Benefits for Lenders

Benefits of field agent visits for lenders

To continually evidence our performance, we seek feedback from your customers via our “Borrower Questionnaire”. This tells us that:

  • 94.76% of borrowers had a clearer understanding of their debt issues post visit.
  • 94.13% of borrowers felt the visit to be of overall benefit.
  • 94.30% of borrowers would recommend an agent visit.
  • 99.16% of borrowers viewed our Field Agents as professional.
  • 72% of the borrowers we see have not previously sought any form of debt advice.

Before you lend to your borrowers you would have collected full information on the borrower’s circumstances, where any property was involved as security this would have been valued and you would then have underwritten the case to ensure that the lending met your criteria.

In spite of this, the account is now either directly in arrears or at risk of falling into arrears.

There may be many reasons for this:

  1. The borrowers’ circumstances may have changed.
  2. The initial information provided may have been incorrect – or even false.
  3. The condition of any security property may have changed.
  4. The occupation of the security property may have changed.

In short, your risk has changed. You now have arrears and you may also be looking at a small – or large – shortfall.

Field agent visits

A successful agent’s field visit will enable you to re-underwrite the case based on the current situation. Our report will give you:

  1. The current condition of your security and current estimate of its value.
  2. Details of any other local issues that may impact on the value of your security.
  3. Details of who is in occupation.
  4. An up-to-date income and expenditure report, validated as necessary.
  5. Full details of all other current debts and any surplus assets.

Whilst your collections department will have tried to achieve payments onto the account it is only by using a field agent that you will get the complete current picture.

Now you will know…

  • The up to date valuation and therefore the current LTV.
  • Whether there is any other secured lending, the position of those loans, and the risk of repossession from that source.
  • If the borrowers are actually in residence or if the property is let without your permission.
  • If there is sufficient income to start reducing the arrears and what level is sustainable.
  • Whether other solutions should be explored – such as the mortgage-to-rent schemes, the Houseowners Mortgage Support Scheme or even assisted sale.
  • If material facts were not disclosed by your valuer or the solicitors acting for you there may be opportunities for claims for professional negligence to defray your losses.
  • If the information given to you by the introducer was false. This may give you an early warning of problem cases from the same introductory source.

If court action is the only way forward you will be able to evidence full compliance with the Pre-Action Protocol.

Even an unsuccessful visit will give you a lot of information and evidence to the courts that you have made every effort before litigation.

For these reasons agent visits are a valuable tool in loss mitigation. You may wish to consider using an early point in your arrears process so that you have the fullest current picture.