A question for the brokers....from a trainee broker

Hello friends,
For the brokers and the finance savvy folks out there: where can i find broker learning material. I work for a large chain and am learning under the principal, but it is at their pace and there is no reference material .i.e. text books, work books, etc for me to read and do my own study. I have done my cert 4 and will be sent for in house diploma training early next yr. Its not fast enough though. I have browsed the training organisations to see what they sell and its slim pickings. Any ideas?
Thanks for the help folks
Michael

 

You've found it. Read these forums, there's a mountain of info here that you won't find anywhere else.

 

How to be a good broker

1) Dont cross collateralise
2) Understand lender policy inside and out
3) Keep customers up to date
4) Dont cross collateralise
5) Put deals to the best lender for the client not whats easiest for you
6) Dont cross collateralise
7) Review clients annually for rates and terms available
8) Just in case you missed it, dont cross collateralise
9) Lease german car, laptop and mobile phone

 

There is no training material as such as each scenario is going to be vastly different in the advice provided.

There are other elements which is how to finance certain types of securities, acceptable income, etc.

New brokers are now required to have a mentor and its the responsibility of the mentor to help train and educate their crew. We mentor 2 brokers and are constantly talking to them about scenarios everyday.

The best advice is to pick 3 lenders that you most often use and really understand their policy. Meet with the lender BDMs and understand the lenders strengths and weaknesses.

 

Yep - there is no material out there to cover this sort of stuff. I was a forumite before becoming a broker and I learned everything from the forums.

What you learn in those courses will be largely useless. Just get it done for the qualifications.

Being a mortgage broker is not rocket science - very basic stuff.

 

Thanks for the heads up friends! I do have a mentor but find our brains work differently. I am most definitely learning but wanted to do more study on my own. I do have a policy matrix that i can can learn, but where do i learn about complex structures and the like...BDM's and Mentors?
Cheers for the replies everyone

 

Have a look at the Somersoft forum which is now archived and read the finance section.

I definitely agree with learning policy as no.1. Do you have BDM contacts yet? I used to have coffee with BDMs regularly and get a speed learning session on policy with them. This is great for smaller lenders who have policy that is a little different to others (that as a beginner isn't obvious). Eg lenders serving at actual debt, contract employment or clients still on probation.

 

I have been a Somersoft member many years and will take the advice given. I was just hoping there might be a way of learning what i desire with out hijacking this property forum.
Cheers

 

If your mentor isn't providing you with what you require to learn and further yourself as a broker than maybe your mentor isn't the right one for you?

 

A good mentor is essential - I owe a lot to mine. He is like a broking wizard.

Forming relationships with BDM's is also important.

At the end of the day - years of experience helps too. I know it's not a quick approach - but it's reality.

Cheers

Jamie

 

I had no good mentor other than the forum. When I started it was common practice to cross collateralise loans. I recall mentioning it the NAB BDM and he dimissed me saying 'they will get the property anyway" I wasn't a lawyer at the time so believed what he said - for a while anyway.

My advice would be to be critical of whatever a BDM or a mentor says, don't neccesarily believe it until you do your own research. Remember BDMs are just sales people trying to steer you into loans with their bank.

 

No textbook unfortunately Michael - but being on the forums and learning from other brokers knowledge and expertise is a great start.

At the end of the day, submitting deals is the best education. Thats real experience in getting deals from zero to 100. After you've submitted the first 100/200 or so residential deals, you would have seen most of it. You will likely have seen most of the common scenarios, etc, and built up a network to find answers to anything that may be new.

While getting to that position, instead of just waiting for years of experience to build (i've never been that patient!), you can become an expert and be successful with the following attitudes:

• an overwhelming hunger/tenacity to learn, master and grow.
• a passion to be one of the best in your field.
• an open minded approach to always be willing to learn from your peers.
• aspire to be a type of broker - a 'mentor' or 'live example' - it will help set you a vision of where you want to be and provide a soft path for how to get there.

When i first started, i read, read, read and read some more. I recall printing off every one of a few of the brokers posts and reading them to sleep. Do that for 3-6 months, follow it up with reading a few policy guides (amongst the 100s of pages, they're all reasonably similar, with nuanced differences between lenders), meet lender BDMs and get to know each lenders 'niches', master serviceability calculators, and work on the softer elements of submissions (presentation, how to submit, how to handle requests, etc). The actual course work isn't that useful for actually being a broker.

As Les Brown says, its better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one, than have an opportunity and not be prepared. Being at a larger group, you'll probably get some great exposure to other elements - e.g. organisational design, structures, sales, etc.

There's a couple other trainee brokers that have PM'd me over the year doing similar things before moving into the industry - i suspect they'll be very very well placed when they get into the industry. If you want a real kickstart, give @Shahin_Afarin a call and see if he'll take you on. His a great example of someone whose knowledge base is incredible and beyond most peers, including those with greyer hairs (the average broker age is 40+ i believe).

There's also a few fantastic brokerages outside this space that have incredible databases of knowledge. Can learn from there as starting points too.

Good luck!

Cheers,
Redom

 

I like DaveM post. Most of my broking was learning by doing, each scenario is different and each lender has a different policy or product feature. The most challenging loans I have are the self employed - low doc - i'm broke loans, these are emotional and time consuming.

Use your BDM at each lender to agree to a rate/ scenario before you proceed.

If you are stuck on a topic, do a search of somersoft, the experienced brokers here know everything - experienced bankers will tell you this is the most interesting time in 25 years, I look forward to the challenge, I see it as a massive opportunity to add to the product suite.

Cheers Ivan

 

A good mentor is essential, but ultimately the real learning is done by doing. What brokers do isn't rocket science, but it is problem solving. Most problems have similar elements but you need to build the experience to see the patterns to be able to solve new problems effectively.

If you're trying to look for a book to give you the answers, it simply doesn't exist. If that were the case, we'd be replaced by an iPhone app overnight.

 

Remember Don't cross dress I mean cross collateralise.

This brokering job just seems too easy. Even I could doi it.

Fill in a couple forms, promise the client the world, give 'em the yeah yeah yeah and if things don't pan out blame that rotten bank lol.

 

As long as you have a client base it is easy, however, in reality it is not. Its bloody time consuming, I won't lie, my business has more than one product (proudly), so all the clients need loans, but gees, some lenders don't deliver - hello Bank of Melbourne!

In some instances you are the introducer (easy investment loans) - however in others, you need to structure a deal in complex situations i.e credit defaults, bankrupt, client cannot afford a property - need max LVR....can be really time consuming. In these situations, a brokerage fee should be considered.

Cheers Ivan

 

I've got a broker who's looking to get back in the game and renew all his certificates and accreditations.
Can anyone recommend Any good training centres offering face-to-face cert 4 or diplomas in Sydney? Preferably western Sydney.

 

Tell him to do it online - AAMC is a cheap one and not bad.

 

Guys thank you all for the fantastic replies! It has given me a bit to think about in regard to my position here and whether or not it is the right fit for me. Very much appreciated. Oh and be prepared for some questions over the coming months haha
Cheers