WHAT MAKES A GREAT MORTGAGE ADVISOR?
There are many, many skills that go toward making a great Mortgage Advisor. With well over 1,500 advisors operating throughout NZ, our heading question is a good one to ask if you’re considering engaging an industry professional to help with your property financing goals.
In trying to answer this subjective question, we reflected upon the wide range of skills that we look for when recruiting new Advisors into our SMM team. The needs of our customers are often mixed and varied – we’ve learned over many years that every single property goal is different. Some are relatively simple and straightforward, whilst others can be complex and challenging. Whatever the requirements, our customers come to us with their needs and our role is to find the very best ‘solution’ in the market to satisfy that particular funding need.
Above all else, a great Mortgage Advisor needs to have an inquisitive mind and enjoy the challenge of finding innovative and tailored solutions for our customers. The ability to ‘think outside the square’ is a fundamental requirement. Supporting skills and experiences that we also look for include:
- Experienced in multiple sale and purchases of property themselves (as a customer)
- Understanding the pain points and complexities in the buying/selling process
- Solid experience in banking, real estate, insurance, law or wealth creation
- Ability to empathise and understand the unique requirements of our customers
- Positive ‘can do’ attitude & someone who won’t give up until every option is explored
- Strong community relationships with key professionals (Valuers, Accountants, Solicitors)
- Extensive networks of lenders they can call upon to provide specialist advice
- Intimate knowledge of lender policies and their ever-changing risk appetites
- Ability to position the customer’s request as a compelling lending proposition
- Gets a real kick out of delighting customers by turning their dreams into reality
WHERE HAS OUR TEAM COME FROM?
You might be surprised to know that our SMM advisors share as many differences as they do similarities with regard to their backgrounds. A common thread is previous experience in lending roles with a wide variety of banks in NZ and abroad. Some of our advisors bring in excess of 25 years practical lending experience to our team, often from Mobile Mortgage Manager roles.
Others have come from very successful careers in real estate where finding tailored solutions to customer problems is very similar. Matching a client’s specific needs with the right property and budget are precursors to SMM’s expertise in finding the right financial solution.
At the other end of the spectrum, previous experience within the team includes roles such as legal executive, conveyancing, office administrator, insurance agent, teacher, and even a midwife! All of these previous experiences involve helping people in some way, and that passion carries over nicely into the role of a Mortgage Advisor.
WHY HAVE THEY BECOME ADVISORS?
Here’s where there’s a lot more commonality across our team. For those who have previously come from a banking background, they were only ever able to represent one corporate brand in the market. If the needs of a customer did not meet their employer’s credit policy or lending appetite, then they could only convey a “sorry, we can’t help you” response. To any natural problem solver, that’s really frustrating!
Unlike a Bank or Insurance company employee, our advisors have access to a multitude of different lenders and risk protection institutions. That means we have the ability to compare a variety of different products, features, and pricing from over a dozen providers. They will research all options and typically recommend at least 2-3 solutions for our customers to consider.
So, when one lender might come back with a ‘decline’ for a customer’s funding request, our team doesn’t give up there. We’ll try all other funding sources, including an increasingly popular 2nd tier lending market where risk appetites are above those of the more conservative Banks.
In a nutshell, a mortgage advisor gets to say ‘YES’ far more often than a bank employee, simply because they have access to a wider variety of other options. That’s why our advisors love their job!
SUMMARY
At Stephanie Murray Mortgages, we strongly believe in the philosophy that customers are more likely to engage with a financial expert if they know them; like them; and trust them. We are, after all, helping our clients with the biggest financial decisions they are likely to be making in their lifetimes, so having a trusted and independent funding expert alongside makes a lot of sense!
In an environment where long term interest rates have never been as low as they are, our services are in very hot demand.
The pessimistic pundits who’d anticipated a post Covid-19 fall in property values have yet to see any real evidence of that, and most property markets around NZ still remain as strong as ever. There’s good buying if purchasers are prepared to wait for the right property to come along, and vendors appear realistic about meeting the market in these uncertain times.
Now is a great time to contact your trusted Mortgage Advisor to discuss your financial goals and aspirations. For some, that might mean an independent review of your current mortgage to see if a ‘restructure’ is required. For others such as first home buyers in stable employment, this could be the dawn of a new era!
Contact us now to book a FREE and ‘no obligation’ chat to see how we can help you.