Together Better’. The winners were announced by Phil Spencer, who has hosted The ESTAS every year since their inception in 2004, in front of a record audience of 1,200 of the UK’s top property professionals. Spencer addressed the audience “The work of agents, conveyancers and brokers is vastly underrated by the general public and its only when clients go through the process that they understand the effort, complexity and bloody hard work that goes into your job.”
Spencer continued “The phrase ‘great customer service’ can be an overused expression nowadays so what does it really mean? Well in most consumer sectors a smile & a thank you will suffice but in the property industry that’s just the beginning for your clients. They’re about to embark on one of the most stressful journeys of their lives and it’s your job to hold their hand and guide them to the very end of a successful transaction which will take months to complete.”
The awards are powered by the ESTAS customer review platform which highlights the best agents, conveyancers and brokers for customer service in the UK. The winners are determined purely on verified reviews from customers who are asked a series of questions about the service they have received through the whole moving process.
Firms were recognised in counties and regions around the UK. National Grand Prix Awards were also announced for the Best Single Office in the three sectors of conveyancing, agency and mortgage broking. The best broker title was won by Beewise Financial Services based in Somerset. The Best Conveyancer Award went to Thomas Legal in Gloucester. In agency there were also Grand Prix titles for Infinity Property Solutions in Harrow in the tenant category and Strats Homes in Hertfordshire for landlords. The Grand Prix gold for Best Estate Agent Office was won by C Residential based in Rugeley in Staffordshire.
Angi Cooney, Director and owner of C Residential celebrates with Phil Spencer
In the national group categories for conveyancing there were wins for The Partnership and Countrywide Conveyancing whilst in agency there were notable golds for White & Brooks in Bognor Regis, Miles & Barr in Kent and Anthony Pepe in London.
As well as regional awards The ESTAS presented ‘Best in County’ titles helping agencies and conveyancers to gain an advantage in their local areas, 146 firms were recognised for the service they deliver to their clients.
The Supplier of the Year category – sponsored by Angels Media – was won by a recruitment agency for the first time The Humphrey Group, with Spectre taking the silver and bronze awarded to Iam sold.
Individual staff were also honoured in The ESTAS People Awards – sponsored by PayProp – recognised outstanding individual contributions to customer service. Fifteen Highly Commended trophies were presented.
The Infinity team receive their Grand Prix Award from Headline Partner Coadjute
Simon Brown Founder of ESTAS Group said “When we launched The ESTAS we wanted to create a set of property awards which were completely pure, where winners were selected solely on customer service ratings from actual transactions. Nineteen years on ESTAS is now the customer review platform of choice for property professionals and the most prestigious award an agent, a conveyancer or mortgage broker can win in the property industry.”
Dan Salmons CEO at Headline Partner Coadjute said “On behalf of the Coadjute team, warm congratulations to all the winners this year at The ESTAS. As headline partner Coadjute was delighted to see so many outstanding achievements recognised across the industry from everyone involved. It has been a real pleasure to support The ESTAS this year and we look forward to enabling the property industry to work better together in the coming year.”
The celebrations continued long into the night at the Official ESTAS After Party
The official winners lists for the 2022 awards can be found here: https://www.theestas.com/2022-winners
“I earn a six-figure salary but can’t get the mortgage I want!” - the HNW Conundrum
This seems to be a growing problem amongst High Net Worth (HNW) individuals who report that despite earning substantial incomes, they struggle to get the level of mortgage they require. It is becoming the HNW conundrum.
Surely, most people say, a mortgage is a mortgage and provided you meet the lender’s criteria it will be straight forward. If only it were that simple. At the end of the day, all mortgages are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and regardless of the amount, the lenders have to make sure they satisfy the Regulator’s requirements. There are two key considerations buyers need to be aware of, the first is loan to value (LTV) and the second is affordability.
Loan to Value
The amount of the loan in relation to the value of the property expressed as a percentage. So if the property value is £2.50m with a mortgage required £1.50m, this equals an LTV of 60%.
