"With other bills – like energy and gas – also going up, most will now need to think carefully about how they can shore up their finances."
Its survey found that as many as one in five (20%) mortgage borrowers looking to remortgage in the last 24 months have battled so much with application issues that they abandoned it altogether. A further 28% chose to persevere, but experienced severe delays. As a result, 76% of respondents feel the remortgage process is not fit-for-purpose.
The analysis shows that consumer experiences have gotten worse since the start of the pandemic, as increased demand, combined with remote working, has put pressure on the conveyancing process.
Poor experiences with delays and administration have led to poorer financial outcomes, with half of those remortgaging stating they will opt for the easiest remortgage option next time, rather than exploring a full range of options.
49% said they would most likely switch to a new mortgage with their existing lender, rather than considering if a better alternative was available elsewhere.
When asked how they thought the process could be improved, 33% wanted it to be faster, 27% wanted a consistent process regardless of their lender, and 36% wanted greater transparency via an online portal.
Of those who abandoned an attempt to remortgage, 27% reported that they missed out on a better mortgage rate as a result, 30% found it stressful, while 23% said the anxiety inducing nature of the process caused them to lose sleep.
James Bawa, chief executive of PEXA UK, commented: “Normally a mortgage is a person’s biggest monthly outgoing and as interest rates rise, this will likely increase. With other bills – like energy and gas – also going up, most will now need to think carefully about how they can shore up their finances. Key to this is finding the right mortgage, something that’s best done by considering all the available options. Unfortunately, because so many people have experienced issues with the remortgage process over the last few years, many are being put off from doing this.
“Importantly, the entire industry is working together to provide better consumer outcomes. Part of the problem is that the process homeowners go through to remortgage is disjointed and still replies on an outdated 150-year-old conveyancing process, like signing physical documents. The pandemic exploded these underlying issues.
“In Australia – the first country in the world to create a fully digital process for property settlement - people wanting to remortgage could do so in just a day. We aim to bring this speed and simplicity to the UK, benefitting consumers, lenders and conveyancers alike as we launch our remortgage platform in the Autumn.”
