Advisers ready for lockdown

Advisers say last year's experiences have prepared them for another period of working from home and doing deals remotely. 

The current lockdown in Auckland is set for three days, but could go on longer if the community outbreak is wider than expected. 

This morning, advisers in Auckland said they were set up to continue their work, and did not expect a huge amount of disruption. 

"Here we go again," said NZFSG's Bruce Patten. "We are well placed, both from a wider business and individual perspective. I have already rescheduled my meetings to go online for the remainder of this week. All our BDM's are working from home but online, so training will continue in preparation for regulation and March 15."

Patten said clients due to sign on deals would now complete deals via online documents. 

iLender's Jeff Royle said his business was well-prepared to weather the new storm, as it was cloud-enabled. "It might actually help the team catch up on deals as the volumes are insane," he said.

Royle said valuations and auctions had been pushed back. 

"I've seen valuers postpone valuations and a couple of auctions delayed. Apart from that it's situation normal – whatever that is!"

Kris Pedersen of Kris Pedersen Mortgages expects "minimal impact" from the lockdown.

"We have been doing more and more virtual meetings over the last 6-8 months so I expect that side to be completely fine," he said.

However, he is concerned that it will add to bank processing times.

"I expect it is likely to have a detrimental effect on lender turnaround times which isn’t helpful at all at the moment," Pedersen added.