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Frequently Asked Mortgage Network Questions
Why shouldn’t I just ask a few mortgage networks what they can do for me?
What does your service really cost me?
How is Which Network Ltd paid?
Are Which Network Ltd really impartial?
Do you think more mortgage networks will cease to trade?
Possible problems with a golden handshake?
Can I get my pipeline commission if I leave my current mortgage network?
How long does it take to get authorised by a financial network?
Why shouldn’t I just ask a few networks what they can do for me?
You could of course just ring around a couple of networks which take your fancy and ask for a call from their BDM. The obvious problem with using this approach to decision making however, is that you may find all of the BDM’s you see work for the very best network, who pay the highest commissions, have the friendliest staff and have head offices which run like a well oiled machine. What they won’t tell you is how bad their compliance regime is, how long it actually takes them to make commission payments, or that the person who built up the network has become so disenfranchised with the standards of the company that he has sold up and left town.
In short, what you can end up with is the network who has the best salesman!
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What does your service really cost me?
We don’t charge you anything for our service at any time.
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How is Which Network Ltd paid?
We are paid an introducer fee by the network we introduce you to, and to make sure we are impartial we are paid around the same amount by all the networks we work with (see below).
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Are Which Network really impartial?
If you knew how we did business, this wouldn’t even be an issue, but since for the purpose of these FAQ’s I must assume you know nothing about me personally or Which Network, I can only reiterate this business is run on a completely ethical and impartial basis. We won’t ever just say “join this network”, our conclusions will only be offered after we have given your personal circumstances the deepest consideration, we will always explain how we reach our opinion, present the choices, and talk it over with you..........and remember, we only advise, the final choice is yours.
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Do you think more mortgage networks will cease to trade?
If I were a gambling man (which I’m not), I would put money on it. The current economic problems are putting massive pressures on a lot of networks. Some will go out of business, and others will merge or be taken over, only good solid networks with a solid core of business, that are financially sound are likely to survive (that’s why we’re here).
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How do golden handshakes work?
Often offered by the big insurance companies, a golden handshake, or golden hello as it is sometimes known is a sum offered to a company to start an agency (negative connotations may mean it’s called something else). The reason for the offer is that there are almost always trading restrictions with such an arrangement, whether it is a restricted mortgage panel, or a restricted or even single company insurance offering. This may not seem to be a problem at the time (especially with the cheque in front of you), but in some cases, particularly in a declining, competitive market such as we are seeing can easily happen is that increased competition and falling prices across the board makes an individual insurers policies less attractive, leading to a fall off in business, which inevitably leads to some or all of the money gave in the golden hello being clawed back. Unfortunately there are usually also penalties to pay upon leaving the network, and you can find that what was once your client bank, now belongs to the network principle. Basically I’m not saying this is never a good thing, and it might be right for you, but you need to ask all the questions, consider the down side very carefully, think worst case scenario even as you plan for the best. How would you cope with a loss of independence, loss of clients, loss of golden handshake, leading to the industry slang term of golden handcuffs.
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Can I get my pipeline commission if I leave my current mortgage network?
Usually I suppose it depends on whom you are joining, and who you are leaving, so use our services and let us worry about it is the only fair answer to the question. However points to consider include.......Most networks will just pay this to avoid unnecessary conflict and to keep the parting as simple and clean as possible. Although some of the more unscrupulous networks will try to hang on to it if they can, as they see it as a means of hanging on to your business.
There are however several ways to get around the problem, Firstly, I would always advocate talking to the network. If they are made aware that you are definitely leaving and nothing they can do will change your mind, most will take the sensible decision to pay up if only to avoid an argument they can’t win and the accompanying bad publicity. If that isn't the case then I would advise you to take legal advice to see if your current network is in breach of contract, in fact some networks will actually advise you on whether your current network has been breached.
The other possible solution is to novate the risk, which basically means that you agree to release your old network from any risk of clawback from insurance policies you have written. This usually appeals to networks because it means they are off loading any financial risk and they still have the margin they take from the commission, so what’s not to like?
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How long does it take to get authorised by a financial network?
Unfortunately, this is a very difficult question to answer, as we have know the process take as little as one week, and as long as eight weeks. One thing we can say is that it will help to speed things up if you have your Consumer Credit Licence (CCL) and Data Protection registration (DP) ready before you apply. The CCL in particular can still take up to six weeks to get issued, so don’t wait until you have applied to the network before applying for your CCL. Another bit of advice, is that if you are in a hurry, make sure the network you are applying to knows about it, and keep in regular contact with the membership department on a regular basis, don’t just sit and assume everything is going through fine, networks are rely on people and people sometimes make mistakes. Keep in touch and if there’s a problem you can catch it early and deal with it.
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