Q. How and why did you become a broker?
I’m new to the industry, so coming up to two years. I was in the advertising media industry for over 20 years… I loved it and had a great career and established some really good relationships (and a lot of that has actually carried through into my business). I’ve been investing in property for over 20 years and always been interested in finance, financial markets, personal finance. I’m okay with numbers, and so broking had been in the back of my mind for quite some time.
Q. Why did you choose to become a Mortgage Choice broker?
My first conversation with my aggregator, who is Mortgage Choice, was at the New Broker Academy before I’d become a broker. And so there was some specific things that I was after from my aggregator… the credibility in the name was really important. Coming from outside of industry, having the name like Mortgage Choice behind me was really important.
Q. Who was your first client, and how did that experience impact you?
It was a referral, and it was a young couple. They were renting a house, had a couple of young kids, the landlord was going to sell the house, and they had to move out. They didn’t think there was any way that they were going to be able to afford to stay in the house. But through the use of a guarantor and education, we got there. It was a really nice thing to do… just the single impact on a family’s life. It was amazing.
Q. How did it feel to win the national New Broker of the Year award?
It felt amazing… I had the best day. I was truly shocked. On the way there, my wife was talking to me, she said: ‘Do you have any chance of winning? Do I need to prepare myself?’ And I said: ‘There’s no chance that I’m gonna win the award today!’.
It felt really good. When I got up there, I actually said it feels a little bit embarrassing, and the reason for that is because I know the quality of other brokers out there, and I also know I kind of just want all new brokers to feel a little bit of that success!
Q. Were there any surprises you faced when starting out as a new broker?
It actually takes quite a while to get paid. It was well over a thousand hours of work before I actually got paid. I did a budget, but until you actually go through it and you go, sort of the months tick by, and you go: ‘I haven’t been paid’… it’s a lot to manage.
Q. What advice would you give to someone considering a career in broking?
If they haven’t already started into broking, I would just say go and talk to everyone. Everybody that you can find – whether they’re a lender, an aggregator, a current broker – go and speak to them. You will find that everybody is so open, and it’s a real collegiate atmosphere. People will give you the answers, and they’ll give you the time of the day, if you ask.
