Mortgage advisors expand on property market upsurge

Mortgage advisory business, Mortgages Made Simple, has taken on two team members and moved to new offices at Birchwood Park as a result of business and market growth.

Owner Jennifer Yates from Winwick, who started Mortgages Made Simple in 2011 having worked for 23 years in the banking sector and as a subcontracted mortgage advisor, has grown her client base dramatically in under three years, mainly through word of mouth.

But the recent upsurge in the property market, and Jennifer seeing a demand for her services on the increase in late 2013, prompted the office search and recruitment of two colleagues, Cheryl Lavin and Susan Barlow.

Jennifer said: “I’d seen the market suddenly go through the roof in London, but when I started dealing with client property purchases being determined by sealed bids here in the north west in Liverpool, I knew it was time to make the move.”

Evidence of market growth began early in 2013 and the number of enquiries being received could not be serviced by Jennifer alone.

Not wanting to risk losing the strong reputation she’d built with Mortgages Made Simple, Jennifer has brought in Cheryl Lavin to assist her in the protection element of financial advice looking at insurance, income protection and critical illness.

Cheryl said: “It was a culture shock being made redundant after a 19 year career as Branch Manager for Stockton Heath and Warrington offices of Cheshire Building Society, so the role working with Mortgages Made Simple was a welcome change.”

To help process the increased number of applications, Jennifer employed Susan Barlow, a former colleague of hers from her freelancing days, in January 2014 as part-time mortgage administrator.

With Susan’s ten years of experience, Jennifer felt confident she’d expanded the team with the right person to deal with the day to day administration of the business whilst she continued to work on offering mortgage and protection advice to clients with Cheryl.

Appointing both Cheryl and Susan gave Jennifer the confidence to take the huge step moving out of the home-based office and renting office space, with Lovell House at Birchwood Park being the chosen destination.

Jennifer and the team quickly settled in to the new offices having moved in January; a timely move as Jennifer added: “We wrote twice as much mortgage business in January this year compared to the same period in 2013. Rates have reduced as lenders are hungry for business, and some of the strict criteria of recent years have been relaxed. So now is a great time to buy your first home, remortgage, move home or invest in the buy-to-let property market.”