LendInvest Mortgages
With the bridging portal, LendInvest Mortgages aimed to streamline the enquiry and application process. They wanted to make bridging finance faster, easier, and more accessible. Drawing lessons from their Buy-to-Let portal, they aimed to create a bespoke solution. This new system was built from the ground up to ensure a seamless bridging application.
Technology is central to LendInvest Mortgages’ operations. This project sought to blend advanced technology with expert personnel. Bridging finance always requires a human touch as no two deals are identical. With their long history of success as a bridging lender, they aimed to enhance their offering further.
Their goal was to create a market-leading solution. They wanted to be a one-stop shop for all bridging finance needs. This is how the team approached the task.
Step 1: Sales & Design
Our initial step was to bring the sales and design teams together. They reviewed our paper application process to identify key elements needed for each enquiry and application.
LendInvest Mortgages involved credit and lending operations teams to ensure thoroughness. We aimed to leave no stone unturned in making the portal successful.
Next, we focused on translating this process to an online format.
Case studies: Successful bridging deals completed via our portal. here.
LendInvest Mortgages recognises that brokers often have limited information at the initial enquiry stage. Therefore, we ask for only the minimum details to make a preliminary decision. Our online calculators provide speedy quotes, followed by heads of terms.
The application form follows the same approach, asking only for essential information. We ensured integration with third parties to reduce the need for unnecessary documents and data input, speeding up the underwriting process.
We prioritised allowing brokers to submit, manage, and review cases quickly on a live dashboard. This feature makes the broker’s experience easier and more transparent for each deal.
Step 2: Internal testing
Then was the internal feedback phase, and there was much of it!
Members of the sales team, who would inevitably end up presenting the process to brokers, got their hands on the process first to see how a deal could work and used their expertise to determine what brokers wanted to remove, add, or improve stages.
This step was where a lot of what the bridging portal is today came together, with the expertise of the sales team and the UX designers working in tandem to refine the process.
Read more: The themes which will dominate the residential bridging market in 2022 here.
Step 3: Broker feedback
This was the most important step for the team because a portal for brokers is only good if the brokers use the portal!
For this, brokers and their BDM sat and went through the portal, but with a light-touch approach from our side. The broker was free to use the system how they interpreted it, and our team would take notes about how it was done and record their feedback. 
The value here was taking the portal outside of LendInvest Mortgages eyes. By the time it was ready for brokers, our team had seen it thousands of times, and fresh eyes identified little improvements our team could have become blind to.
These steps helped us create a best-in-class bridging application portal, which saw record numbers of brokers use it in January. This means more people are getting simpler, faster-bridging deals for their clients.
To experience our bridging portal, see our range and get instant quotes for your deals, visit our bridging page here.
Credits: Leanne Smith, Sales Director