They said it shouldn’t be done. They said the market wasn’t ready. That advisers wouldn’t be able to advise on it. That it was a PR risk. That no one would show up to a top-secret launch event for a product they didn’t even know was coming.
They said it shouldn’t be done. We did it anyway. And my goodness, am I glad that we did.
Twelve months on, here is the real story behind the scenes of the April 100% No Deposit Mortgage.
There are standout moments in any career, but for me, the 100% launch is full of them. Answering the phone in the week following launch to a gentleman who called to thank us for a life-changing opportunity. After 16 years renting, his landlord had confirmed he could buy his home. Sitting in the woods on a log the weekend after launch, WhatsApp open, typing out policy and criteria as fast as my thumbs would allow as the Mortgage Mum team were flooded with enquiries after Sarah Tucker broke the news live on ITV that Friday morning. And seeing pictures of Craig and Rebecca settled into the home they had dreamed of buying, made possible by a mortgage that just weeks earlier people had told us would never work.
The human stories of 100% lending have shaped me in ways I never could have anticipated.
I am unbelievably proud to share that of all occupations, the single biggest segment of people we have helped buy homes are nurses and teachers. But the reality is the 100% mortgage has supported people from all walks of life. HGV drivers, self-employed business owners, office managers, retail workers, young professionals, people starting over and people taking their next step. Our youngest applicant was 18. Our most mature, 61.
The 100% mortgage is not just for one type of borrower, because homeownership challenges do not look the same for everyone.
And the advisers. The emails and messages of thanks have been overwhelming. Thank you for giving us a real tool to help people. Because that is why we all got into this, isn’t it? I still remember the first mortgage I wrote when I was advising. You never forget the feeling of helping someone sort their life out and set it on course for the future.
All of this against a backdrop of service we are genuinely proud of. Average call wait time: 13 seconds. Average underwrite time: 48 hours. Through every spike in volume, as a relatively new lender on the UK scene, our standards have not wavered.
I’d love to say this is entirely down to our incredible team, and of course it is, but at April I often say I get all the fun of a start-up with none of the downside, because behind us sits a well-established lending machine. Our parent company DMFCO has a great track record of building mortgage lenders that operate with simplicity, efficiency and a deep sense of purpose.
Has it been a whirlwind? Yes. Has it been hard work? Of course. Would I change a single second of it? Not for anything.
When we launched, we said this mortgage had no strings attached. What we meant was simple: no hoops to jump through. No rental history required, no particular employment type, no first-time buyer restriction. No hidden catches. Just a genuine opportunity for people who had been locked out for too long.
One year on, I think that message matters more than ever.
Happy first anniversary to the 100% No Deposit Mortgage. And thank you to every adviser, customer and colleague who has been part of the story so far.