Q: What was your first job before the finance industry?
A: I was assisting with the management of a small family construction business, and from that I learned about licensing, compliance and finance – all needed to help ensure cash flow. I learned how to better manage people and manage clients’ needs. That experience taught me how to go beyond just plain customer service to deliver what clients expect and exceed those expectations as often as possible – skills that are essential in my work in the brokering field.
Q: What was your first job in the finance industry?
A: I worked for Wizard Home Loans as I saw that equity and property underpinned the creation of wealth for most people in Australia. It began when I got a recommendation from a well-respected guy in the real estate industry. I consulted him on which career I should pursue – property or finance. He recommended a career in finance and later financial planning, since I have a background in studies at the Melbourne Stock Exchange. This has allowed me to spend more time with my family, as to be very successful in property would be a seven-days-a-week commitment.
Q: What has surprised you most during your career in finance?
A: What surprises me the most is how people, whether they have the capabilities or not, utilise finance and home loans correctly to create wealth by learning the property market and understanding their place in it, as opposed to just relying on their hunch or someone who just ‘got lucky’ in the property market. Some of those people who have applied proven methodologies have gone on to make a great deal of money. You don’t have to be a university degree holder and super intelligent; you just have to do your homework and buy smart, then you can end up after 10 to 20 years with a lot of money, equity and lifestyle.
Q: If you could change anything about the broking industry, what would it be?
A: That buyers should take more responsibility for their decisions, instead of putting them back onto their brokers. This is because people want as much money as they can get, but once they’ve got it they realise that they haven’t factored in future life events and now they can’t afford their loan. Some want to blame the bank/lender and broker for deception as a means of avoiding their responsibilities for meeting borrowing commitments. There are definitely cases where unforeseen events occur, such as the current pandemic or bushfires, but these are irregular occurrences. The responsibility for borrowing should rest equally with the borrower and the broker. It is our responsibility to give them money appropriately, but it is also their responsibility to understand the debt they are getting into and to think deeply about this commitment.
