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A new mortgage website has promised brokers high-quality leads – because clients will have to pay for the service.
Flongle will be free for brokers and lenders, while borrowers will pay a flat fee for the right to conduct very specific searches, said business relationship manager Rachel Neilson.
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They will have numerous search options including by product type, lender type, fee structure and geographical location, and can also request items such as brokers who do house calls, she said.
Ms Neilson told The Adviser that borrowers will, however, have to input all the information they would include on a home loan application.
Registered brokers and lenders would see that information – although not the borrower’s contact details – and submit expressions of interest via Flongle, she said.
“These clients that they’re looking at will have paid money to find them, so you know they are highly motivated buyers. They’re putting skin down to get the service they want,” she said.
“If you’re a proactive broker who wants the business and is customer service-based, Flongle will benefit you quite significantly in that once it’s launched and we’ve got the consumers there who are looking for the loans, you’re able to cherry pick the ones that are suited to you.”
Ms Neilson said Flongle had so far recruited 24 lenders and 15 brokers, with the website scheduled to launch in about two months. "Our five-year target is 10,000 deals per month," she said.
Borrowers would not be deterred by paying the fee, which is still being calculated, she added.
“Four years of market research and surveys have said people are looking for this sort of product and, yes, they are willing to pay for it,” she said.
“When people are comparing apples to apples, they’ll save the fee in the first 12 months anyway.”
Ms Neilson told The Adviser that borrowers will get a refund if their applications do not receive acceptable responses.
