Exiting the mortgage industry was one of the most discussed topics on broker forum cherry in January.

Mortgage brokers took to cherryplc.co.uk asking for advice on whether they could continue to generate income from the leads produced by their existing websites should they leave the industry by potentially acting as introducers.

Whether ongoing FCA authorisation would still be needed or whether teaming up with a lead referral website, or selling their website for those looking to leave the market was also debated.

Brokers on the forum also discussed charging fees, with some believing it’s more profitable to apply one, resulting in less work for the same money, and others staunch on the belief that being ‘fee-free’ contributes towards successfully generating more business/enquiries.

Cherry director Donna Hopton says: “Perhaps it was the drop in lending volumes during 2023, or simply a desire for change, but exiting the industry was a popular thread on the cherry forum during January.

“We see this as a great shame and hope that the support received through cherry can go some way towards stemming this trend. On the plus side though, we have seen new blood entering the industry, which is to a degree quite reassuring. The big question is how this is balancing out. The industry and consumers need more high quality independent advice available to them – not less.”

“The question of whether it’s better to charge a fee or not remains as open for debate as ever but the bottom line is there is no correct or incorrect approach. What works for some doesn’t work for others. Relevant here may be the fact that we’ve seen a number of lenders recently increase their proc fees for product transfer business, which might be prompting some advisers to reassess their fee structures.”