Regulated mortgage ‘robo-adviser’ to launch in the UK

MortgageGym.com, which claims to be the world’s only regulated mortgage robo-adviser, will be launched in the UK in the coming months, the platform has announced. 

The website will allow UK homebuyers to complete their mortgage application online in 15 minutes through a free, online portal combining robo- and live-broker advice. 

Mortgage Gym is also a digital mortgage network and claims to empower brokers to acquire customers independently, operate a paperless business and remain compliant under the Mortgage Market Review (MMR). 

The online portal is fully integrated with consumer credit files provided in official partnership with Experian and says it solves 95% of ‘back-office compliance’ brokers need to complete.

It says, therefore, to focus on mediating contracts between applicants and lenders. 

The service has been FCA-authorised and intends to ‘revolutionise’ the post-MMR mortgage market.

Mortgage Gym offers mortgage applicants:

• Insight into the mortgages they can realistically afford within 60 seconds based on live affordability searches from 12 lenders. Mortgage Gym does a ‘soft-search’ of an applicant’s Experian credit file and matches it to lenders’ internal scorecards, then cross references this with daily best-rate tables.

• The ability to upload images of all their application documents online, which are dynamically read using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. Identity documents are then instantly verified electronically, removing the need to provide physical copies of those documents. 

• A whole-of-market overview of the rates on offer covering 90% of the mortgage market. Those rates most accessible to homebuyers are highlighted – based on an algorithmic assessment of their financials. Data on some 15,000 mortgage products is updated four times daily.

• Access to final, live advice and support from thousands of brokers nationwide, which will be transparently rated by homebuyers via Trustpilot. Mortgage Gym provides users with a hybrid robo-/ live-advice portal.

Mortgage Gym was founded in 2016 by John Ingram, a financial services entrepreneur, and David Vertannes, a property entrepreneur. It became fully regulated by the FCA in February 2017.

“Following tighter regulation of the mortgage market in 2014, we realised the UK’s mortgage application process is archaic, inaccurate, time-consuming and ripe for disruption from a holistic, online solution,” says Ingram. 

“The mortgage industry in the UK is one of the last bastions of the financial services industry to still operate via paper files and telephone-based advice.” 

“By creating the world’s first, regulated mortgage robo-adviser, we aim to remove the guesswork, frustration and stress for homebuyers from one of the most important financial transactions in their life.” 

“For brokers, we believe our digital network will empower them to develop their own business with a steady stream of high-quality, prequalified clients without the burden of endless back-office compliance,” he adds.