The better Mortgage networks to join ??

federer

Hi ALL

I have recently been made redundant from a tied workforce
( investment and protection) and would like to work self employed in the mortgage and protection industry.

I would like to become self employed within a few months and would like some feedback please on best mortgage networks to join ? I may extend the model to full financial advice in the future once rdr is implemented

I have 7 years experience in tied selling

Also I know some networkes charge a flat fee some charge a percentage - can someone give me a brief example on how this works?

Also in order to work for yourself am I correct in thinking you would follow the same procedue as i already do i.e. fact find, get all income details affordability checks and then complete an application or is the application made by the customer and a broker just recommends them to do so?


p..s i know the market is bad right now or not as good as the good days and i know that being self employed is one thing and getting leads another

Thank you

dunstonh

Network is a term that covers many different business models. Some networks are intrusive and you have little control over your business whilst others let you run your business whilst focusing on the compliance.

So, it is important to get one that offers what you want. It is also vital that you get one that is financially strong. There is expectation of more mortgage network failures/closures.

Dont focus on cost as being your primary driver. You dont want to be sitting there a year later screaming at the incompetence of your network knowing that they are now costing you through time (which is money).

federer

Thank you dunstoh . I was hoping you would reply.

In regards to a network you want the best of both worlds. A network that will leave you alone and also provide reasonable compliance but not too much as to question every detail you put in a factfind.

It does seem silly now to consider a mortgage and protection only franchise and not include investment advice .

Can you recommend any networks to contact. It does seem positive solutions is corporate model and seems quite restrictive in what you can do. However provide a lot of backbone such as technology plus back office.

Finally how do you perceive the market to be for a new IFA who has tied banking commercial financial advice experience.? Its not the bets of times but you have to start somewhere?

ACG

Im with a network, i wont say which on here but if your interested feel free to drop me a pm.

Some networks are:
Sesame Bankhall,
Intrinsic,
Tenet,
Pink home loans,
Home of choice/personal touch.

As Dunston says, do your research - one of those listed above went under and a lot of people lost or had payment delays with some of their business that was going through.

From a personal point of view, i came from Friends Provident before going it alone....i was happy to go with a network who would basically check everything i did and tell me where i was going wrong, its how i learnt. Id rather that than a company who takes your money and doesnt really check that your doing everything by the book.

I spoke to a few of those companies above, some of them wouldnt touch me because i didnt have a back book of clients to bring with me.

I do agree with dunston to some extent that cost shouldnt be a deciding factor, but when you see a large chunk of commission going plus a monthly fee, it does need to be looked at as thats your money, but its the age old rule you get what you pay for. The network im under takes around 30-35% of protection commission but the support i get is fantastic i cant fault them.

dunstonh

My network takes 7.7% (its scaled on turnover with 12.8% being worst case). I sometimes sigh at what the network does but the grass is always greener on the other side. I also have experience of another network through a couple of IFAs that now work with me and their network is a disgrace. Whilst I only see their investment side and not mortgage, their risk profiling is out of the ark (pick a number between 1 and 5 and get a default paragraph for that on the suitability report).

On one day of the week I would answer that I wish I was directly authorised and on another I am pleased I am with the network I have. You will always get that. I wouldnt want to use a network that ties you in to their software.

Finally how do you perceive the market to be for a new IFA who has tied banking commercial financial advice experience.? Its not the bets of times but you have to start somewhere?

I think that there has never been a worse time. Around 20-30% of IFAs leaving to drop to mortgage/insurance only and I wouldnt want to start now unless you had a client bank to work on. I dont do mortgages. I leave that to my mortgage advisers. However, on the IFA side, I think it would be difficult given the RDR requirements.

kingstreet

I've been with Mortgage Support Network since before regulation started. They are solvent, have a great ethos and great people and leave me alone to get on with it.

If you want corporate, targets, shiny suits, conventions etc, we won't be the kind of people you'll feel at home with...

AFAIK MSN is always top of the feedback scores on "Cherry" even when HoC was the network darling.

magpiecottage

If you are going to join a network study your contract VERY carefully.

Remember, they will take a personal guarantee from you to meet any costs they incur in respect of your business. This means, in the event of a complaint being upheld you will have to pay the redress up to their PI excess - even after you have left. I have seen former members of two different networks find out to their cost that the excess had been increased threefold after they left.

Remember, too, that any FOS fee will be passed on. That means £850 a throw for PPI complaints (the "free" cases apply to the whole network so you will not get one).

That is not to say a network will not be right for you. If it were to fail, your liabilities would die with it - but you would be left unable to earn a living for a considerable time.

Just think carefully before deciding - and get legal advice before signing a contract.

federer

Firstly thank you all for replying.

However what does this mean ?

''AFAIK MSN is always top of the feedback scores on "Cherry" even when HoC was the network darling.''

whos AFAIK MSN ?? and whats cherry?

I think you have given me a very realistic insight into the world of going self employed. I was never under the impression it would be easy or lucrative in the first year or even after than initially. Im not out to make quick money, give bad advice etc. I never did that in the tied environment and is probably why iv been made redundant lol.

I will need to consider what you have said carefully magpie, dunstonh and ACG.

I agree you need some business lined up before you go into this.

From a mortgage and protection point of view if I can get some protection business to get initially started that may give me a headstart .

GMS

AFAIK - As far as I know
MSN - Mortgage Support Network.

Cherry is a forum for advisers. https://www.cherryplc.co.uk

Have a look on there, you may get more help.

Good luck with it all

chapelman

I would advise you to get professional advice since differences in comission rates, fees and compliance regimes along with financial security make it very difficult to make a like for like comparison with mortgage networks. We used Which Network (you can find them on Google) to find the right network for our business, they have more than 3 years data on the networks including a lot of stuff that never makes it into the public arena, they're impartial and they don't charge you anything for their services.

Jimbo1976

One thing which hasn't really been mentioned so far is the financial position of the networks. A number of the networks mentioned above have sizeable exposure to the IFA industry and with RDR looming networks may see drops in income without accompanying drops in costs.

As we saw when the credit crunch started when networks fail, brokers and IFAs are at the bottom of the list of creditors. So many lost their entire pipelines of completed but unpaid business.

Personally I would choose a network which is owned by a larger group even if the financial terms offered to me weren't as good as those at a standalone network.