ANTLER InProperty Podcast

Founded in 2011 from a bedroom in Southampton, The Mortgage Hut has grown to become one of the UK's leading mortgage brokerage firms, covering the whole of the UK and rated 5 stars by over 1,000 clients. 

Thanks to following one simple principle, to treat every customer like your closest family member, founder Chris Schutrups has become a well-known and respected figure in the home buying sector.

With the introduction of the metaverse and the rise of virtual tools, “nothing beats going and walking around the final product.” In today’s episode, Chris shares his views on technology’s place in the mortgage application process. Should the industry and consumer embrace it, or is it a hindrance?

Other topics covered in this episode include:

• What makes The Mortgage Hut unique?
• Is regulation holding the sector back?
• Adapting to a changing market
• Working with housebuilders to enhance their customer journey

“We've seen lots of ambitious ideas, great ideas and lots of innovators. But there's one common problem that stops technology working. And it's not the fact that it doesn't work. It’s the fact that people don't adapt. They don't take to it. Consumer adoption takes longer. We do what we do. We do what we like. And to effect that change is more difficult.”

“It's a difficult business to manage and lots of fluctuation with their costs. I think really it is the legal process that lets it down. You put these chains together that are long, that are unconfirmed or untried. You can speak to people now and they’ll say “we should use blockchain to do this.” For sure you could use blockchain, but in reality you could use much simpler technology.”

Another great conversation, and if you stick around to the end, Chris divulges his man crush!

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Paul Sams, aka ‘Lego Paul’, decided at the young age of 7 that he wanted to be a solicitor. Today he’s an award winning, nationally recognised expert in the field of residential property having been asked to lecture other lawyers across the country. Joining Dutton Gregory 4 years ago, Paul works closely with housebuilders and developers.

In this episode, Paul shares his views on: 

• What he feels is broken in the conveyancing marketing
• What sets Dutton Gregory apart from other law firms
• How he feels technology can support the home buying process
• What new homes clients could do to help speed the process along 
• And a heart warming story about Gladys!

Paul’s naturally engaging and witty nature, along with his honest opinions on an industry he’s come to know so well make for a fantastic conversation.

“Interest rates have been too low for too long. They would have gone up if it hadn’t been for the pandemic because they've been too low for so long. Interest rates have actually come down, but the BBC and the other press are not telling us that interest rates have come down. What they're telling us is that we're all going to die!”

“We use technology fairly well. But there's ways that we could use technology more and more. I'm not trying to replace human beings with technology. I'm trying to free human beings up to be able to do more.”

“I suppose I don't think it's rocket science because there's very few things that are rocket science, apart from the rocket scientists who get paid a lot more than we do. But, it's the basics of dealing with people and you're always going to have uncontrollables because there are always uncontrollables; pandemic, inflation. I can't control that. So property transactions can become notoriously quite complex.”

Enjoy!

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From humble beginnings as the first employee 17 years ago, to now Managing Director, Mark White's journey with Bargate Homes has been an incredible one.

Acquired by VIVID in 2019, Bargate is part of an ambitious housebuilding plan to develop 17,000 more homes in the south over the next 10 years. Thanks to their shared vision and ethos, VIVID and Bargate are a perfect match, designing developments for future communities, rather than just 'building blocks'.

In this episode, Mark talks openly and honestly about Bargate’s journey, what he believes are the keys to its success, the mindset changes that all housebuilders should adopt,  and how a legacy over profit approach has helped Bargate design and build beautiful, sustainable communities that can be enjoyed by generations to come.

A true visionary and a warm, passionate human being, Mark’s commitment to building more sustainable homes will inevitably leave a positive footprint on the new homes industry.

“I think that's been a huge secret to our success. We've got a good land bank, but a land bank being turned into houses isn't any good unless you've got someone there who's building it, helping you build a brand.”

“And that's a key for us as well. We need to create new communities. We need to create the passion for people who want to come and live in the community and also to integrate as a society.”

“We need to be a legacy-lead company, and you can only do that if you change the mindset. If you go “there is a purpose beyond profit.” I would much rather spend money on something that's going to enhance people's living, than pay large corporation tax at the end of the year and not be proud of what we do.”

We hope you enjoy this episode - if you have any feedback, we’d love to hear it! [email protected]

Is Shared Ownership the future for first time buyers? How can housing associations attract buyers in an ever-changing market? What will the key focus for housebuilders be over the next 10 years? Why are partnerships critical? In this episode of the Antler New Homes Podcast, we bring you Associate Director of Sales & Marketing at Abri, Stuart Hensby, who, thanks to a varied and successful career in both the private and HA sectors is able to provide insightful answers to these important questions. 

With an accomplished track record in the sales and marketing of new homes and a keen awareness of the importance of collaboration between housebuilders, Stuart’s forward thinking mindset has helped Abri grow an impressive customer base of 100,000 and counting. 

“Everyone views things very differently now; everyone is aware that the key to doing more, and the ability to do more, you can do in strength with other people involved.”

“Partnerships are going to continue to be absolutely critical. We have a housing crisis that's not going to go away anytime soon. We need to keep building more homes. We need to be more clever about it. We need to be more sustainable in our approach, and we need to keep that focus. Collaboration is key.”

“We've had a very changeable political environment that we're all astutely aware of, which has catalysed our current inflation situation and the economic pressures. We need a bit of stability around that. We need to get inflation under control, that just plays into everything else. We need to keep affordability at the forefront of all of our decision making.”

Another brilliant episode - enjoy!

Are you a housebuilder wondering what 2023 might hold? How your sales and marketing strategy should be adapted for the current market and the year ahead?

In this episode,  Lucian Cook, one of the country’s most respected housing market commentators shares his insights on what opportunities 2023 will bring for those housebuilders who "embrace the challenge".

This episode contains so many golden nuggets of advice. Whether you're a Sales & Marketing Director, MD, CEO, Marketing Manager...or just interested in the marketing of new homes, this is an episode you won't want to miss!

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