CMP 6.6

Your trusted news source

June 2011, 6.6

private lending

drought Mortgage rule changes slow deal making SPECIAL FOCUS Credit unions looking for more broker business

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third generation brokering Mortgage coach Greg Williamson believes brokers should and can be getting better results from their referral sources by simply shifting their thinking from Old World to New World

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6.

06 issue

cover story

40 Private lending Despite the hype and the hopes of private lenders who have more money than ever to lend, Vernon Clement Jones discovered that tougher mortgage rule changes introduced this year haven’t increased their business, although they’re continuing to meet the needs of brokers and clients

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contents 8 Letters & comments from MortgageBrokerNews.ca: Some of the best stats and comments from CMP’s website

73 Insight: HomEquity Bank announced that CHIP Home Income Plan, has now been made available to Canadian homeowners as young as 55

NEWS

74 Insight: Halifax broker leading the way in educating Nova Scotia’s next generation of mortgage brokers

12 News: Brokers welcome Manitoban mortgage regulations, UBS says no to Canuck mortgage business, National Bank launching Mastercard referrals for brokers, CMHC gives Equity Financial Trust the nod, CREA report echoes broker concerns about rule changes, Equitable Trust enters growing Saskatchewan market, Broker conventions take Vegas’s centre stage 15 News Analysis: The Big Story: A compilation of the top quotes from our weekly multimedia broadcasts on MortgageBrokerNews.ca 24 In The Community: Brokers biking across country in fight against cancer 26 Business Advice: Making mortgages motivating in a media age

PROFILES 70 Broker Profile: With a philosophy built around its award-winning customer service, Averbach Mortgages in Vancouver builds its business one mortgage client at a time

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64 MARKETING

Web 2.0 marketing secrets for mortgage pros In a new series, Doren Aldana explores some of the ways mortgage brokers can harness the power of social media to build referrals

78 Guest Column: Current IMBA president Albert Collu wants brokers to know that Canada’s provincial broker associations are there to serve them

regulars 38 This time last year 39 International News 76 Favourite Things 79 CMP Service Directory Follow us on Twitter Twitter.com/CMPmagazine

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Editor’s Letter

Challenging times While housing prices haven’t dropped significantly during the first quarter of 2011 and there were reports of an uptick in purchases ahead of another round of mortgage rule changes from the federal government, these changes may turn out to have far-reaching effects on the economy at large, according to some brokers CMP has talked to.

In our feature on private lenders, those effects are real, says one broker.

“The new mortgage rule changes have tightened what has been, even in Canada, a period of historically loose institutional mortgage lending,” David O’Gorman, broker/owner of MortgageLand Inc. in Markham, Ont. told CMP. “At first glance the changes may appear to provide opportunities for private lenders.

However, if these new rules significantly slow down real estate sales, opportunities are reduced for both institutional and private lenders. I only hope the politicians and bureaucrats remember their lessons about the ‘multiplier effect’ from their Economics 101 classes. Real estate and construction are huge engines of the overall economy. Slow down real estate sales and you slow down the whole economy.”

Further regulations that will require MICs to become licensed with provincial securities commissions may also slow things down in the private lending sector, although the registration requirements are supposed to better protect MICs’ investors by increasing capital, bonding, disclosure and compliance.

“We’re concerned that NI 31-103 regulations might possibly duplicate existing regulations with respect to investing in mortgages in B.C.,” said Alan Cross, president of the newly formed British Columbia MIC Managers Association.

But it’s not all bad news. Most involved in the private lending arena still see a promising future.

“There’s one thing that we know for sure is that there’s lots of money out there for private lenders, and the Canadian investor believes in the mortgage and real estate investment,” says Hali Strandlund of Fisgard Capital.

As always, I encourage to you contact us with any news related to the broker and mortgage industry or just to share your opinion about how we’re doing. It is an exciting time for our industry and we look forward to keeping you informed about the industry and your business.

