My Journey as a Mortgage Intern at LendInvest
Written by Dawn Leggat
LendInvest intern Dawn Leggat offers a behind-the-scenes look at her 18-month rotational journey across property finance, exploring how tech is reshaping modern lending and how she successfully transitioned from nursing into financial services.
Over the past year, I have had the privilege of being part of LendInvest’s 18-month internship programme. Structured into eight-week rotations across the business, this experience has provided me with an end-to-end view of the mortgage lending cycle. From the moment an application comes in to long after it completes, I’ve gained a real, hands-on view of how the entire operation works day-to-day.
My rotations have allowed me to understand the complete journey of a property loan across all three of LendInvest’s core products: Buy-to-Let, Residential, and Bridging.
In the early stages, I worked within pre-offer, learning how initial applications are processed, assessed, and prepared for decision-making. Transitioning into underwriting exposed me to the analytical core of lending: evaluating borrower profiles, assessing asset values and balancing risk against opportunity. Following deals through to post-completion and the legal stage completed the picture, showing me how strong legal processes and careful management ensure transactions cross the finish line securely.
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Seeing the back end of the business has been another big highlight for me. My time in Risk & Compliance showed me just how important it is to keep everything protected and compliant behind the scenes. Now, sitting with Marketing & Communications, I’m seeing what actually goes into driving new deal flow and positioning us as a forward-thinking fintech firm. It’s been eye-opening to see how closely these teams work alongside underwriting and sales to keep the wider business running smoothly.
One of the standout highlights of my internship so far was a trip to our London office alongside my fellow interns. During this week, we dove deep into the world of Development Finance, which really showed me the scale of what we do as a lender.
Beyond the office-based strategy sessions, we conducted a site visit to an active development funded by the business. Seeing active construction sites brought our day-to-day data and underwriting metrics to life. It showed me the real-world impact of our capital and highlighted the scale at which LendInvest operates. Connecting with the development team gave me a much clearer picture of how complex deals are structured and managed from the ground up.
Reflecting on my time here so far, moving across the various business units has really boosted my confidence and my industry knowledge. I’ve gained a strong grasp of how products like Buy-to-Let, Bridging, and Development finance work in practice, while learning how underwriters analyse financial data, assess risk and evaluate property values. Rotating every eight weeks has also pushed me to adapt quickly to new teams and communicate effectively right across the business.
Above all, it’s shown me how technology can streamline traditional mortgage processes to deliver faster, better results for brokers and borrowers.
Coming from a background in nursing and healthcare, moving into financial services was a major leap outside my comfort zone. In the beginning, there was definitely a period of adjusting and second-guessing myself in a completely new environment. However, the culture at LendInvest made that transition far smoother. I quickly realised that skills like clear communication, attention to detail and managing high-pressure situations transfer directly into finance.
Stepping up to that career change with LendInvest’s support has given me a far stronger sense of personal confidence in what I can deliver.
My time at LendInvest has been a great start to my career in financial services. Stepping into so many different areas has given me a real, full-picture understanding of how non-bank lending works and how tech is moving the industry forward. Beyond the technical side, moving teams every eight weeks has massively boosted my confidence, commercial awareness and adaptability. It’s shown me just how much faster and more flexible a modern lender can be compared to traditional high street banks.
As I head into the final stretch of my internship, I’m excited to put everything I’ve learned into practice, take on new challenges, and keep contributing to the team.