Why become a mortgage broker

Reason why i became a mortgage adviser:

Spent a number of years as a 'proper' Financial Adviser. Was actually better and more interested in the mortgage and protection side of things (actually only started in mortgages as they were a good way into the protection market). A partner for the firm I worked for at the time took me to one side and said

"Do you realise that we have to pay all these fees for you to have full authorisation but you only do a handful of investment cases a year and a few small pensions. As for the last time you did anything to do with IHT..... Whay about saving us a bit and going Mortgage & Protection only and I will bump up your fee share and pass you some mortgage cases myself."

Once I got over my own ego (a mortgage adviser is a poor relation), I realised that he was giving me some good advice and have not looked back since.

The reason other people become mortgage advisers:

1. ex (soon to be ex) IFA s for the same reasons as me above and cost of regulation

2. We have experienced a property boom. every man and his dog thinks there is easy money in property and those that have invested think their mortgage broker has an easy life for easy money. Pretty much the same reason loads of people wanted to become day traders during the tech boom. What they don't realise is that a downturn in market conditions will mean a lot more work for mortgage advisers, but only those who have fostered a loyal client base and actually have experience of thinking outside the box. Just as many new estate agents will go under if there is a bust, there will be a number of fairweather mortgage advisers who will disappear when then realise that the factory line approach to advice is good in properous times, but may not have built the client relationship needed to retain them when things are hard.

As for proc fees in New Zealand, IIRC there has alsways been a tradition of lenders paying to 1 to 1.5% for prime (as in Australia) so even a 50% cut would still put them above us.

The admin side

I have nearly always had admin support, have sent every customer a care questionnaire after completion seeking feedback and have noticed that the administrator's rating is nearly always the same as the adviser's - one of them screws up and the other goes down as well.

I am interviewing an administrator tommorow and an Adviser on Monday so any thoughts on sure fire winner questions that will help avoid employing a muppet would be good.

I also use mortgagestream and while I think it brilliant (they actually use me as a testimonial) it still has to be used correctly to make the best use of it. ie ensuring all autoreminders etc are used and that it is fully integrated into your process.

I am still amazed that some of my ex collegues and competitors do not realise the importance of a proper system in place. They are very likely to lose in any battle for customer service and retention with me as the system ensures I don't forget anyone or any of their details.

JoeK wrote: »

Nice feedback Andy.

Your ratios are both realistic and workable.

Are you using MortgageStream to it's full capabilities by submitting electronically where possible?

JoeK

No. We import and export to and from sourcing only.

JoeK wrote: »

Sorry Andy, my question was misplaced.

I know that the import and exportation of data is a feature of MortgageStream but after you have imported the information to say, Trigold, Mortgage 2000, Mortgagebrain, from MortgageStream do you then submit electronically if possible in all cases?

JoeK

No. We prefer to use our own fact find so we basically just export the lead to sourcing, and import a recommendation / kfi back. Convert this to a case when instructed. The actual application is done either by hand or lender direct.

It's not particularly because we're behind the times or anything - I find that when you complete a Trigold FF for example and then source - you are presented limited results which can often be bettered. Trigold's good for its filters but tries to be too intelligent at times.

Good old fashioned manual sourcing from 'unfiltered' results ensures you're not missing the best deals.

Andy.

Could I tag onto this thread where you feel the future of mortgage advising lies.

Will it be more office based, home visits or will more people take to it over the internet/phone on a distance type arrangement. Maybe the mix will still continue.

I work in an Estate Agents with a pretty decent size panel of about 40 lenders but I can't help feeling that EA's will become more redundant in future with more and more people looking for houses on the internet.

What do you think the industry will look like in say the next 3,5,10+ years.