Paying for mortgage broker

[Medine]

MF Simmons Mortgage Broking

Hi Guys,

We've been offering our specialised Mortgage Broking service to investors and executives for three years. Our policy is to over service our clients, personally follow through each loan to settlement, and handle all bank enquiries to settlement.

All of our staff are tertiary qualified, and are all property investors. I have personally used property investment to create a net worth of over a million dollars.

Our clients benefit from our networking events and seminars, and have ongoing access to our knowledge and expertise. We continually update our investing and industry knowledge by attending seminars and training courses.

We have created the Mortgage Broking company that I wish I had found when I first started my wealth creation journey, in the hope of helping as many people along theirs as possible.

We really want to continue offering our exemplary service levels, but we also need to make a profit! Over the last three years our MF Simmons Mortgage Broking has not made a profit, and we couldn't see any way to continue our high service levels without charging for them.

I understand that this won't suit everyone, however, but hope that lots of people will continue to see the value in the work that we do, and will be happy to pay our fee. We certainly don't trick people in to paying our fee, we discuss it with them up front, and they only proceed if they wish to.

Cheers, Medine.

Medine Simmons
0417 317 901
MF Simmons Mortgage Broking
"Helping our clients to achieve their investment goals
through our expertise and knowledge in lending."

 

[sbe]

Hi all.

I've personally met Medine a couple of years back. Although I did not use her companies services, it certainly wasn't for lack of service, or knowledge.

To her credit, I went there with a little test, already knowing the answer. Of all the brokers I spoke to, she was one of only two who got that right, and she did that in short time too.

I cant comment further than that, but she certainly came across as professional.

Would I pay for a borkers service?

If that service saved me time and anguish, probably yes. More difficult loans (once you've gone past say 2-3) take more time to prepare and follow through.

As others have said, if it's up front, and justifiable, you have a choice. That fair.

Regards to all,

Simon.

 

[stanley]

Hi Medine, sounds like you've got a great business going there.

We really want to continue offering our exemplary service levels, but we also need to make a profit! Over the last three years our MF Simmons Mortgage Broking has not made a profit, and we couldn't see any way to continue our high service levels without charging for them.

I'm curious why you cannot make a profit from the commissions you receive from your lenders as it seems many other brokers can.

Is this because of the high levels of service you offer?

Are your fees refunded if a client decides to take a loan with you, or is the fee non-refundable?

Are your fees charged on a sliding scale according to the amount of the loan, or is a fixed fee of $500?

Cheers

 

[Julliet]

Just wanted to thank everyone for sharing their experiences and knowledge. I think I will keep looking for a mortgage broker and wondered if anyone could recommend someone in Melbourne for me to see.
Thankyou

 

[Jimmyjamjars]

Julliet,
I can't speak for anyone else on the forum but I found that there really is no need to see the broker face to face to do business, as long as you have a fax machine and printer powered by Binford 9000 big boy motors, everything can be done through the phone lines . I recently used a Broker on this forum for my latest deal and would use him again. I might add that there was no additional charge and he put in lots of work on it as it wasn't a straight-forward loan. PM me and I'll give you details if you like.
JIM

 

[Aceyducey]

Julliet - try Rolf Shaefer from this forum (http://www.somersoft.com/forums/member.php?u=259)

Cheers,

Aceyducey

 

[Fusion]

Hi Julliet

I operate a mortgage broking business within Melbourne, and would be happy to answer any queries that you might have.

My contact details are:
P: (03) 9386-8790
M: 0403 753 513
E: [email protected]

As with any good business my focus is on educating clients, and that comes through being transparent, upfront and honest.

Warm regards,
Mike Lloyd

P.S: My service is fee free

 

[Jamie]

Hi Fusion,

Thats your 4th post, and the 4th time youve directly stated or implied you dont charge a fee for your services.

The majority of brokers who frequent this site dont charge purchasers an upfront fee. Im intrigued as to why to feel the need to constantly state the same. Im also intrigued as to the fact that you just happened to join the forum on the day where you felt you had an opportunity to denigrate the way a fellow broker operated, and in turn avail yourself of an opportunity to find a new client.

The forum has around 5-10 regular brokers.. none of them charge clients, all of them work tirelessly for their own clients, and all of them answer a multitude of posts with the knowlegde they will never make a cent by doing so.

By all means, welcome to the forum - Im sure you have a lot of knowledge to add to the collective wisdom already here. But offer your help devoid of strings before asking people to contact you offline - I can assure you that, the more you offer, the more you will receive in return.