Cheers.

John Tenpenny Editor john.tenpenny@kmimedia.ca

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Quotables

“Alignment is the key thought in Third Generation selling. Are my interests aligned with my prospect? For instance, I think the relationship between Realtors and mortgage professionals is at an all-time low, due mostly to a lack of alignment. I think if you asked most Realtors ‘What do you want?’ they would answer with some version of ‘I want to find more buyers and sellers before they have chosen a Realtor.’ The lack of alignment comes from a servant mortgage professional responding with the same question of ‘what do you want?’ with the answer ‘I want more mortgages.’”

“The mortgage rule changes have not only made it more difficult to get refinancing through CMHC, but it has also slowed the resale housing market.

That’s opposite to what private lenders want – the more sales you have in the marketplace, the more opportunity there is for private lenders because there are more people interested in buying. That not only drives business for prime lenders, but also private ones.”

Dean Koeller, VP, CFO and COO for Calvert Home Mortgage Investment Corp., discussing the market for private lenders. Page 40

Greg Williamson, the founder of 180 Degrees Coaching, talking about changing the referral relationship brokers have with Realtors. Page 54

June 2011 Publications Mail Agreement #41261516 Postmaster: Return undeliverable addresses to KMI Publishing, 312 Adelaide Street West, Suite 800 Toronto, Ontario M5V 1R2

EDITOR Senior Staff Writer

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Readers Write Web comments

The past month has seen a lot of broker discussion of articles posted on MortgageBrokerNews.ca.

Here we collect some of the most commented on stories and the reaction they garnered from the mortgage broker community Super Brokers angered by DLC defections

A rapidly expanding Dominion Lending Centres is fending off criticism that too much of its growth is the result of brokerages migrating from competing networks.

Super brokers are angered yet they don’t go on record for your article? The only quotes are from DLC. This ends up being good PR for DLC rather than actual news.

– Geoff Willis Great marketing for DLC. All the “super brokerages” do recruiting of some sort, so I can’t see any of them being “angered” by it.

Jealous? Yes. – Sean McDowell Love Gary Mauris! That man can sell! Nobody better in this business and I take my hat off to him. We all should. Love him or hate him, he’s promoting our industry with every ounce of energy he has and we should all be thankful. One of our greatest advocates.

– Mike Averbach

I moved from one “super broker” to DLC and it’s made an amazing difference to my business. I have far more resources and benefits available to me through DLC than ever before. Loyalty is not granted. It must be earned and maintained!

– Anonymous If Canadian brokers/agents want to be put out of business in the same fashion as American Brokers, then by all means, keep whining and complaining about the loss of ‘status quo’ while DLC is taking the only approach that will grow our industry; namely, relentless industry promotion.

– Bill Wabb, AMP I think it is ridiculous that DLC is having to defend its position on this matter. Every other brokerage firm in Canada is directly or indirectly using the exact same acquisition strategy. The only reason people are getting upset is that generally speaking DLC is executing on this strategy more effectively than others.

– Calum Ross

Prince George brokers defy CMHC projections

Brokers in little Prince George say they’re Rather than be angered by defections to DLC poised to significantly better originations brokerage houses should take a good look at the this year even as their big-city counterparts DLC business model. They saw this coming but in Vancouver enter a slowdown and the ignored it. If you want to keep good people you CMHC forecasts an eight per cent sales have to provide good tools! So rather than be slide for the northern hub. angered, let’s see which super broker will step up to truly compete.

– Gunther Kaschuba I think that Bob Quinlan’s last comment hit the nail right on the head. There is no question that This “article” is not news. It’s advertising and has we brokers are taking a larger slice of the pie no business here. here in Prince George, at the expense of the – Gord banks and credit unions. It’s like play-off hockey right now! And in Prince George, our Rather than complain about their brokers moving local mortgage brokers are clearly winning to other companies, why don’t they step up to the the battles. plate and provide reasons for their brokers to stay?

