2021: A year of cautious optimism

2021 begins in the same way as we spent much of 2020 – with the nation in lockdown to stem the spread of the COVID pandemic. However, unlike the first national lockdown in March last year, we now have reason to be optimistic and a greater ability to plan for the future.

The roll-out of the vaccination programme is the beaming light at the end of this difficult journey and, while most people are impatient to expedite the process, every day that passes is a day closer to a critical mass of the population being vaccinated against the virus. So, we can look forward with some confidence that there will be a return to a more normal way of life at some point this year.

In the meantime, of course, and unlike the first national lockdown, the property market remains open for business and, at the time of writing, there is no sign of a let-up in customer demand.

This level of demand caused service issues for some lenders in the second half of 2020, while others had the right people, processes and technology in place to thrive in the environment.

At Pepper Money, we were able to set new standards as to what brokers can expect from a specialist lender, with turnaround times within 24 hours at every key stage of our application process and even a completion within 16 days of the initial application.

As we move into 2021, with remote working still in place and the continuation of robust underwriting that considers the financial impact of COVID on customers, service will continue to be a key consideration.

In the meantime, of course, and unlike the first national lockdown, the property market remains open for business and, at the time of writing, there is no sign of let-up in customer demand.

This level of demand caused service issues for some lenders in the second half of 2020, while others had the right people, processes and technology in place to thrive in the environment. At Pepper Money, we were able to set new standards as to what brokers can expect from a specialist lender, with turnaround times within 24 hours at every key stage of our application process and even a completion within 16 days of the initial application. As we move into 2021, with remote working still in place and the continuation of robust underwriting that considers the financial impact of COVID on customers, service will continue to be a key consideration.

At Pepper Money, throughout 2020, we continued to evolve our product and service proposition, and are now working with more brokers than we ever have done before. We have exciting plans to continue to develop the range of solutions we offer to customers in 2021 and, while we must maintain caution, there are plenty of reasons to look forward with optimism.