Yet as I write this, we are only nine weeks away from Christmas, bringing with it not only the welcome chance to catch your breath but also to reflect on lessons from the year gone, as well as how you wish to work differently in 2023. 

I don’t think there can be any doubt that all the parties within the property market can work more effectively and deliver a better experience for all. The challenge is to put those changes in place now, so that borrowers enjoy the benefits in the months and years ahead. 

Working together 

One of the biggest frustrations for borrowers, whether they are looking to purchase or refinance, has been the delays in sorting the legal side of the transaction. All too often cases have been placed with conveyancing firms who may lack the expertise or the capacity to handle the transaction or refinance in a timely manner. 

As a result, mistakes can be made and deals could therefore be delayed. At its worst, this situation can lead to deals collapsing entirely, but even the ‘best’ case scenario means that buyers and sellers are merely left stressed and frustrated. This is no way for such an important market to operate. 

Lenders have an opportunity to work more proactively with conveyancers and panel managers, to ensure that when customers want help selecting a law firm to handle the legal side of their transaction, they can be pointed towards conveyancers who have an in-depth understanding of that particular area of the market and the capacity to get the case over the line in good time.  

Approaching the end 

The next year will also be a significant one for the many borrowers coming to the end of a fixed rate deal. We know that well over a million mortgage borrowers will be in this situation in 2023, and with the sharp increases seen to interest rates over the last month, will be facing up to the reality of a likely painful jump in their monthly repayments. 

While some will understandably opt for the path of least resistance offered by product transfers, there will be an awful lot of borrowers who want to reduce their payments by remortgaging to a new lender.  

Innovations can help us make remortgaging more straightforward. For example, at Smoove we have developed a Rapid Remortgage service, which reduces the time taken to complete a remortgage for eligible borrowers to the sort of timescale you would ordinarily expect from a product transfer. 

By supporting such innovations, lenders can ensure that more borrowers make the best possible decision for their financial futures, rather than simply the easiest. 

Doing our duty 

Another big consideration in the way that we work together will have to be the Consumer Duty. Mortgage lenders have 12 months to demonstrate they are meeting what the FCA has described as “higher and clearer standards of consumer protection”, with businesses required to “put their customers’ needs first”. 

While most lenders will have the principles behind the Duty at the heart of the way they operate, the new regulations will mean businesses across the sector look afresh at the processes they have in place. With such an important emphasis on consumer understanding and support, it stands to reason that lenders will want to ensure that both they, and the firms they work with, are sufficiently focused on keeping customers informed on precisely what is going on with their home purchase, sale or refinance.  

It’s something that we have long focused on at Smoove, the lack of transparency involved in the process of buying and selling property. The truth is that all too often the main parties involved in a deal are the least well-informed about what’s going on, kept in the dark and at arm’s length. This only adds to the stress involved, but as an industry we can find ways to keep customers better informed and help make the process more efficient. 

There’s no escaping the fact that 2022 has been a testing period for those in the property market, and for our customers, yet there are clear lessons that we can take from this year. By embracing those lessons, we can ensure that our customers enjoy a smoother and less stressful experience when buying, selling or refinancing property in the next 12 months and beyond. 

Karen Rodrigues is sales director at Smoove