Affordability
This is the maximum multiples of the borrower’s income a lender will consider when assessing a loan request. Generically in the market at the moment the norm is 4.5x salary (joint or sole). This means if a borrower earns say £150k pa a lender would potentially consider a mortgage of up to £675k.
However, at present, mortgage lenders have to be able to demonstrate that they have stressed the borrower’s repayments so that if interest rates were to rise (a hot potato at present), the repayments would still be affordable. Different lenders have different methods for assessing this and many will publish an affordability calculator on their website to assist mortgage brokers when making this assessment.
At the moment it is fair to say that the affordability calculation is what governs the max amount a lender will consider rather than the LTV.
What happens when your client is a HNW individual and you find that the sourcing system is unable to help you? Perhaps the client has income from various sources or from overseas? Perhaps they are asset rich but lack liquidity to demonstrate affordability in the traditional way? What happens if their bonuses are deferred or they choose to take less income from their business? Is there a solution out there?
Private banks and some specialist lenders are permitted by the FCA to adopt a more flexible approach to the requirements of a HNW client with complicated assets and remuneration. They are skilled at assessing a client’s circumstances and understanding their potential and motivation. They then tailor a bespoke solution for that specific client.
At Private Banker Finance our senior team is made up of experienced private bankers and specialist HNW mortgage brokers who have many years of experience lending into this market. More importantly we understand what the private banks are looking for and through personal relationships established over many years, we have access to decision makers who can give prompt feedback as to whether they will be able to assist. In fact, we have access to lenders that some brokers may never have heard of or, through their regulatory restrictions, may not be able to access. Our expertise and credibility is an important part of this process and because of our experience, we have seen many situations so we know how to mitigate a lender’s concerns before they arise.
Every client is unique, so there is no simple single answer, no one size fits all. The comparison is often made between a suit that is off the peg and a tailor-made garment from Savill Row. The former is very satisfactory for the majority of clients however, the latter is equally important when you need something bespoke.
The Private Banker Finance Approach
We discuss with the client their requirements and use our experience to ascertain a clear picture of their circumstances. We ask the borrower the right questions so that our application is robust and satisfies the lenders’ questions and concerns at the outset. This saves important time for clients who are used to things moving quickly and positively.
Having undertaken our due diligence, we make our recommendation in accordance with standard regulated mortgage contract terms, making sure the client is supported and kept informed throughout the transaction. With permission, we often liaise directly with the client's accountant and solicitor and any other professional advisors as required.
If you have that great client that you just can’t help, contact Private Banker Finance before you lose them and we will be delighted to help.
“We are the private bankers who source finance”.
For more information please email: [email protected]
It’s Autumn, which means it’s officially crumble season – yay! Make this seasonal apple & blackberry crumble to tuck into, post roast, on a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon. This recipe calls for vanilla ice cream, but I prefer to pair mine with a creamy vanilla custard.
Ingredients:
120g plain flour
60g caster sugar
60g unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into pieces
300g Braeburn apple
30g unsalted butter
30g demerara sugar
115g blackberries
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Vanilla ice cream (or custard), to serve
Step 1
Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Tip 120g plain flour and 60g caster sugar into a large bowl.
Step 2.
Add 60g unsalted butter, then rub into the flour using your fingertips to make a light breadcrumb texture. Do not overwork it or the crumble will become heavy.
Step 3.
Sprinkle the mixture evenly over a baking sheet and bake for 15 mins or until lightly coloured.
Step 4.
Meanwhile, for the compote, peel, core and cut 300g Braeburn apples into 2cm dice.
Step 5.
Put 30g unsalted butter and 30g demerara sugar in a medium saucepan and melt together over a medium heat. Cook for 3 mins until the mixture turns to a light caramel.
Step 6.
Stir in the apples and cook for 3 mins. Add 115g blackberries and ¼ tsp ground cinnamon, and cook for 3 mins more.
Step 7.
Cover, remove from the heat, then leave for 2-3 mins to continue cooking in the warmth of the pan.
Step 8.
To serve, spoon the warm fruit into an ovenproof gratin dish, top with the crumble mix, then reheat in the oven for 5-10 mins. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
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