Ravi Chandran
A mortgage broking business may appeal to those that are passionate about the finance and real estate industry
A mortgage broking business may appeal to those that have some knowledge on how various loans work. It will also appeal to real-estate agents, ex-bankers, financial advisers and others who want flexibility and a good income.
Has the current Covid-19 crisis affected your income stream? A lot more people may join as Private Hire Vehicle Drivers, property agents, financial advisors or start their own businesses. Some who are waiting to become Property agents or financial advisors may become a mortgage broker first while waiting for the licenses.
Then a mortgage broking business might be the right path for you. Successful mortgage brokers earn a pretty good living and often work independently, being their own boss. It can be an attractive alternative for someone who wants to work in the financial field but not for a big corporation. There are others who simply want to make a business out of referring clients, these can be either existing home owners or internet marketeers, they can join our home loan affiliate program.
Many financial advisors are able to provide better wealth advice for their clients when they have property financing knowledge through using Home Loan Report from iCompareLoan.com
The term “mortgage broker” is not just another name for a mortgage lender or loan officer. A mortgage broker doesn’t make loans directly, but acts as an intermediary to help borrowers obtain mortgages from lenders (banks in Singapore).
Whereas a loan officer represents the bank or lender he or she works for, and will offer only the loan products they carry, a mortgage broker will often work with several dozen different lenders and be able to arrange loans with any of them. This means a mortgage broker can be more versatile than a single lender can be, matching clients to the lender and loan product that best serves their needs.
A mortgage broker can be a company that employs multiple agents who arrange mortgages for customers under the company’s name, or a single individual working independently or for a firm.
Educational requirements to get into the mortgage broking business
There are no hard-and-fast requirements for becoming a mortgage broker, but you will need some type of training. Many brokers are former Bankers or loan officers who decided to strike out on their own, or real estate agents who decided they wanted to try the financial side of things to complement their customer service and professionalism. A background in sales is often helpful.
Financial advisors make very good mortgage brokers generally as they are good in financial details. Financial advisors who conduct mortgage planning are able to provide better and more holistic advice. About 50% of a person’s wealth is held in properties, another 50% is in insurance, equities and bonds, so a financial advisor who is unable to manage mortgage planning will eventually lose their customers to those who can do so.
Mortgage Brokers in Singapore are not required to be licensed, but typically you will need to be educated on the various details of lending, as well as the many laws and regulations that you will be subject to. This information is passed along through online, or self-study. As regulation around mortgage are constantly changing, you require continuing education from as well.
For ex-bankers who are serious and passionate about Mortgage, it is not an easy business, but there is a way. For new comers or mid-career people who wants to get into banking, becoming a mortgage broker will open the doors to an eventual banking career as mortgage brokers are sought after to become bankers and vice-versa. Tools such as Home Loan Report allows you to start quickly.
What exactly is a mortgage broking business?
A mortgage broker career is basically a sales career. If you cannot see yourself as a salesperson, this may not be the position for you. Even though sales-based, the fact that you will have customers at one of the most exciting points in their life means that your likely to be met with a little more enthusiasm than the average telemarketer.
Customers want to compare home loan, understand their TDSR from multiple properties and want to find out their loan quantum, down-payment, Monthly progressive payment, interest cost and savings for switching for refinancing, etc. You cannot deny customers this detailed and professional service. People who are more “relationship based” have to complement their people skills with data and analysis. Things are increasingly getting more technical and analysis based. Each of these requests from the customers will easily take hours to prepare.
Attention to detail, and the ability to think quickly on your feet are also important qualities in a mortgage broker. The typical mortgage broker will have 10 to 20 lending institutions that they deal with, and must be familiar with each. When a new client comes in shopping for a mortgage, you will need to access the situation, determine their strengths and weaknesses, and offer them a loan package that will best meet their needs.
Those of you who are at risk of losing your jobs and need to supplement your income, this would be a good back up plan.
Who Makes a good introducer and affiliate marketeer?
Some of you may not like to talk to people all the time, doing analysis and working as consultant to home owners. Some of you are better people networkers and referring people to consider their housing loan refinance or take up services, you can do so using the affiliate links.
If you are a google trained Search Engine Marketeer (SEM), a Facebook marketeer or WeChat Marketeer or other advertising marketeer or lead generator, you can assess the affiliate links from within Home Loan Report to generate leads to earn an income by passing these leads to mortgage brokers to provide the necessary consulting to home owners. You can assess iCompareLoan.com’s property agents who are more than happy to use your services to generate enquiries.
Why pursue a mortgage broking business?
There are many reasons why becoming a mortgage broker makes sense. A mortgage broker in Singapore can earn anywhere between $36,000 – $60,000 a year.
A university degree is not absolutely necessary, so this can be an excellent career choice for the mature adult who never went to tertiary institutions. Many times you work as an independent contractor, brokering deals between mortgage lenders and potential home buyers. You can work from home some of the time, set your own hours, and not spend a fortune on wardrobe or commuting. There are opportunities for mortgage brokers to work as employees as well, if that is what you prefer.
To be sure, being a mortgage broker is more difficult than it used to be. Still, there are opportunities out there for professional, hardworking and ethical mortgage brokers. The work is extremely flexible, but the downside is, you must be self disciplined. At the end of a busy day, there will still be calls and email to return. If you can manage these tasks, and develop a positive reputation, you may find that being a mortgage broker is a rewarding career to have.
Mr Paul Ho, chief mortgage officer at iCompareLoan said, “mortgage brokers have to do consulting with and serving mortgage enquiries will require a good understand of finance and investment, how banks work, macro global economy such as currency rates, inter-country interest rates and funds flows, MAS rules and regulations, loan-to-value rules, TDSR rules, HDB rules, IRAS rules on buyer stamp duties and ABSD, and many home loan and financing terminology.”
“Although all these may seem daunting for people who are newly coming into the industry, all these can be learnt especially with mentoring from experienced and senior mortgage consultants and here at iCompareLoan, this is the kind of hand-holding that we do. Not only that, Home Loan Report – Singapore’s best mortgage planning platform that integrates hundreds of pages of regulations into a 3 minute report.
“Consultants only need to know how to explain the Home Loan Reports and do not need to attend several days of courses and spend thousands of dollars meaning new comers can start Mortgage planning very quickly.”
Mr Ho
“During a recession, people have to refinance their housing loan before they lose their incomes else they may not be able to refinance (as banks do not welcome home owners with insufficient loan servicing ability) due to insufficient income. When more people stay home, those already affected by an economic slow down can work from home considering a mortgage broker career and help home owners assess their financing situation. A win-win situation.” Mr Paul Ho added.
Refinance can help people to optimise their interest costs
