More Ways to Help Your Clients: Why Brokers Choose Hanley

In today's mortgage market, many clients still find themselves falling outside the standard lending criteria used by mainstream lenders. While inflation has eased and the UK mortgage market continues to adapt to changing economic conditions, brokers are increasingly faced with clients whose circumstances require a more individual approach.

Whether it's a self-employed applicant with only one year's accounts, a borrower planning for retirement, or a client purchasing an unusual property, finding the right lending partner can make all the difference.

At Hanley Economic Building Society, we've built our intermediary proposition around one simple principle: every case deserves consideration. We specialise in taking a common-sense approach to complex cases, helping brokers find solutions for clients who may not fit neatly into automated underwriting models.

A More Flexible Approach to Lending

Many brokers tell us that their biggest challenge is not finding a mortgage product. It's finding a lender willing to look beyond rigid rules and assess a case on its individual merits.

That's exactly where we can help.

Our manual underwriting approach allows experienced underwriters and decision-makers to consider the full story behind an application, rather than relying solely on automated outcomes. We recognise that real life isn't always straightforward, and neither are many of the clients you support.

This flexibility extends across a wide range of lending scenarios.

For self-employed clients, we can consider applicants with just one year's accounts and assess income using salary, dividends, retained profits and other business structures where appropriate.

For affordability assessments, we do not operate fixed loan-to-income caps. Instead, we assess each borrower individually, allowing us to take a more realistic view of their financial position.

The result is a lending process designed to help brokers place more cases successfully and provide greater support to clients whose circumstances fall outside the mainstream.

Supporting Complex Cases with Confidence

The mortgage market is becoming increasingly diverse, and brokers need lenders who can adapt alongside changing customer needs.

Later life lending is a good example. Many borrowers now expect to continue working beyond traditional retirement ages, while others draw income from pensions, savings and investments. We can consider a range of retirement income sources, including earned income up to age 75, helping brokers support clients planning for the future.

We also understand that UK homebuyers and investors are becoming more varied. That's why we are able to consider foreign national applicants, with no minimum UK residency period requirement and a broad range of nationalities considered.

Where credit history is concerned, we recognise that life events can impact financial circumstances. Rather than applying blanket rules, we can consider cases individually and may accept certain adverse credit situations where appropriate. We can also disregard up to three telecommunications defaults in qualifying cases.

In addition, we may consider benefit income and certain elements of Universal Credit as part of our affordability assessments, helping brokers support a broader range of borrowers.

For brokers, this means more opportunities to help clients who may otherwise be excluded by stricter lending models.

Expertise Beyond Standard Property Types

Complex borrower circumstances are often matched by complex properties.

At Hanley Economic, we regularly work with brokers on cases involving self-build projects, holiday lets, annexes, rural homes, equestrian properties, properties above commercial premises, modern methods of construction and many other non-standard scenarios.

Our self-build proposition includes support for a wide variety of construction methods and eco-build projects, helping brokers assist clients pursuing bespoke housing ambitions.

For Buy to Let investors, we offer flexibility across a variety of ownership and lending structures, while holiday let properties are not restricted solely to traditional holiday destinations.

Importantly, where a case sits in a grey area, brokers don't have to submit an application and hope for the best.

We provide direct access to experienced decision-makers and offer the opportunity for pre-submission case discussions through our Daily New Business Committee. This allows brokers to gain early guidance and greater confidence before proceeding.

That direct access can save valuable time, reduce uncertainty and help identify a viable route forward when dealing with more challenging cases.

Every Case Deserves Consideration

As a mutual building society, we remain committed to personal service and common-sense lending. We understand that brokers need dependable lender relationships, particularly when working with clients whose circumstances require careful consideration.

Our approach is built around looking for ways to help, not reasons to decline.

So, if you've got a client who doesn't quite fit the mainstream mould, we'd love to discuss the case with you. Whether it's a complex income structure, an unusual property, an adverse credit scenario or a specialist lending requirement, our team is here to help explore the options available.

Get in touch with our Intermediary Team today on 01782 255000 or email intermediaries@thehanley.co.uk, or visit our broker portal to find out more about how we can support your next case.