– Wayne Campbell AMP, Invis

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Readers Write Web comments

Brokers: Rate drops ignite client preference for fixed

Brokers are finally seeing a change in consumer appetite for risk after the second chop to fixed rates in two weeks.

Well, that maybe true, but the reasoning is not the rate drops; the reason for the client preference, is because of the insane amount of advertising and promotion that goes around fixed rates, because we as brokers know, the banks make way more money on fixed rates (especially on the payout penalties), than variables, and therefore I don’t see this changing.

– Shawn Dehkhodaei Rate type is not a one-size-fits-all solution. On any given day, a first-time buyer who has bought to their comfort level is better off in a guaranteed fixed rate, whereas a seasoned homeowner with plenty of equity should consider the VRM because they can better tolerate the shift in rates. Seniors who live on fixed incomes and still carry a mortgage would be wise to think fixed as well. But that’s just my opinion. When advising a client on what is “best for them” I like to discuss their financial goals and then show them the difference between the fixed and variable. I do agree that there is more money to be made on fixed rates, but what the clients need is the most important factor when choosing a mortgage.

– Elfie Hayes

sales force, can we get some good news?

Enough already!

– Anthony This just goes along with what I have always said that we as mortgage brokers should team up to protect our business and stop dealing with the banks themselves. There are plenty of non-bank lenders to deal with that are not looking to squeeze us out of the market.

– Vic Please name me one lender that you use to get ‘A ‘ rates, that does not use bank money of some sort. Ready? Go. – smartboy If the brokers stop recommending the right products for the end-user (aka the client) then the potential impartiality can hurt the broker industry and you aren’t always doing what ‘matters most’ to your clients.

– Dean

MortgageBrokerNews.ca Reader Poll Canadian housing prices in 2011 will: 40 35 30 25

Brokers beware: BMO loading up on mortgage specialists and originations

Perhaps to the chagrin of brokers, BMO, which doesn’t use the channel, reported significant growth in its mortgage portfolio for the three months ending April 31. The value of its residential mortgages rose to $65.5 billion for the quarter, up from the $63.6 billion it declared for Q2 2010. The growth came as the bank added 1,000 workers to its frontline staff – a significant number of them mortgage specialists.

Losing market share, National Bank referring real estate agents, BMO investing in mortgage

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20 15 10 5 0

39%

Increase slightly

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Remain unchanged

18% 9%

Decrease slightly Rise or fall significantly

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News Industry

Brokers welcome Manitoban mortgage regulations

Marty Coubrough

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The first-ever regulation of Manitoban brokers – ushered in this month – will better protect their clients, said the head of one of the province’s leading brokerages, and bring the industry in line with other provinces.

“It’s a win-win situation for those who use mortgage brokers and for the reputation of the industry itself,” Marty Coubrough, co-owner of Verico One Mortgage & Financial, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “It was very much needed and welcomed by brokers who take the business seriously. It also puts us on par with the other provinces.”

As of May 1, the nearly 40 per cent of Manitobans who opt for the services of a broker – or, according to CMHC’s latest numbers, at least consult one – have now gained a host of consumer protections related to that interaction.

Homebuyers and owners also benefit a host of other broker obligations set out in the regulations.

Brokers will, in fact, be grandfathered into the system, although education requirements for new entrants will ultimately come into effect.

An exemption order means brokers have until June 3 to make the application for licensing and to register with the commission. Licensing fees and errors and omissions insurance is also part of the bargain for brokerages, as is a formal complaint mechanism for consumers.

Industry regulation is entirely new for brokers in the province, said Coubrough. The pre-existing Mortgage Dealers Act focused on lenders, and not the mortgage professionals they sold their products through.

“These rules strengthen accountability,” said Finance Minister Rosann Wowchuk in announcing the legislations. “Unlike other mortgage industry professionals, mortgage brokers were not subject to regulation. Homebuyers trust mortgage brokers to give them sound and objective advice on what mortgage best suits their financial situation.”

