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The Adviser speaks to My Mortgage Freedom CEO Anthony Alabakov about what his business has gained from offering specialist loans, and provides some handy tips for brokers looking to enter the space.
How long have you been offering specialist lending?
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It’s probably been over the last 12 to 24 months. It just evolved into the business and it allows us to identify the opportunities for clients that don’t fit the usual mould.
How has offering specialist loans helped your business?
It’s been great for the business. We can make sure that we can convert more clients. It also enables us to have a different conversation with our referral partners.
Is it easy to write a specialist loan?
Yes it is. It’s really, really simple. There’s just a different policy in regards to income verification. We focus on the self-employed market with specialist lending, and it’s just how to assess that income. The rest of it is general policy in regards to the banks.
Do specialist lenders support you?
I do feel like specialist lenders have a more hands-on approach to the process and don’t have such a black-and-white view on income or a certain scenario – they’re able to look at it from a holistic point of view and assess it based on the whole deal rather than just ticking certain boxes.
What are some of the key things a broker should know before making the move into specialist lending?
Do the research, speak to specialist lenders. It’s important to understand what it is and what segment of the market you can assist with, and base your decision if that’s the way you want to take the business. It’s not for everyone, but I think there’s great opportunity in specialist lending.
Do you see more brokers entering this space in the future?
I do. There’s going to be more need for specialist lending. Statistics show that there are more people who are self-employed, and there are also contractors and people that don’t fit the usual PAYG employment from a bank’s point-of-view, so I think it’s going to become more prominent in the industry. I think it’s going to be a segment that will grow, and it has over the last few years. The increasing awareness of specialist lending over the last six to 12 months alone has made more people realise the opportunity, and more brokers are getting into this space.
