Page 63 - Future Demands Jan 2021

FUTURE DEMANDS
LOUISA SEDGWICK
CHAIR – INTERMEDIARY & MORTGAGE LENDERS ASSOCIATION (IMLA)
BEATING THE PANDEMIC TOGETHER
When Nikola Tesla wrote that ‘throughout the infinite, the forces
are in a perfect balance, and hence the energy of a single thought may determine the motion of a universe’, he might have been talking about the collective harmony of our mortgage industry in the past year.
For, in my opinion, it’s the balanced relationship between lenders and brokers that provides the security for all connected to the buying and selling of homes.
For decades that equilibrium has kept the market steady and constant – despite significant challenges along the way. Last year, however, it was tested like never before.
Looking back for a moment, I think it’s easy to forget how rosy a picture we were looking at in March 2020. The market was in full flow and confidence was high. What could go wrong?
The first time I personally realised the scale of the challenge was when the questions started pouring into IMLA from lenders and intermediaries alike.
And not just questions, big questions. How do we keep going remotely? How do I support my staff? How do we not let our customers down? And these needed big answers.
For some lenders, it was all about making a decision and – truthfully – hoping it was the right one. For others, bigger chains of command and unwieldy systems meant overnight change wasn’t possible. Brokers, meanwhile, simply didn’t know where to start in solving their clients problems.
63