Brokers in other, unregulated provinces are still waiting on legislation that would standardize their qualifications and lend greater legitimacy to a profession whose reputation was bruised by the U.S. subprime meltdown.

“We’re still waiting, but we’re hoping it will come soon,” Leslie Penney, a broker in St. John, Newfoundland and Labrador, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “Maybe next year, though.” CMP

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News Industry

UBS says no to Canuck mortgage business Private banking titan UBS has decided to take a pass on joining the Canadian residential mortgage industry, citing entrenched competitors and tight spreads, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The decision to forgo its entry to the Canadian residential mortgage market is based on a feasibility study conducted by the bank and soliciting the opinions of Canadian “several mortgage suppliers,” reads the article.

Ultimately, that intelligence suggested the Canadian mortgage market was simply too competitive for the bank to win a strong foothold, says the WSJ story. The market also offered too little wiggle room for the international lender to grow profit margins and still win business. The adoption of IFRS accounting standards by the Canadian government also meant the bank would have to sink more capital into a Canadian operation than it wanted.

UBS had looked at Canada as a way of growing its residential, single-family mortgage business outside of the troubled U.S. housing market. It will now refocus on that key market, where spreads allow it to claim larger profits than Canadian lenders.

“We are focusing our mortgage lending services in the U.S.,” UBS spokeswoman Allison Chin-Leong told MortgageBrokerNews.ca.

The decision to stay out of the Canadian mortgage business likely reflects the differences between potential returns here versus those generated in the States, said a Toronto broker.

“The typical mortgage spread in Canada is 150-175 basis points,” Dave Forster, VP of Murray & Company, a full-service financial advisory, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “The spread in the U.S. is considerably larger. If they bring the same spread expectation that they’re doing in the U.S. here, that would limit their competitiveness.”

Not only would the bank be making less on each mortgage, but there would be fewer mortgages to make, given the relative size of the Canadian market.

Still, the decision to only write mortgages south of the border may have come at the cost of brokers.

In Canada, where UBS has 40 private bankers, the lender would likely have turned to the broker channel to send high net-worth clients its way after building its own sales team or outsourcing that business to an existing Canadian player.

UBS recently combined its Canadian wealth management and asset management units, at the same time it parted ways with two of the executives leading that team. CMP

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News Analysis

Multimedia

Every week, MortgageBrokerNews.ca rounds up influential figures to discuss the major issues in the mortgage industry. You can watch these videos online in the Broker News TV section of our website, but here we bring you the highlights from last month’s clips

the

big story

On the topic of …

On the topic of …

trailer fee model

broker ethics

Boris Bozic: “Going forward I think it will become even more acceptable by mortgage brokers. Will it be accepted by all? No, because there is large portion of the industry that is quite comfortable in terms of the compensation package and how they’ve earned money in the past and I like to refer to that as an “eat what you kill mentality.” You do have another subset of mortgage brokers in the industry that are looking at the future and saying, “How can I really create value in my business?” and trailer fees obviously are a way to do that. I think the monolines will probably embrace trailer fees in the spirit of partnership more so than the big banks will.

BB: Ninety-five per cent of brokers today conduct themselves in an ethical fashion. There is an appreciable difference between ethics, knowledge and duty of care.

However, cumulatively it does pose a challenge for lenders if all three issues are not addressed. For me a bigger concern is knowledge and duty of care. And the challenge for mortgage brokers going forward is constantly improving themselves from a knowledge standpoint, but duty of care is also critical. We have start accepting as an industry and as a mortgage broker that if you have a lender’s commitment in your hand … you immediately became an agent of that lender and you have to conduct yourself in that fashion. Duty of care is a shared responsibility.

