Borrowers 'can't commit' to online lending
Although more and more people are researching mortgage deals on the web, there is "little or no evidence" that customers are making more final purchases online than before, according to Bradford & Bingley.The building society said that people are only prepared to buy simple re-mortgage products over the internet, leaving the more complicated purchases to discuss with a financial advisor before making a decision.Andy Wiggans, director of mortgage products at Bradford & Bingley, said: "There's endless amounts of data that suggests that people go and gather information; they want really effective calculators and things that tell them how much they can borrow on websites."But he said that when it comes to applying for a mortgage, most borrowers still would prefer to do it in person. He pointed out that statistics have shown that around three per cent of mortgages were completed through online applications in 1999 and in 2007 the figure is roughly the same. Mr Wiggans explained that taking out a mortgage was seen by consumers as too serious to do online. "It's big, it's confusing, you've got dozens and dozens and dozens of different product options and I think people just want to know that they're doing the right thing," he concluded.
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