Best wishes,

Jamie.

 

[Fusion]

Hi Jamie

Thanks for your feedback.

It has been duly noted, and taken on board.

My comments are only my opinion, and reflect they way in which I want to operate my business. They were in no way meant to be offensive to any other brokers out there, and if they were taken that way I apologise.

Warm regards,

 

[Aceyducey]

They were in no way meant to be offensive to any other brokers out there, and if they were taken that way I apologise.

Fusion,

I don't believe that offending other brokers was a concern....

Jamie was making the point that overt advertising is not accepted on Somersoft.

Demonstration of expertise through assisting people who ask questions on the forum is the best way to establish yourself as a professional and experienced broker.

Cheers,

Aceyducey

 

[stanley]

Hi Fusion, welcome to the forum as it's always good to get differing points of view here.

As you'd expect, we're all individuals and can't be expected to agree with each other all the time... imagine what a boring world this would be if everyone agreed with each other.

Thats your 4th post, and the 4th time youve directly stated or implied you dont charge a fee for your services... Im intrigued as to why to feel the need to constantly state the same.

Perhaps it was because the topic was a discussion about brokers charging a fee

 

[Fusion]

Hi

From the research I have done mortgage brokers within Australia are better compensated than brokers in New Zealand. I believe this may have something to do with the proximity to a banks branch network in NZ, and hence the banks are unwillingly to pay for business they probably would have got anyway. It would also seem that Australian brokers are almost on a par with our counterparts in the US.

Lets say (for example) a broker in Australia has been in business for 3 years and has a loan book of $40,000,000, they would probably receive a trailing commission of about $7,500 at the start of every month. If this broker was reasonably active, and wrote an additional 10 average loans ($300,000) per month they would receive an additional $16,800 per month (approx) in upfront commissions. To my mind that says that they are being "reasonably" compensated for their time.

There's not to many other jobs where you can gross just under $300,000 a year helping peoples dreams come true.

Ciao,

 

[K Nicholson]

Hi all,

I am a Financial Planner with Navra Financial Services, and I provide financial planning advice to our Melbourne, Adelaide and Tasmanian clients. As most of my clients are property investors, a significant amount of my planning process involves organising loan structures. I refer many of my clients to Medine and Kylie from MF Simmons Mortgage Broking, for the following reasons:
• They are committed to a high level of service to their clients, right through the loan process
• In addition to the two principal mortgage brokers, they employ a full time loans manager (Nicole) whose role is to follow the finance applications through to settlement once they have been lodged. She reviews every application at least once every two days to make sure there are no hitches or problems
• They have a high level of knowledge regarding loan products, and are continually researching new loans
• They have been very successful and innovative with some of my clients with complex situations
• They look at each clients loans with a long term goal, i.e. not just which bank will give the best interest rate now, but which finance structure will best allow the client to borrow more in the future
• They understand the importance of having the loan structure set up correctly to maximise tax deductions, and how and when to utilise an offset account as opposed to a line of credit
• They are experienced in finding the best loans for people buying in different entities, i.e. personal name, discretionary trust, hybrid trust, company
• They regularly hold client seminars and get togethers to encourage net-working and knowledge building amongst their clients
• They provide regular feedback to myself and their clients about which stage of the loan process the client is at
• I have received very positive feedback from my clients who have used them
• They are all property investors
• Medine’s background as an accountant, Kylie’s as an engineer and Nicole’s background as a solicitor and accountant directly adds benefit to their clients
• They are hard working and honest, dedicated to their clients’ best interests, and to top it off, they are all lovely personable people!

Setting up your loan structure correctly is an important step in the financial planning process. As a result of the high level of service and the positive feedback that I
have received, I am very happy to refer my clients to MF Simmons Mortgage Broking.

Regards,
Katrina Nicholson
Navra Financial Services

 

[Corsa]

Hi Julliet

Just a quick note to let you know that I would also recommend using Rolf Latham from the forum.

I live in Adelaide and he is in Sydney but we have been dealing with each other from afar, mostly via email (which suits me as I work full-time), some phone calls, and mail/fax.

He is an investor himself so really understands how to structure the portfolio the best way from a loans point of view. He is also a moderator of this forum and spends countless hours providing free advice and discussion for people on this forum.

I am finding it increasingly more difficult to qualify for loans as time goes on (due to high number of loans and size) but Rolf has been very diligent in continueing to find loan solutions for me.