Ron Swift: Fundamentally, we think it’s a great idea to line up your cash flow – what we earn off the mortgage – to how we pay our brokers, makes good sense. I don’t think a trailing commission program by itself is the answer. For sure there has to be choice and I think there are some good reasons why [brokers] want the cash upfront versus cash over the longer term. If you’re talking about trailing commissions by themselves, I think there have to be some other rules put in place around maintaining and growing a portfolio so it’s not just someone getting comfortable with a building up a book and then letting it run down. I don’t think the programs we’ve seen so far are aligning exactly to the risk involved in the mortgage life.

Boris Bozic

Ron Swift

RS: Some brokers out there definitely walk a fine line.

Are they fully disclosing all information? Are they providing all the necessary information for that lender to make a sound decision on the risk? It can be as simple as you knowing that your client is looking to sell their home in a year or two. Then why are we putting them into a five-year term mortgage. The deal is straight forward, but are we doing the right thing for the customer? Are we doing the right thing for the lender? We have to make sure that we’re looking after everyone we are dealing with in this industry.

mortgagebrokernews.ca

15

News Analysis Multimedia

On the topic of …

volume requirements Albert Collu: I don’t think minimum volume requirements are the right metric.

I fully support the need for efficiencies, but I have a strong opinion about a broker must send X amount of volume before they can enter the door from a lending perspective. I think that both can co-exist.

I think it’s important for the efficiency to be there, but I also don’t think there’s anything wrong with a broker submitting five or six deals a year to a lender, as long as all of those deals actually fund with a lender. That is still a very profitable measurement for the lenders as well as the brokers.

On the topic of …

improving the lender-broker relationship Nick Kyprianou: Brokers and lenders need to have a co-operative relationship.

As an industry we are losing first-time homeowners on renewal and I think there are a couple of factors for that. One is, possibly, mortgage brokers don’t keep in touch with their clients as much as they should have and they get forgotten about and the other reason is that when brokers are placing clients with the big banks, the banks basically take over their client. I think for brokers to get their penetration level above 25 per cent they should be supporting lending institutions that focus exclusively on mortgage brokers. I think the brokerage industry needs to step back and think about where they’re placing their deals, not for today, but for their future revenue stream and future business.

On the topic of …

Kim Luxton

Martin Reid

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mortgagebrokernews.ca

Preparing clients for rate changes Kim Luxton: People need to be prepared when their mortgage is coming due or when they are signing up for a variable rate they need to understand what interest increases will mean to them. I think brokers today are being proactive and sitting down with people and showing them different opportunities in which they can save interest, but also showing them what it’s going to mean in the future when a rate hike occurs.

Albert Collu

Nick Kyprianou

On the topic of …

New IRFS accounting rules Martin Reid: For mortgage lenders the biggest impact is on securitized mortgages.

These were mortgages that up until Dec. 31, 2010 were off balance sheets and the lender didn’t have to allocate any capital to that and now for a regulated lender, they have to bring those mortgages back on the balance sheet and they have to allocate capital to those mortgages. The cost of that capital will translate to roughly 25 to 35 basis points to the ultimate borrower, but we won’t feel the full impact of that until Nov. 1 of this year when the big banks convert. The implications of this is that you may get mortgage lenders who are both in the prime and Alt-A space shifting their business towards the Alt-A space. The margins are much better in the Alt-A space where it’s fully priced in that cost of capital where it’s not on the prime space. CMP

News

Industry

Northern brokers challenged by dearth of lenders A broker working Whitehorse and other territorial hotspots is blaming a whopping 30 per cent drop in originations on the growing reluctance of channel lenders, the increasing dominance of the big banks and the population’s transient nature.

“Last year I was doing one and two deals there a month,” Karen Hall, owner of Dynamic Mortgages, headquartered in Vancouver, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “It’s slowed considerably now, and it’s getting a bit sticky and restrictive for several reasons. But, a big one is that the lenders are more hesitant now about going into Whitehorse and other communities in the Territories that I broker in.”

