The Best Father-Son Mortgage Broker Team in Brisbane? We Think So.
The other day I had the opportunity to attend the Tattersalls Club in Brisbane City with my father.
At one point I got up to speak and, somewhat jokingly — although perhaps not entirely jokingly — said that we might just be the best father-son mortgage broker combination in Brisbane.
It got a laugh, but there is actually something behind it.
Between us there is a huge amount of experience in mortgage broking, property finance and dealing with people from just about every walk of life. Our family has been looking after clients in finance for around 30 years, and I’ve personally now been doing this for approximately 10 years.
What I’ve come to appreciate more and more is that the technical side of mortgage broking is only part of the job.
The other part is people.
Building a Better Business Community
One of the reasons we enjoy being involved with the Tattersalls Club is the community around it.
We want to surround ourselves with good people and build relationships with other professionals and business owners who think similarly to us — people who care about their clients, their reputation and continually improving what they do.
That particular evening was a great example.
We had conversations with people from a remarkably broad range of backgrounds — from someone who had operated an investment firm, through to lawyers, medical professionals and a psychiatrist operating their own practice, along with a number of established Brisbane businesspeople.
I genuinely felt privileged to be in the room and to be able to rub shoulders with people who have built successful businesses and careers of their own.
But what I enjoy most is that the conversation isn’t simply about business for the sake of business.
We talk about clients.
We talk about what is working.
We talk about what could be done better.
We talk about how different businesses solve problems and how we can take some of those ideas back into our own businesses.
And usually we have a pretty good time doing it.
The 1% Better Philosophy
One idea that resonates strongly with us is continual improvement.
Nothing revolutionary.
Just getting 1% better.
Finding one small thing that could be improved in a process, a conversation, a client experience or the way we structure a loan — and then doing it slightly better the next time.
Those incremental improvements compound.
After thousands of client conversations and years in mortgage broking, you start recognising situations much more quickly.
You know the questions to ask.
You know where problems are likely to appear.
You know when something that initially looks simple probably requires another layer of investigation.
And equally importantly, you learn that every client needs to be treated differently.
We Don’t Really Have a Niche
There is plenty of business advice that says you need to pick a very specific niche.
We’ve probably gone in the opposite direction.
Our niche, if anything, is being able to work with a very broad range of people.
On any given week we might be helping a tradie purchase their first property, a family refinance their home, an investor purchase another property, a self-employed business owner restructure their lending, or a senior executive work through a significantly more complex finance position.
Our current clients genuinely range from everyday Australian families and tradespeople through to business owners and CEOs.
I think that diversity makes us better brokers.
You learn how to communicate differently.
You learn that not everybody looks at money in the same way.
You learn that the right lending structure for one person may make absolutely no sense for the next.
And you become comfortable working across a much wider range of lending scenarios.
What that Means for Our Clients
Ultimately, all of these experiences come back to the same thing: doing a better job for the people who trust us with their finance.
Whether someone needs a First Home Loan, a new Home Loan, an Investment Loan, or is considering Refinancing a Home Loan debt that they have held for years, our approach is the same.
Understand the person first.
Understand what they’re actually trying to achieve.
Then work backwards into the lending strategy.
Being a Mortgage Broker isn’t simply about finding an interest rate. It’s about understanding lender policy, loan structure, borrowing capacity, future plans and the little details that can materially affect someone’s position over time.
Sometimes that means finding a sharper lender.
Sometimes it means telling someone their existing lender is already competitive.
Sometimes it means restructuring debt.
And sometimes the best advice is to do nothing yet and revisit the situation later.
The objective is simply to give the client the information they need to make a good decision.
After approximately 30 years of mortgage broking experience within our family, and around 10 years personally for me, you’d think there wouldn’t be much left to learn.
It’s actually the opposite.
The longer you’re in this industry, the more you realise how valuable it is to keep learning.
Lending policies change. Property markets change. Clients’ circumstances change. Technology changes. Expectations around service change.
That’s why communities like the one we’re building through Tattersalls and our wider Brisbane business network are important to us.
You get around good people.
You exchange ideas.
You challenge the way you’ve always done things.
And hopefully you come back the next day 1% better.
If that ultimately means we provide a slightly better experience, ask a slightly better question or find a slightly better lending solution for our clients, then it’s worthwhile.
And as for whether we’re actually the best father-son mortgage broker combination in Brisbane?
We’ll continue work,
A final insight: There is an abstract restriction on the work Best -, Eg, You can’t say to a client this is the best loan, you have to say this is the most suitable of the options considered. Although we still aim for Best Home Loan Brisbane and best Mortgage Broker Brisbane.
