Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Solutions. Read the original article for full details.

More flexible mortgage market could mean more complex transactions, says Singh

Harpal Singh, CEO of Conveybuddy, has argued that a more flexible mortgage market will bring a wider range of buyers into the market, but that the transactions behind those mortgages may become less standard as a result. Writing in Mortgage Solutions, he says advisers should not assume that a more accommodating lending environment will produce straightforward conveyancing cases.

A changing policy and regulatory backdrop

Singh points to a policy direction focused on helping more people become homeowners. He says the Burnham-led government has made clear it wants to increase housebuilding, including more council homes, rather than retreat from the challenge of increasing housing supply.

At the same time, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is examining how mortgage rules might allow lenders to serve more creditworthy borrowers who have historically struggled to fit standard lending criteria. Its recent consultation considered greater flexibility for people with variable or irregular incomes, older borrowers and those with previous credit problems, alongside changes involving interest-only and later life lending.

Getting the mortgage is only the first part

Singh's central argument is that receiving a mortgage offer is not the objective for a homebuyer, who still needs to exchange and complete. As access broadens, he expects advisers to deal with more varied client circumstances, including transactions involving gifted deposits, family support, shared ownership, new-build incentives and other purchase schemes.

He notes that none of these automatically creates a difficult conveyancing case, but that the industry should not assume a more flexible mortgage market will produce entirely standard transactions. He also references speculation around future first-time buyer support and a possible Help to Buy successor, while stressing that this is currently speculation only. History, he writes, shows that schemes designed to make purchasing easier can create additional legal requirements, sometimes years later. He says that trend is visible now in increasing numbers of Help to Buy remortgages.

Matching clients to the right conveyancer

For advisers, Singh argues that having worked hard to find the right lender for a client with less straightforward circumstances, it makes little sense to treat the conveyancing recommendation as interchangeable and simply pick the cheapest quote. A new-build purchaser may benefit from a conveyancer who regularly handles new-build transactions, while shared ownership, Help to Buy or other specialist circumstances may require different knowledge and experience.

He says experienced account management remains important alongside technology, because advisers need to understand which firms are best placed to handle particular types of work and their capacity to do so. As the mortgage market broadens, he suspects that ability becomes more important rather than less.

Why this matters for letting agents and inventory clerks

For professionals working in the lettings and inventory sector, the same forces Singh describes (more varied buyer circumstances, shared ownership, new-build stock and government-backed schemes) shape the properties that eventually enter the rental market and the documentation required at check-in and check-out. A broader range of transaction types upstream can mean a broader mix of tenure and property conditions downstream.