'The better we get, the less we are seen'

Malcolm Davidson (pictured top) has a simple way of describing the modern broker's dilemma: the better the job was done, the less anyone notices it was done. For the managing director at UK Moneyman, the most valuable work in mortgage broking today is precisely the work that goes unnoticed.

"Nobody thanks you for the crisis that never happened," said James Pritchard, a colleague whom Davidson cites as having captured the challenge succinctly. That observation, Davidson says, "has stayed with me because it sums up so much of what modern mortgage broking has become."

In Davidson's view, the broker now sits at the centre of a network of parties — clients, lenders, solicitors, estate agents, valuers and underwriters — and is expected to hold the transaction together across all of them. The role has evolved into something closer to project management than mere deal placement. "The advisor is no longer just a broker arranging a deal," he says. "We have become project managers, communicators, problem-solvers and, at times, counsellors."

Much of that work is invisible by design. When a broker manages expectations effectively, problems are resolved before they escalate. Delays are explained before they generate panic. Frustrations are defused before they become disputes. Because this work, when done well, leaves no visible trace, Davidson argues it is routinely underestimated by those outside the profession.

The current market environment has compounded the difficulty. Rate changes, shifting lender criteria, extended chains, legal delays and nervous buyers all increase the pressure on individual transactions. A case that appears straightforward one day can become unviable the next.

There has also been a rise in abortive cases, Davidson notes — transactions that stall, change direction or collapse after significant time and resource have already been committed. The causes vary: a better rate becomes available and the broker moves the client to a more appropriate product; confidence falters; chains break; or the process simply extends beyond what circumstances allow. In each instance, the cost falls across multiple parties. "It is time, advice, administration, chasing, explaining and emotional energy," Davidson says.

That emotional dimension, he argues, remains the most underappreciated aspect of the job. Brokers frequently work with clients at acutely stressful points in their lives — first-time buyers, those navigating separation or bereavement, those managing health concerns while trying to hold a transaction together. In those circumstances, the broker is often the first point of contact, expected to explain the market, manage the lender, chase the solicitor, calm the estate agent and reassure the client simultaneously.

Davidson acknowledges that lenders have made genuine improvements in recent years, with investment in systems, technology and intermediary support producing faster underwriting and better communication in some areas. Good business development managers, he notes, can make a meaningful difference when lender service is strong. But even where that is the case, transactions can still feel harder than before — suggesting, he argues, that the pressure originates not from any single party but from the broader ecosystem around the property purchase.

To address that, Davidson calls for systemic change: better upfront information, greater certainty earlier in the transaction, and improved communication between all parties. Sellers' packs, upfront searches, clearer timelines and better-prepared cases could all, he says, reduce the number of transactions that collapse after weeks of preparatory work.

Davidson contends that the standard measures of market success — applications, completions, lending volumes — do not capture the full picture. "They do not capture the saved deal, the reassured client, the issue spotted early or the crisis quietly avoided." That unseen work, he points out, is often what determines whether a transaction completes or becomes a cancellation statistic.

Want to be regularly updated with mortgage news and features? Get exclusive interviews, breaking news, and industry events in your inbox – subscribe to our FREE daily newsletter. You can also follow us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn.