After an 18-year career as a top-performing Newcastle real estate agent, Daniel Gilbert decided to leave it all behind and join the mortgage industry.
Gilbert (pictured above) said he was inspired by his personal broker and the long-term income potential and lifestyle that was possible.
“I now have a young family and on review of the approximately 1500 transactions I completed in real estate, it made sense to invest the same time and energy into something that would provide me a somewhat passive income,” Gilbert said.
“Having relied on finance to do my own property investing and developing, I found myself stuck at seven properties without the ability to keep purchasing and progressing forward, so I was also very curious to understand how the finance game worked.
“I spoke with my broker to find out about the study required and the opportunity arose to be mentored by him, so I jumped at it.”
Gilbert left the real estate industry in April 2021 before embarking on the next stage of his career. He works as a mortgage specialist at Australian Property Finance and launched SecureAHome in May this year.
“I find many similarities between the property industry and mortgage industry. It’s all a game of connecting people and offering incredible value,” he said.
“It’s been such an advantage knowing the real estate side of things as I now understand the entire process and the needs of all parties involved. Understanding bank policy can be learned and is constantly changing, however you cannot beat property experience which is a huge advantage to my clients.”
Gilbert said his point of difference was that, beyond finance, he could act as a coach for his clients when it came to negotiations for buying property, as well as the home-selling process.
“My greatest strength in real estate was my ability to close and ask for business. This business is no different, in fact it’s better as the clients are coming to you rather than you chase them,” he said.
“You are only as good as your last review and you can’t beat social proof such as a review from every client I help.”
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Gilbert said there was a lot of paperwork in his new role that he was still getting used to, however he loved the strategic side of the industry.
“I am a very solution-oriented person and I love having the ability to access so many lenders to help people achieve their goals.
“I also love that we are reliant on the banks as it gives clients a somewhat nine-to-five expectation. Working outside of this blows them away and certainly beats the 7am to 9pm six or seven day a week expectation of real estate.”
Gilbert said his advice to other new-to-industry brokers was to make connections and pick up the phone.
“You are your own problem, so only you can be your solution. Get clear on your numbers and be amongst as many deals as you can,” he said.
“I always offer to help run deals with my colleagues without any expectation of payment and will get involved in the back-end to understand it. This has helped me to understand the entire process and appreciate the support I have as well as learning how to handle volume.
“For new brokers, you need to think long term and be prepared to go backwards financially for 12 to 24 months to leap five to 10 years in the future by playing the long game.”
