News

6^th December 2023: Saga, the UK's specialist in products and services for people over 50, has partnered with Tembo, the digital Mortgage Broker, to launch Saga Mortgages.   

Tembo is an award-winning digital mortgage platform, specialising in maximising affordability. Saga chose to partner with Tembo thanks to its in-depth knowledge, experience and insight across the alternative mortgages space, and its exceptional customer service, which offers personalised market advice from the start to the end of the customer journey.

The service is designed especially for homeowning customers who are either:

• Looking to help or support a family member get on the property ladder – through income/deposit boost mortgages (which could include helping a child or grandchild buy their first home)
• Interested in remortgaging
• Seeking alternatives to later life lending

The Saga Mortgages launch is part of Saga’s strategic objective to become the “Superbrand” for older people in the UK, offering a range of curated products and services for those over 50 – each being informed by Saga’s dedicated in-house research and insight division, which continually surveys this group to document what they want and need.

This research revealed that over 50s actively seek out services where they can receive dedicated support, a well-trusted brand to ensure credibility, a product that will help support children and family members, and finally, specialised services dedicated to the alternatives to standard “Lifetime Mortgages”.  ^[1] Further to this, demand for mortgages for people aged 55 and over has increased by an average of 8% over the past five years, making it one of the fastest growing segments of the mortgage market, despite the market currently being underserved with 29% of searches for mortgages for those over 50 returning no affordable lending solutions. ^[2]

The service will include:

• A digital mortgage fact finder page for Saga customers to complete
• Live mortgage pricing and affordability for all available mortgage products, including repayment, interest-only, buy-to-let, holiday let and family assist mortgages from over 110 different lenders.
• An eligibility check across 100 different lenders to identify the best way to boost customer’s budgets.
• Personalised plans to show maximum borrowing repayments.
• A secure account where customers will be able to save their details, edit plans, book appointments, track progress, upload documents and explore other  relevant adjacent Saga products, such as Buildings & Contents Insurance and Wills etc.

The entire journey will be supported by Tembo’s team of mortgage experts, which will include the provision of personalised market advice on appropriate mortgages. These individuals will be on hand via telephone and video contact services, allowing Saga customers to speak to a member of the team seven days a week during operating hours.

Each customer will also have their own Case Manager assigned to them from the beginning, who will guide the customer through to completion, including making contact every three working days in the time between mortgage submission and completion. Keeping customers informed throughout what has the potential to be a lengthy and complex process is one the key foundations of the Saga Mortgages offer. Saga Mortgages will also liaise with the lender, solicitor and sellers, acting as a coordinator on behalf of the customer.

Customers of the service will join thousands of other individuals across the UK who already trust Saga with their personal finance custom, through the popular range of products currently available in this space – including the Saga Easy Access Savings Account and the Saga Cash ISA, provided by Goldman Sachs International Bank, and the recent launch of Saga Legal in partnership with Co-op Legal Services and the Saga Savings Platform powered by Flagstone.  All available through the Saga website, and the mortgage service will work as an extension to the Saga Money offer.

To find out more about Saga Mortgages click here [https://www.saga.co.uk/mortgages

Alex Edmans, Head of Financial Services at Saga Money commented: 

“We are very excited to be partnering with Tembo to launch the innovative Saga Mortgages service. Our research shows that many of our customers are looking for a service that specialises in supporting over-50s through the mortgage journey, particularly those who are seeking family-boost mortgages, remortgages, or equity release alternatives. With this in mind, we have created a service which simplifies this process, providing a personalised range of mortgage options, underpinned by a team of experts, to provide advice and support seven days a week.”

Richard Dana, Founder and CEO at Tembo added:

“Saga is a beloved brand for millions of over 50s who trust them to provide best-in-class experiences and products. At Tembo we specialise in finding mortgage solutions, often when our customers felt there wasn’t a route forward. Together, we have the opportunity to transform the digital mortgage offering for over 50’s. Through the Saga Mortgages platform, users can do everything from remortgaging their own home to understanding how they could help their loved ones get on the property ladder with the Bank of Family. We’re delighted to have the opportunity to help Saga customers with their home financing. Alongside our digital platform, we have an amazing team of family and later life mortgage experts at the end of the phone. We’re really looking forward to getting started.”