In terms of the broker channel, Hall is left with only two lenders prepared to underwrite the mortgage business she attracts in the North.

That’s despite residential construction and home prices that have grown as much as 10 per cent in the Yukon over the last year. Even in Yellowknife, where values dipped one per cent in April from the same time last year, the actual average home price sits at $420, 680 – more than $44,000 above the national average. On a per capita basis, housing starts in the North have also outpaced much of the rest of the country.

Still, for lenders with no physical presence in the region, the remoteness of the Territories and the lenders’ lack of familiarity with the market have cooled interest in writing A mortgages, especially as spreads and profitability shrink.

It’s a tough sell to get lenders into the market for other reasons, said another broker, living and working in Whitehorse.

“As a federally regulated jurisdiction, lenders must meet a different set of regulations and fill out additional paperwork,” Christine Richardson, a broker with Verico Zanders and Associates, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “Lenders are really overlooking the North and its potential. It’s especially true for Whitehorse and Yellowknife considering they’re the jurisdictions that allow alternative, non-insured mortgage.”

Stable employment and the same geographical isolation have traditionally limited private lender interest as well. CMHC stats, which fail to capture the large number of private sales, have also labelled the market as “sleepy.”

“Also the banks have just ramped it up with their competitive rates, and they have branches in the community and know it,” said Hall, who does most of her business in the Greater Vancouver Area.

Ironically, referrals, which led to the Yukon, are now frustrating her efforts to grow her Yukon portfolio.

“Whitehorse is a transitory community with people moving there for two years for work and then going back home,” Hall told MortgageBrokerNews. ca. “It makes it hard to grow referrals from past clients who may no longer be there.”

Brokers actually living there are doing most of their work through the banks. CMP

49% - Homeowners with mortgages only (CAAMP Spring consumer report)

RATE ONLY RANKS 6

th

in importance to Canadians when choosing a mortgage provider.

SOURCE: CAAMP Survey, 2010

...but you ONLY do rate!

For information on how you can do more than offer great rates contact Wane Davis, VP Marketing & Business Development

1-866-601-7632 · www.canadianfirst.com Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

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17

News Industry

National Bank launching Mastercard referrals for brokers National Bank is moving to expand its use of the broker channel with a Mastercard offered through mortgage professionals.

“As we continue to look at supporting the brokerage community by offering new products and services, we are pleased to announce that in the coming week, National Bank Broker Services will be launching the ability for brokers to offer our Mastercard products to their client base and brokers will be compensated for this,” Mark Squire, director of broker service, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca.

The details of the offering haven’t yet been released, said Sebastien Kuperhause, the bank’s national sales manager for broker services, but compensation will be “based on the card being approved and then must be activated.” Release of remuneration and other program terms are expected later this week.

“We are very excited to be launching our Mastercard in the broker marketplace,” Kuperhause told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “This launch will help brokers add to their arsenal when convincing clients that dealing with a broker can be more than a mortgage transaction, which some non-broker lenders tend to attack.”

The Mastercard offering is only being made available to brokers outside National’s key Quebec market.

Home Trust already extends brokers a referral fee for every approved Visa card a broker helps arrange. Those cards are secured by a minimum deposit of $500, equal to or greater than the credit

limit. Home Trust also offers a home-equitysupported product to borrowers. It’s unclear whether National Bank’s offering will follow that secured-debt model.

This recent launch comes on the heels of the bank’s release of quarterly financials pointing to continuing growth in the number of its brokeroriginated mortgages.

The country’s sixth largest bank reported a Q2 profit of $295 million, compared with the $261 million of a year ago.

“National Bank Broker Services has been growing exponentially over the past four years” said Squire. “Our business has grown six-fold and 2011 will be another growth year for the broker channel. We are one of a few lenders who have continued to grow this year with a 30.65 per cent increase in funded volumes when comparing our mid-fiscal year performance, year over year. This growth has come from brokers seeing the value that we can bring them in offering a vast suite of products and services.”

