People with bad credit wanting a mortgage

[tony84]

I have set up an online Mortgage Broker - https://www.adverse.online

We are looking for people who have bad credit and are looking for a mortgage to give the website a try.

In an ideal world it would be great to see you go from initial enquiry through to completion, but if you decide not to proceed that is fine also.
We would just like to test the site and get feedback before we fully launch the site later in the month.

Thanks.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

I'm at the wrong side of the wrong side in life to be borrowing big money

I have added your link to my notes on Evernote because people sometimes ask about such things

 

[tony84]

Cheers.

A fair bit of time and work (and tears) has gone into it. Every little helps.

 

[Talay]

Just had a quick look.

Feedback.

Date fields default to wrong numbers or maximum numbers if you put in like 35th day of 17th month
Your income and so forth numbers need to be integers, not down to pence.
They also allow you to scroll into a negative, which needs changing
Mortgage amounts, minimum income etc. all go down to pence. Limit to pounds.

The end results are quite "disguised" with fat commissions and fees. Presumably also a kickback from the lenders.

Interest rates listed are deceptive ad the devil is in the small print. I'd be wary of getting some legal challenges down the line on this.

 

[tony84]

Just had a quick look.

Feedback.

Date fields default to wrong numbers or maximum numbers if you put in like 35th day of 17th month
Your income and so forth numbers need to be integers, not down to pence.
They also allow you to scroll into a negative, which needs changing
Mortgage amounts, minimum income etc. all go down to pence. Limit to pounds.
-------------
The end results are quite "disguised" with fat commissions and fees. Presumably also a kickback from the lenders.

Interest rates listed are deceptive ad the devil is in the small print. I'd be wary of getting some legal challenges down the line on this.

For the comments above the line, thank you. Some of those things have already been raised with the developers and on the list. The others I will look into and get added.

For the parts below the line, could you expand? We do receive commission, as does every mortgage broker. We receive no more or less than the majority of other brokers. There are no additional kickbacks. I am a mortgage broker, that is what my business is. This is just an offshoot which is a cheaper way of the customer being able to get the products, they just have to do a little more work for it.

What do you mean about the rates being deceptive? These are the exact products that mortgage lenders offer. Dont forget this is a website geared towards helping people with bad credit, we do not help people with good credit (as in we turn them away). We have made them aware of the rate, the duration of that rate, the fees etc - what do you think is missing to make it less deceptive?

Id be interested on hearing what you think the legal challenges would be. We have had compliance reviews by 2 companies and ticked all of the boxes, in some cases we have gone over and above the minimum requirements. Customers would also receive a full illustration with a breakdown of everything in detail but for the purposes of listing each product its not possible to put 7-8 pages worth of information. I would also argue if we did that, it then causes more confusion.

 

[WaveJumper]

Looking through the site on the link How does adverse.online work the text is coming up so small I can not read all the other pages are fine.

Will certainly pass your link onto anyone I know having issues finding a mortgage best of luck.

 

[tony84]

I spotted it on another post also. I have corrected both though. Cheers.

 

[Ozzy]

Just a reminder that Tony is looking for beta testers not a website review, a review of the website has its own section on these forums.

 

[tony84]

Just a reminder that Tony is looking for beta testers not a website review, a review of the website has its own section on these forums.

Sorry, it was more feedback on the process from people who have tried the site I was after. Rather than design etc.

 

[fisicx]

Why have all the waffle. The only reason anyone will be on the site is because they can't get a mortgage. Keep it simple and put the form on the homepage. You don't even need those steps - it just confuses (look like I need to apply twice).

The actual form needs some work. For example, hide the child benefit question if the number of dependents is zero. And the is the annual maintenance how much I get or have to pay out? In any case, it's easier for applications to enter monthly amounts. Even working out an annual salary is going to be a challenge for some applicants.

Also, get the lead at step one (name, address, email phone). If they don't complete you can get in contact and follow up.

 

[tony84]

Why have all the waffle. The only reason anyone will be on the site is because they can't get a mortgage. Keep it simple and put the form on the homepage. You don't even need those steps - it just confuses (look like I need to apply twice).

The actual form needs some work. For example, hide the child benefit question if the number of dependents is zero. And the is the annual maintenance how much I get or have to pay out? In any case, it's easier for applications to enter monthly amounts. Even working out an annual salary is going to be a challenge for some applicants.

Also, get the lead at step one (name, address, email phone). If they don't complete you can get in contact and follow up.

The site is still in a beta stage. It works, but to do everything I want, it needs a bit more money pumping into it. The form is not on the home page as this is something fairly unique (it is not the same as the likes of habito etc as this site is all online) so we expect to need to do more blogs and tutorials etc for training and educating (not to sound condescending).

The income figures, you are right. Ultimately in time it will ask for a figure and have an option for monthly or annually. But child benefit is actually paid 4 weekly, so the monthly figure would be wrong. If people can not work out their annual salary, then this is probably not the site for them. There is very very little "hand holding" people need to be able to do the work on their own. If they give incorrect figures, it could produce incorrect results.

