Reasons to use a Packager

9th Aug 2023

Self-employment, adverse credit and affordability are three cornerstones of the specialist market, and these trends point to an increasing number of customers whose circumstances cause them to fall outside of the criteria of mainstream lenders.

But while the number of specialist cases is increasing, the bulk of your business will continue to be from customers with more straightforward situations.

So, what do you do when you encounter a client who doesn’t fit the mainstream?

The specialist sector can, after all, be a complex area of the market if you deal with it infrequently. The landscape is constantly evolving with new lenders and changing criteria, and fully understanding all of the options could easily be a full-time job.

But there are other options.

Mortgage packagers exist to provide solutions for advisers on cases they deal with on an infrequent basis, and so can give you the tools you need to make the most of every lead.

Packagers have been around for as long as the specialist market. At 3mc we are celebrating our 27th year of business in 2023 and we have worked with thousands of advisers through multiple market cycles. The sector is also bigger than you might think.

So why are so many advisers choosing to work with a packager?

For packagers, specialist lending is our mainstream. We deal with specialist lenders on a volume basis, and this means that we are full-time experts in an area that is a part-time interest for many advisers.

In addition to expertise, packagers can provide you with access to lenders and criteria that are not available direct to advisers. A lot of new specialist lenders entering the market now are only available through packagers and many established lenders choose to distribute some of their most in-demand deals through packagers as this provides them greater control over the volume they lend on these popular products.

Using a packager does not mean compromising your procuration fee. In fact, if you work with 3mc, you will receive a similar fee as you would receive if you dealt directly with a lender, as we receive a fee in addition to the market procuration fee from the lenders with whom we work.

Nowadays, you can choose how you want to work with a packager partner, and you should always retain ownership of your client.

If you want to retain ownership of the advice your client receives, you can harness the knowledge of a packager by using it as a specialist mortgage desk to research the options for your client and provide a range of suitable solutions. At 3mc, we support this with a handy criteria comparison so that you can see at a glance, how specialist lenders match up against each other.

Alternatively, if you would rather focus on other areas of your business, you could use an introducer service, like the one available through 3mc. When you come across a specialist case, simply pass the client to 3mc and we will take over the advice and recommendation process in return for a percentage of the gross commission. There is a no cross-sell agreement in place for any products other than the mortgage and the client remains your client. This means that if the client approaches 3mc directly for advice in the future, you will receive the same commercial terms for repeat business.

For more information on how 3mc can help you to maximise the income from your specialist cases, call: 0161 962 7800.

This document is for mortgage intermediaries only and not for members of the general public.