The quality of service delivered by Helen Williams only begins to scratch the surface of how much of a difference she has been making to people’s lives as a mortgage and protection advisor
Your Mortgage Plus franchisee, Helen Williams, recently completed a case for a husband and wife couple for which she received glowing reviews, praising her patience, dedication and commitment to their situation, which up until Helen’s intervention had been looking rather dire.
The clients were paid for leads, so pretty cold when Helen made the initial call, but upon contact, they were open to completing a fact-find and through this Helen and the couple began to build a relationship. She made sure she moved quickly with research and getting back to them with recommendations, keeping in close contact with regular updates wherever possible to keep them in the loop on any progress, or even lack of progress due to any instances of delay.
The clients were wanting to repay some of their credit cards from the sale of their property but also wanted to maximise their borrowing to buy their dream house. NatWest does not take loans being repaid into consideration when calculating affordability, and at the time were offering the highest lending based on their income but it was still a good Loan To Value (LTV) of around 65 per cent. Helen then submitted an application to NatWest in August 2020 which whizzed through, with a desktop valuation due to low LTV being offered within seven working days. The clients were very happy with this and understandably ecstatic to move things forward, but then they hit a brick wall with the legal side and their buyers.
Helen’s clients lost their buyers, then had various other problems in the chain. Moving forward in time to February 2021, the offer was due to expire after six months of delays, so they had to resubmit an application to the lender. Due to some changes in the clients working circumstances, they were required to submit updated payslips and a full explanation showing that in fact, they would be earning more over the longer term. Thankfully though, NatWest was happy with this and extended the offer.
After much sweat and tears on their part chasing solicitors and trying to get the chain in line, they managed to exchange and completed just before the stamp duty deadline at the end of June 2021. It was a true moment of celebration after almost a year since Helen had originally made contact with the couple – they moved into their new home!
Interview with the clients
Q: In what way did Helen help you?
A: We feel Helen was very efficient and punctual to our needs and listened to our needs.
Q: How well did Helen explain everything to you?
A: Helen read and made sure we understood everything, and anything we didn’t Helen made us feel she was on the other end of the phone if needed.
Q: Did Helen make the process simpler/clearer/smoother for you?
A: We encountered numerous difficulties along the way with our sale and purchase, however, none with the mortgage. Helen was on hand with her knowledge to keep us going. I am not sure we would have got there if it were not for Helen.
Q: Are there any other comments you would like to add?
A: Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Helen for everything she has done for us. I know she was only doing her job but as it’s been nearly a year, she has become a friend of ours. She is an asset to her company and we have already recommended her to friends and family.
