Need some advice r/e dp's buisness and the credit crunch (mortgages)

[lilyloo]

Some of you may have seen my dp's ad on mnet and i know he has helped some of you previously.
The problem we are having is with the recent credit crunch things are very quiet at the moment and we just don't know where to go with it.
He set up 18 months ago and we have put everything we have into this buisness.
Unfortunately we don't have enough capital in the buisness to ride this for long.
So any help you could offer would be massively appreciated.
I am also on mat leave at the mo so that doesn't help as my wage doesn't even cover our shopping.
Do any of you use brokers , how did you find them ? Would it be worth doing a mail shot ? Or is it time to give up the ghost!
DP has already started job hunting but i feel that this was our dream of a balance of family life and work that's going out of the window!
He works really hard and i am just so down about it all !
Thanks if you got this far.

can he go on moneysavingexpert.com and offer his services there as he doesn't charge commission?

Thanks ladies he has been really greatful so many of you have responded to this thread , it's really very good of you.

Thanks PC your reccomendatins have really been massivel appreciated. He has tried to get affiliations at lot's of places sadly they are usually already tied up with brokers, it doesn't seem to matter how good they are ?

Cargirl he will definately look into that , that could be promising if he can do it.

He isn't sure about putting rates on his site as he said he could put lot's of good rates on but they aren't necessarily that good in the long term for customers , he would rather find thedeals that suit them for the long term and aren't just attractive fr the first year !

We will readvertise in local shops etc. he just needs to get some fliers done.

FYM he is going to email them and see if it may be useful to join them if they don't have brokers already, thanks.

Lilyloo it is not your fault and reagrdless of the money the bank of england have made available mortgages are still being withdrawn.The gilts the BoE exchanged are not to flood the market with more £ but are to enable the banks to get their balance books looking healthy again and when they do that I think they will be loathe to lend to any but the best borrowers.Would your dh consider working for an estate agent or soemthing even p/time and keeping his own business going too?

Noddy that's exactly right!
That is something he is looking into with the estate agent self employed, but he couldn't run it as 'his' business although he could still have his own customers as well as their referrals. But think in this market that may be the way to go.
The thing with a part time job is that to keep the business going he would have to stay away fom his fild which means min wage!

'field'

Sorry to hear about your DH's business lilyloo.

I am a conveyancing solicitor working from home and haven't had a new instruction for about a month. Things are really dire at the moment and, like your DH, I have to decide whether to either ride the storm or give it up.

I have just managed to find a casual part time job in the evenings to tide me over a bit but still leaving me enough time in the day to carry on with what little work I have. Is that an option?

I agree that advertising and aiming at people coming out of their fixed term mortgages is a really good idea. Perhaps in your local paper and saying he can do home visits in the evening so people don't have to take time off work etc as a selling point?

This is affecting so many people now.I think it would be best if prices erverted to affordability and then houses would sell again.No one is buying atm because unless silly loans are avaiable there are no funds.3-4x salary will be the norm again soon and interest rates will rise to attract savers so things are about to change alot this year and next.

Willmouse it's such a hard decision to make , hope you can ride it with your part time job!

He is going to look into the cost of advertising in the local paper, but he agrees about looking at remortgages definately

Thanks

Can he try specialising in one particular type of product (as well as offering others) so that he gains a reputation within a niche market? I know very little about finance but if he were able to identify one area that people struggle with and take it on, he would probably end up with a lot of word of mouth recommendations (word of mouth is how I found my brokers and they have been very good).

thanks lala word of mouth is definately the way to go and his customers have referred other people thy know to him. Hopefully that is a good sign that he has done a good job for them !

Just had a thought.

Has he thought of targeting Right to Buy's eg leafleting local estates. People are always doing this.

Willmouse don't think he has done that but def worth a try.

lily, my brother is in property and goes to a business breakfast in blackburn, would that be a group near enough for your DH?

lulu yes definately if they don't have a broker in it already.

i will find out details and cAT you x

Thanks