Over 200 mortgage intermediaries voiced their views in a survey by Paragon Bank which aimed to find out how brokers could be better supported by lenders.

The Financial Adviser Confidence Tracker discovered when it came to airing frustrations the words which most frequently emerged from the survey were ‘Lender’, ‘Criteria’, ‘Product’ and ‘LTV’. ‘Covid’ unsurprisingly also made the top five.

But despite there being many challenges, it also emerged from the survey that there were plenty of positives – in particular how landlord demand currently seen in the buy-to-let market was leading to an optimistic outlook for the next 12 months.

Just under half of those surveyed stated they expected to write more business in the next 12 months.

The survey also shed some light on the ways in which brokers felt lenders could support them. Indeed, a significant number of intermediaries revealed they would like to see more flexibility whilst service levels also appeared to be a priority.

Moray Hulme, Paragon Bank’s director of mortgage sales, said: “It’s been an extremely difficult time for brokers; demand has rebounded strongly but they are operating in a very fluid environment with product and criteria changing daily.

“It’s very difficult for them to keep up with the changes and maintain their relationship with their client.

“This feedback is reassuring because it confirms that our approach has been a sensible one. Due to mobilising our entire workforce quickly, we have been able to continue lending throughout the pandemic.

“We made changes to our criteria and product range early and we have been consistent throughout this period, focusing on our core product offering.

“We have listened to brokers’ comments and suggestions and will be taking these into account in order to offer solutions for the growing number of complex buy-to-let cases we’re expecting to see over the coming months.”