Smart Money reports trend in consolidation loans

Smart Money has reported a surge of broker enquiries for clients who want to better manage their family budgets, in response to the financial impact on families and individuals caused by COVID-19.

The Cheshire-based specialist packager and distributor revealed it is seeing more personal budget financial management enquiries compared to straight debt consolidation requests.

Smart Money is a specialist finance broker that provides access to second charge loans, buy-to-let, bridging finance as well as first charge loans.

Managing director, Paul Crewe, suggested that consolidation loans are “tailor-made for a second charge application”.

“While those are increasing, many more recent enquiries are on behalf of clients looking for options as to how they can manage their budgets better,” Crewe said.

“Incomes have dropped due to furlough or been lost temporarily as businesses have cut back, but costs have stayed the same and broker customers are looking to see how they can reduce their monthly outlay to better match the new income reality.

“These applicants would not consider themselves to be ‘in debt’ when in normal circumstances they can easily afford their outgoings.

“The big factor to remember is that in many cases, as the pandemic restrictions ease and the economy picks up, income levels are going to improve quickly and customers do not want to be saddled with a long-term remortgage scenario, when a more targeted second charge loan can deal with the specific issue, is more flexible and has no upfront fees, such as valuation and legal costs.”

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


FREE E-NEWS SIGN UP

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive breaking news and other industry announcements by email.

  Please tick here to confirm you are happy to receive third party promotions from carefully selected partners.


NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?

The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.


Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?



In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.

The new episode of The Mortgage Insider podcast, out now
Regional housing markets now matter more than ever. While London and the Southeast still tend to dominate the headlines from a house price and affordability perspective, much of the growth in rental yields and buyer demand is coming from other parts of the UK.

In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.