One of the reasons for this site is because some people are embarrassed about their adverse. This site gives people the ability to check if we can help without having to disclose any personal information. Yes, they could give duff information but thats of no use to us. If they are happy with the potential options then the details we are receiving is better quality.

Appreciate the points you have made, some of them had already been discussed and there are arguments for and against. Others are on the cards, but it was down to cost.

There are going to be people on 0 hour contracts, what do they put down as income? Some lenders work off an average of the last 3 months, some a P60, some the last 12 months payslips. It is tricky to encompass everything on a form, but that is why we are looking for feedback from real people who use the site so we can work out what we have missed.

 

[fisicx]

There are lots of ways to make the form work. Conditional fields make it much easier to filter the questions.

Also agree about the education. But the blog isn’t the answer. You can use the from for this. Ask a question and depending on their answer you show the appropriate information.

I’ve built a number of forms like this over the years and the fewer questions per page the more likely it is people will complete.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Hi Tony

When I tried it on my phone (Android), I had to scroll back ad infinitum to enter my DOB - not a problem on my proper computer.

Just a thought, perhaps you are actually presenting too many options of your final screen - people like to be led by the hand to some extent. Perhaps a separate discussion?

I can't see any problem at all with the way your results are presented.

 

[tony84]

It ultimately just came down to cost. All of the little jobs are not expensive, but they soon add up. Its not been cheap to get it to this stage, although most of the work went on the database side of things.

 

[tony84]

Hi Tony

When I tried it on my phone (Android), I had to scroll back ad infinitum to enter my DOB - not a problem on my proper computer.

Just a thought, perhaps you are actually presenting too many options of your final screen - people like to be led by the hand to some extent. Perhaps a separate discussion?

I can't see any problem at all with the way your results are presented.

It is tricky as we have to satisfy FCA requirements, we had a lot less on the final page. But after a compliance audit a few things were raised and so we had to get more added in to satisfy those requirements.

The plan is to make some of the fields a requirement, DoB is one of them so that should be fixed soon.

 

[fisicx]

It ultimately just came down to cost. All of the little jobs are not expensive, but they soon add up. Its not been cheap to get it to this stage, although most of the work went on the database side of things.

Don't know why this is expensive. Building a DB table is very quick and easy and the form wouldn't take long to develop. Everything else is just a bit of content and CSS. You could have done all this in wordpress for very little (because it builds the DB for you).

 

[tony84]

You will know better than I will.
I think there are a few databases - one for lenders, one for rates, one for products and another for criteria.

 

[Mark T Jones]

It is tricky as we have to satisfy FCA requirements, we had a lot less on the final page. But after a compliance audit a few things were raised and so we had to get more added in to satisfy those requirements.

The plan is to make some of the fields a requirement, DoB is one of them so that should be fixed soon.

I guessed FCA might come into it.

One thing they don't understand is customers!

 

[Newchodge]

The site is still in a beta stage. It works, but to do everything I want, it needs a bit more money pumping into it. The form is not on the home page as this is something fairly unique (it is not the same as the likes of habito etc as this site is all online) so we expect to need to do more blogs and tutorials etc for training and educating (not to sound condescending).

The income figures, you are right. Ultimately in time it will ask for a figure and have an option for monthly or annually. But child benefit is actually paid 4 weekly, so the monthly figure would be wrong. If people can not work out their annual salary, then this is probably not the site for them. There is very very little "hand holding" people need to be able to do the work on their own. If they give incorrect figures, it could produce incorrect results.

One of the reasons for this site is because some people are embarrassed about their adverse. This site gives people the ability to check if we can help without having to disclose any personal information. Yes, they could give duff information but thats of no use to us. If they are happy with the potential options then the details we are receiving is better quality.

Appreciate the points you have made, some of them had already been discussed and there are arguments for and against. Others are on the cards, but it was down to cost.

There are going to be people on 0 hour contracts, what do they put down as income? Some lenders work off an average of the last 3 months, some a P60, some the last 12 months payslips. It is tricky to encompass everything on a form, but that is why we are looking for feedback from real people who use the site so we can work out what we have missed.

I would suggest that a proportion of people with bad credit will not be on monthly salary, and pensions, child benefit and other allowances are paid on a 4 weekly basis.

 

[tony84]

I would suggest that a proportion of people with bad credit will not be on monthly salary, and pensions, child benefit and other allowances are paid on a 4 weekly basis.

You are probably right. But for the ones looking for a mortgage, most do work full time. Their adverse usually came around because of youth (at uni), loss of job, illness, divorce or just an oversight. My business became a specialist adverse broker 9 years ago, I can honestly say only a minority get more than around 10% of their household income via benefits/allowances.

 

[fisicx]

You will know better than I will.
I think there are a few databases - one for lenders, one for rates, one for products and another for criteria.

Easy to do. Shouldn't take more than an hour to build the DB tables.

But it's the form that needs sorting. If you want people to apply it needs to be a lot more helpful. Using conditional fields will make is so much easier for everybody. And improve conversions. They are a doddle to build.

