| Q1. What is an Appointed Representative (AR)? |
| A. An Appointed
Representative is a person or a firm that is able to sell
regulated products although they are not authorised in
their own right. They can do so because they gain exemption
from direct authorisation when another directly authorised
firm, known as a Principal, agrees to take responsibility
for their activities and conduct. Therefore a prospective
Appointed Representative will undergo fitness and propriety
checks and will have to follow the rules and procedures
as set by the Principal firm.
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| Q2. Who is HomeLoan Partnership? |
| A. HomeLoan
Partnership is the trading name of HL
Partnership Limited, a company that is independently owned
by private investors.
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| Q3. How much will membership of HomeLoan Partnership cost? |
A. The charging structure
is on the fees matrix page. Just work out your firm's
annual income from mortgage procuration fees and insurance
commissions. Then cross reference with the number of advisers
that you have, including trainees. This will give you
the percentage that will be deducted from each payment
HomeLoan Partnership makes to you to
cover your whole firm's standard network membership costs.
(See Q10 if your firm has trainees.)
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| Q4. How does this compare with what other networks charge? |
| A. Think in terms
of value rather than price. Some networks charge flat
monthly fees regardless of how large or small your business
is. Others also charge a flat fee for every mortgage transacted
regardless of the size of the loan. Such fees are likely
to attract VAT. We feel our simple approach is both tax
efficient and fair to all sizes of business. You only
pay according to what you receive.
|
| Q5. How soon will I be paid my Procuration Fee/Commission? |
| A. Subject to an
agreed minimum credit balance, fees/commissions will be processed each Monday
based on payments received up to the preceeding Friday and B.A.C.S. transferred
to your account.
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| Q6. How does the cost structure affect me if my production varies from that used to calculate fees? |
| A. The percentage
retained by HomeLoan Partnership will
be reviewed quarterly based on actual experience. Adjustments
can then be made for the next quarter; there will be no
retrospective adjustments.
|
| Q7. How will employing more advisers affect the charging structure? |
| A. The percentage
fee retained by HomeLoan Partnership
varies depending on how many mortgage advisers the firm
has and relates to our supervision and monitoring costs.
However, the fee matrix is also linked to the firm's business
volumes, so the recruitment of good performing advisers
can actually reduce your costs for the whole firm.
|
| Q8. Will there be extra costs for supervising trainees? |
| A. Yes. There will
be an additional retention of £90 per month plus
2% of fees and commissions generated by trainees until
they are assessed as competent with the appropriate qualifications.
|
| Q9. Do you offer training programmes for trainees? |
| A. Yes. We provide access to appropriate external training consultancies as required. |
| Q10. How does this training work? |
| A. We will publicise details of available courses in the 'Academy' section of the members' area.
|
| Q11. Why should I join HomeLoan Partnership? |
| A. HomeLoan
Partnership is a well established network that
can boast many years experience of running a dedicated
network for mortgage professionals. This gives us the
advantage of having worked closely with mortgage intermediaries
and the regulators, both the MCCB and latterly the FSA.
You will have a wide lender panel representative of the
whole market that is actively managed to get you the best
deals. Unlike the networks owned by insurance companies,
you will be able to recommend insurance and protection
products from top named providers chosen carefully for
their competitive premiums, commissions, integrated software
capability and service standards.
|
| Q12. Will HomeLoan Partnership be responsible for PII cover? |
| A. Yes. Professional
Indemnity insurance cover will be arranged by HomeLoan
Partnership in accordance with FSA requirements.
|
| Q13. Will I have to pay extra for this? |
| A. Yes. In line with
most network propositions, PII insurance premiums (where
applicable) are additional to the standard network membership
costs.
|
| Q14. Can I continue to use the term 'Independent' as a member of HomeLoan Partnership? |
| A. Yes. By being
an AR of HomeLoan Partnership you will
have access to all types of mortgages. The Initial Disclosure
Document that you will supply as an AR will also give
clients the option of paying your fees themselves instead
of being remunerated by the lender. This will normally
satisfy the definition of 'independent' as stated in the
FSA Rules.
|
| Q15. Can I only use the lenders on the HomeLoan Partnership panel? |
| A. Yes, however in
extreme circumstances permission to use a non-panel lender
can be obtained from HomeLoan Partnership
at no extra cost.
|
| Q16. Do you have an approved panel of packagers? |
| A. Yes. The main
packager panel includes Solent Mortgage Services,
The Finance Centre and Mortgage
2000 design & processing
|
| Q17. Do you offer any other services? |
| A. Yes - We call
these ancillary services and include overseas finance,
website design, solicitors referral service and back office technology.
Full details can be found within our website.
|
| Q18. How much notice do I have to give to leave HomeLoan Partnership? |
| A. The contractual
agreement will require you to give 90 days notice.
|
| Q19. Who owns the client? |
| A. You always retain
ownership of the client unless you choose to sell your
client bank to another Appointed Representative of HomeLoan
Partnership, when you retire, for example. However,
HomeLoan Partnership will have an ongoing
regulatory responsibility, even after you cease to be
an Appointed Representative, so the original file records
relating to advice given or arrangements made must remain
the property of HomeLoan Partnership.
You would, however, have the option to retain duplicate
files if you wished.
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