The latest Knowledge Bank criteria index has revealed a shake up in the top five broker searches for December 2022, with ‘lending to limited companies’ rising to the top spot.
The search term pushed ‘first-time landlords’ down into second place, followed by ‘minimum income – interest only’.
Other popular searches in the BTL sector were: ‘requirement to be a homeowner’ and ‘first-time buyer’.
Nicola Firth, CEO at Knowledge Bank, said: “The year ended as it started, with a raft of changes across all lending types.
“Advisers have had a tough year, with processing and completion times being extended which slowed commission payments and, in some cases, meant that mortgage offers ran out and had to be re-brokered.
“In a period of such instability and change, it is even more crucial that brokers avoid declined applications where clients think they qualify for a product only to fail the lender's criteria requirements — this is hugely frustrating and completely unnecessary if a criteria search has been performed prior to a product search.
“Early indications are that 2023 will continue to be a lending landscape of great uncertainly, so brokers need to use all the tools at their disposal.”