I have met with at least 4 brokers in the past in Adelaide who all pretty much wasted my time, oohed and ahhed over my portfolio, and didnt know much about the financial cost of things or the suite of loan options for the more complex situation. Coming from this point of view, I was very hesitant to give another mortgage broker a go. I only did actually due to CBA pulling the brakes on my lending so was forced to go to a broker. I know there are a number of other mortgage brokers on this forum who also provide significant time & effort to the forum, and based on a few others recommendations I went with Rolf.

His Details are:
[email protected]
www.asapfinancial.com.au
Rolf Latham
02 9808 2080

Good luck with your investing, and hope you have a lovely day.

Kindest regards

Corsa

PS I have just read Katrina's email from Navra, wow, thanks Katrina, I really appreciate the effort you have gone to in your post. Jullliet, I guess you have a number of valid recommendations to pursue now from peoples experiences.

 

[Medine]

MF Simmons Mortgage Broking

Hi Stanley,

Thanks for your compliment!

When I started my property investing seven years ago I was unsuccessful in finding a Mortgage Broker in Melbourne who would become part of my investing team. Eventually, I decided to set up my own firm to provide the service I was looking for to others on the wealth creation journey.

The premium service that we offer to clients begins by finding out what they want to do in the long term and set out a financial structure that suits it.
We remain in constant contact with our clients whilst the loan is being processed, making sure they know exactly where the progress of their loan is.
We also provide a wealth of information, from our personal and professional experience, to our clients even after their loan has settled.

In answer to your questions, yes, you're right. Offering this level of service is expensive! But I'm confident that it's valuable, and that we'll be making a profit soon!

And yes, we do negotiate our fee under certain circumstances.

Cheers, Medine.

PS: Thanks to all the other forum dwellers who have offered their support!

MF Simmons Mortgage Broking
0417 317 901
"Helping out clients acheive their investment goals through our knowledge and expertise in lending."

 

[Rolf Latham]

Hi Mike

On the one hand I dont disgree that brokers can and some do make good money.

However, running a small brokerage like I (and I assume you) do is a different thing to running a business.

I have looked hard at the numbers to expand my business through taking on staff and premises to leverage my time. On comms only the numbers are not worth my time.

I believe it comes down to the suppostition that not all businesses are alike, and I still feel that people can charge what they want.

PS I wouldnt call what I do a JOB, its an obsession, obsessions usually pay well .

ta

rolf

 

[always_learning]

PS I wouldnt call what I do a JOB, its an obsession, obsessions usually pay well .

Obsessed Beware of strange guy wandering the streets of Ryde late at night with a hushed voice saying "Pssss, want a loan?...not just any loan, but a mortgage with a line of credit and offset account...none of that xcollateralization rubish with me...I can get you a real good rate...come on it wont hurt I'm a pro...I promise you it will feel r e a l r e a l good!"

I agree with Corsa...Rolf is excellent, even when he may not make a cent he still helps with advise. That's the right type of business approach, it builds loyal customers who recommend the business to others...and when I meet someone who thinking of buying to mention trying Rolf for the mortgage!

 

[sbe]

Obsessed Beware of strange guy wandering the streets of Ryde late at night with a hushed voice saying "Pssss, want a loan?...not just any loan, but a mortgage with a line of credit and offset account...none of that xcollateralization rubish with me...I can get you a real good rate...come on it wont hurt I'm a pro...I promise you it will feel r e a l r e a l good!"

Loved that one !!!

 

[Alan H]

Obsessed Beware of strange guy wandering the streets of Ryde late at night with a hushed voice saying "Pssss, want a loan?...not just any loan, but a mortgage with a line of credit and offset account...none of that xcollateralization rubish with me...I can get you a real good rate...come on it wont hurt I'm a pro...I promise you it will feel r e a l r e a l good!"

I agree with Corsa...Rolf is excellent, even when he may not make a cent he still helps with advise. That's the right type of business approach, it builds loyal customers who recommend the business to others...and when I meet someone who thinking of buying to mention trying Rolf for the mortgage!

I ran into Rolf at the Supermarket a few weeks back and I can assure you he wasn't "Psssss.....ing" in my aisle.

 

[geoffw]

I ran into Rolf at the Supermarket a few weeks back and I can assure you he wasn't "Psssss.....ing" in my aisle.

I thought it was last year when Rolf was walking down the aisle?



(What does a bride think when whe walks down the aisle? She's concentrating on the church. "Aisle, altar, hymn")