A new online mortgage robo-adviser is launching in the UK that aims to speed up the loan application process.
The Mortgage Gym, which has received approval from the Financial Conduct Authority, will allow UK homebuyers to complete their mortgage application online and is set to launch this summer.
Customers will be able to upload images of all their application documents online to instantly verify their identity, removing the need to provide physical copies.
Users will get a detailed insight on mortgages available to them based on live affordability searches from 12 of the top 20 lenders.
The site does a soft-search of an applicant’s Experian credit file and matches it to lenders’ internal scorecards, then cross references this with daily best-rate tables.
As well as offering robo-advice, the service provides users with access live advice and support from thousands of brokers nationwide.
John Ingram, CEO and founder of Mortgage Gym, said: “Following tighter regulation of the mortgage market in 2014, we realised the UK’s mortgage application process is archaic, inaccurate, time-consuming and ripe for disruption from a holistic, online solution.
“The mortgage industry in the UK is one of the last bastions of the financial services industry to still operate via paper files and telephone-based advice.
“We aim to remove the guesswork, frustration and stress for homebuyers from one of the most important financial transactions in their life. For brokers, we believe our digital network will empower them to develop their own business with a steady stream of high-quality, prequalified clients without the burden of endless back-office compliance.”
Following the MMR, only 47% of homebuyers who begin the mortgage application process reach completion and 67% of lenders cite “too much paperwork” as the main source of consumer frustration.
Mortgage Gym believes an additional source of frustration for homebuyers is the disjoint between what they believe they can borrow based on comparison site suggestions, which are not based on the buyers’ financials, and the reality – which its portal aims to solve.
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