 

[UKSBD]

Do you really need that DOB thing?
It takes me longer scrolling down and finding date than it does just typing it in

 

[tony84]

All useful feedback, thanks.

 

[tony84]

Some of the things raised have been resolved, some will be done in the coming days. One or 2 things are down to browsers rather than the site (ie they would happen on any site).

As much as the reason for this post was to get people to test the site application side of things, the feedback received was really valuable and massively appreciated. We have had a couple of people do that (although would have preferred more but I suppose that would have been the same regardless of how many had a go).

So just to say thank you for the feedback. We are doing a soft launch tomorrow with the hope of getting some real customers.

Wish us luck!

 

[antropy]

We are looking for people who have bad credit and are looking for a mortgage to give the website a try.

Well no one's getting any mortgages right now ?

Paul.

 

[simon field]

Well no one's getting any mortgages right now ?

Paul.

I just got one this morning!

 

[antropy]

I just got one this morning!

How, I thought all lenders had withdrawn?!

Paul.

 

[simon field]

How, I thought all lenders had withdrawn?!

Paul.

That’s complete media hype-tripe (again).

The product I’ve bought had literally risen 0.02% in 10 days or so.

 

[antropy]

That’s complete media hype-tripe (again).

The product I’ve bought had literally risen 0.02% in 10 days or so.

It's not media hype at all, I know several people in the industry who work with mortgages all day every day and they confirm it's true.

Perhaps you'd already received your offer?

Paul.

 

[simon field]

It's not media hype at all, I know several people in the industry who work with mortgages all day every day and they confirm it's true.

Perhaps you'd already received your offer?

Paul.

No, I just had a series of quotes early last week, applied today, got accepted today.

*some* lenders (mainly building societies) have gone silly & raised rates or withdrawn products with a fee attached, and that’s it. Others haven’t.

Really, the current ‘everything is a crisis’ culture is largely made up sensationalism by idiots in the media and Karen from Facebook.

 

[japancool]

Really, the current ‘everything is a crisis’ culture is largely made up sensationalism by idiots in the media and Karen from Facebook.

So everything's fine and dandy with Truss' policies?

 

[simon field]

So everything's fine and dandy with Truss' policies?

Ha! No, but she is just the latest in a long line of twonks. What did anyone expect? It’s business as usual for little Britain isn’t it, in one way or another?

 

[tony84]

It's not media hype at all, I know several people in the industry who work with mortgages all day every day and they confirm it's true.

Perhaps you'd already received your offer?

Paul.

Maybe a handful of lenders have pulled all of their products. However, some of those lenders have since come back with new products.

A lot of lenders have pulled some of their products.

Its not a lack of money or willingness to lend, its the uncertainty about where to price it that is causing the problems.

But yes we have taken the products down off our site. I was spending that long changing the pricing of the lenders that I had no time to actually deal with customers. So for the time being the products are off, hopefully we will have them back up in a weeks time.

 

[simon field]

Maybe a handful of lenders have pulled all of their products. However, some of those lenders have since come back with new products.

A lot of lenders have pulled some of their products.

Its not a lack of money or willingness to lend, its the uncertainty about where to price it that is causing the problems.

But yes we have taken the products down off our site. I was spending that long changing the pricing of the lenders that I had no time to actually deal with customers. So for the time being the products are off, hopefully we will have them back up in a weeks time.

That’s exactly what we found. A bit of shuffling around but no major hiccups anywhere

 

[antropy]

Really, the current ‘everything is a crisis’ culture is largely made up sensationalism by idiots in the media and Karen from Facebook.

Perhaps but the estate agents and mortgage brokers I know are panicking!

Paul.

 

[tony84]

What are they panicking about?
The next couple of weeks might be a bit stressful with giving people quotes and then having to give new rates, but I think most of us are over that as it has been like that since March, just a little more so at the minute.

 

[antropy]

What are they panicking about?
The next couple of weeks might be a bit stressful with giving people quotes and then having to give new rates, but I think most of us are over that as it has been like that since March, just a little more so at the minute.

Well they have a pipeline of people going through the process of buying houses but the higher rates will mean many of them are no longer considered able to buy.

Paul.

 

[simon field]

My particular mortgage broker is now putting his feet up for the rest of the month, having exceeded his quota of sales by a considerable number.

I don’t get this whole ‘panicky pants’ thing at all ?

 

[tony84]

Well they have a pipeline of people going through the process of buying houses but the higher rates will mean many of them are no longer considered able to buy.

Paul.

You never know, that might have a knock on effect with house prices.

 

[tony84]

My particular mortgage broker is now putting his feet up for the rest of the month, having exceeded his quota of sales by a considerable number.

I don’t get this whole ‘panicky pants’ thing at all ?

Spot on.

Its gone dead, but with so much turbulence it is not surprising.
I will deal with whatever comes in this month and if not, I will enjoy the break. I have my annual reports for the FCA to do anyway so not the end of the world.

I will become a bit more pro-active next month.