"Our broker partners and customers can finally experience a new standard for conveyancing from the Gen H team they already know and trust."
Mortgage lender, Gen H, has announced the launch of a new product range for first-time buyers, combining mortgage and legal services under one roof.
The lender says customers could save thousands of pounds on their mortgage with the premium service, which is available with exclusive lower interest rates.
The 'bundle' offers access to a premium conveyancing service provided by Gen H Legal, reduced mortgage rates on two, three and five-year fixed rate products at LTVs up to 95%, and free valuations.
These first-time buyer bundle rates will up to 0.35% lower than Gen H’s standard range.
The company also plans to launch similar homebuying bundles through the year to support home movers and remortgagers. Further services will be added to these bundles wherever opportunities are identified to save money for customers and improve their homebuying experience.
The first-time buyer bundle is available from 15th March 2023 to customers who apply to Gen H directly, as well as to the 11,000+ brokers on the Gen H panel.
Gen H, which launched as Generation Home in 2019, encourages buyers to enhance their borrowing potential with friends and family funds and offers a range of 95% and 90% LTV products on standard properties and new builds.
Will Rice, co-founder and CEO of Gen H, said: “The UK housing market is not fit-for-purpose. Consumers have to navigate a minefield of different service providers to achieve their homeownership goals and the process is loaded with complexity and unnecessary cost. The launch of our first-time buyer bundle is a big step towards simplifying this and returning value to our customers. We hope that other lenders will embrace this approach and join us in driving the housing market change that consumers are crying out for.”
Pete Dockar, commercial director at Gen H, added: “The launch of the first-time buyer bundle represents another mortgage market first for Gen H. This exciting development means that our broker partners and customers can finally experience a new standard for conveyancing from the Gen H team they already know and trust.”
Brokers react
Brokers responded with mixed views to the launch, with some praising the support for first-time buyers and others concerned about the use of in-house conveyancing.
Austyn Johnson, founder at Mortgages For Actors, said: "Lowering interest rates, free valuations and keeping the legal things in-house will hopefully mean a quicker service, less chasing and more transparency. What's not to like! I can see Gen H being the go-to lender this year."
Rhys Schofield, managing director at Peak Mortgages and Protection, commented: "In theory, it's a good idea but there are potential pitfalls. The devil will be in the detail, too, as you may still be left with more in your back pocket going to a top sourcing lender and paying for your own conveyancer where you can actually choose a firm based on their reviews and service rather than having a particular firm forced on you. The other pitfall I can see is what happens if a case ends up not going through with Gen H, as having to change lenders happens more often than anyone cares to admit. Does the legal process have to start again? That could add months onto a property transaction. I commend Gen H for trying to make things easier for first-time buyers and this will grab headlines but I don't think it'll be easy to pull off."
Scott Taylor-Barr, financial adviser at Carl Summers Financial Services, said: "I'm a cynical man and tend to look at any good news and then try to find the dirty secret that's trying to stay hidden behind it. Now that I've got that out of the way, I don't feel so bad in telling you my first response to this was not positive. You see, the mortgage adviser and conveyancer are the only two parties that are employed by the buyer and so our responsibility is to them. My concern with this is that the conveyancer is now employed by the lender, so whose interests are they looking out for? The first-time buyer, or the lender that is paying them? The jury is out for me on this one at the moment. I'd need to learn more about how it intends to work before I'd be comfortable recommending it to a client."
Justin Moy, managing director at EHF Mortgages, added: "Ultimately, anything that supports first-time buyers, keep costs down and passes on any rate savings is going to be popular. As long as the service from the legal team is proactive with everyone involved in the buying process, this could be an attractive model to copy for other challenger lenders. Most lenders offer free valuations, and some provide a cashback for first-time buyers such as Nationwide, so the figures will need to support the initiative."
