It’s safe to say that of all the ‘predictions for 2020’ that were posted in December and January have been a little far off the mark… The year started well for the intermediary market with exceptional growth, which really gave us all optimism for what 2020 may have in store.

Your clients have more unsecured debt than they ever have in the past. Analysis by the TUC earlier this year found that household debt rose sharply in 2019, with average unsecured debt per household rising to £14,540 in the third quarter of 2019, which an increase of £430 on a year earlier.

Your clients may have more unsecured debt today than they ever had in the past.

Is there really any reason why your clients should be worried about having their mortgage application rejected just because they are self-employed? Do some lenders really make it difficult for these applicants to get a mortgage, or remortgage on their existing property?

The number of consumers in England and Wales with County Court Judgements (CCJs) have risen by 63% since 2012 according to the Registry Trust.

The number of CCJs registered against consumers in England and Wales fell in 2018 compared to the previous year. There were, however, still more than 1.1 million CCJs registered last year alone, according to Registry Trust.

The average house price in England has risen by 173% since 1997. This is according to research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) which also found that incomes of young adults have also increased, but by just 19%.

Does your client have a less than perfect financial past? There’s good news, they can still get a mortgage.

Accessing credit today has never been easier for borrowers. It is ingrained into our daily lives, whether that’s phone contracts, insurance, spreading the cost of household goods and the list goes on.

There are many reasons why your clients might not fit the criteria of a typical high street lender, and a cash flow crisis is just one of those.

When you apply for a rate promoted by a high street lender, you could end up getting offered something more expensive. This is usually the case when a client doesn’t meet the required credit score for a cheaper product.

A report by debt charity and Debt Management Plan (DMP) provider, StepChange, stated that 635,091 new clients contacted them for help with debt between January and December 2019.