"It goes without saying that the impression a packager gives on the phone or in person should guide you on whether you even want them speaking to your clients in the first place."
Well, what I’m trying to say is that a packager with a blended team that can work effortlessly across firsts, seconds and commercial mortgages is far more valuable to a broker than a packager where the various divisions are siloed (which is more common than you think).
After all, we often get approached by brokers enquiring about a second charge on behalf of a client and end up recommending they take a mortgage advance or change their first charge — if it’s more appropriate to that client’s specific needs.
In other words, and I admit I’m probably starting to sound like I have been drinking now, the best first can sometimes be a second and the best second a first.
So always be sure to ask a packager if they have dedicated first and second teams or are ‘blended’. And while you’re there make sure they offer a second charge cost comparison for capital raising remortgages. There’s no excuse not to.
Other questions brokers should ask packagers relate to service levels and reporting. As a rule of thumb, you should expect to get automated weekly reports and should not have to repeatedly chase the designated individual dealing with your account.
It’s also worth asking the packager what their typical turnaround times are for the type of loan you’re introducing, as packagers that move at a glacial pace can be a reputational risk. In short, do they come across as agile or unwieldy?
Check, too, if the packager will deal direct with your clients if need be and whether they can give advice on regulated mortgage products that they have sourced rather than expecting the introducing broker to advise on something that’s outside their general scope of service.
And it goes without saying that the impression a packager gives on the phone or in person should guide you on whether you even want them speaking to your clients in the first place.
While the broker/packager relationship is by default transactional (in other words, the client remains the broker’s at all times), you do want to know that the people dealing with your clients are articulate and professional.
And last but not least, two questions about the money side: will you receive a 50% revenue share of both the proc and broker fee, and when, importantly, will it be paid?