The bank is chalking up some of that success to its status program for brokers, redesigned in 2008 and presenting brokers three different compensation options to choose from on every deal.

“Brokers were telling us that they liked our original program, but what they really wanted was choice, and by choice they meant giving them the opportunity to select a different offering for each individual deal,” Kuperhause told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “This is how we designed our program offering.” CMP

Sebastien Kuperhause

81% OF CANADIANS don’t have a financial plan but think it is very important.

SOURCE: Maritz Research Canada, 2010

...but you DON’T do plans!

For information on how you can offer financial planning contact Wane Davis, VP Marketing & Business Development

1-866-601-7632 · www.canadianfirst.com

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

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Industry

Equitable Trust enters growing Saskatchewan market Equitable Trust is pushing into Saskatchewan, a move brokers hope will lower interest rates for their subprime clients at the same time encourage other alternative lenders to loosen up qualifying terms.

“I was invited to an information session and I’d like to look at what they have to offer,” Regina broker Elaine Terry, with Premier Mortgage Group, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “We’re in a good market here and everybody knows that, but overall, there is a demand for subprime from people who just need a break. The hope is the increased competition Equitable will bring will lower the rates they can access and maybe get the alternative lenders to use a little more discretion in reviewing the credit history of clients.”

The comments came the same day Equitable Trust President and CEO Andrew Moor reiterated the public company’s commitment to enter the only Western market it doesn’t have a significant share in.

The move is part of its efforts to grow single-family conventional mortgages as new mortgage rules increase the number of Canadians seeking out alternative lending. The adoption of new accounting rules requiring federally regulated lenders to bring securitized prime mortgages back on their balance sheets – something increasing their carrying costs – is also driving alternative lenders to explore markets they traditionally overlooked.

“We’ve chosen Saskatoon and Regina as our next ports of call following successes we’ve had in the last couple of years in B.C., Alberta and Manitoba in the single-family business,” Moor said on a conference call to discuss the company’s Q1 financials. “These two cities are relatively small markets with a total population of 400,000. And they’re increasingly dynamic business centres that benefit from Canada’s position as a provider of food and commodities to the world.”

The primary economy has also handed Saskatchewan the country’s lowest unemployment rate, five per cent for April and well below the national average of 7.6 per cent. The stable job

market, the small population and the dominance of commercial banks and credit unions have traditionally limited the province’s appeal for B-lenders in the broker channel. While that employment situation has sparked the highest level of migration to Saskatoon and Regina in the last 50 years, it has also made for a tight rental market, with many renters now looking at homeownership as a cost-effective alternative.

“It has been extremely busy and I’m definitely ahead of where I was last year,” Deb Murdoch, a broker with The Mortgage Group Prairies Inc., told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “The first-time buyers are trying to qualify for deals and here in Saskatoon, we’re in a bit of a boom economy with new residents coming to work in our health-care sector or manufacturing.

Another factor is that the rental market is tight and people see ownership as very attractive.”

While most of those first-time buyers will qualify for prime mortgages, many – even despite steady employment – have the kind of bruised credit that keeps them from accessing favourable rates. Unfortunately, it’s often reason enough for the two or three institutional lenders in the market to reject them as well, said Terry, who counts subprime deals as 10 per cent of her portfolio.

“The challenge with the subprime is that they’ve missed a mortgage payment or have something else in the credit history that won’t allow them to qualify with the couple of institutional lenders here,” said Terry, whose brokerage is a member of the Meridian Mortgage Network.

“I have to send about half of those clients to private lenders, because they can’t qualify at the institutional lenders. I hope greater competition will make it easier for those clients to get mortgages through the institutional lenders.”

Moor, like his counterparts at Home Trust, is focused on expanding his business outside Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe, pointing to the company’s goal to grow connections with the province’s broker network.

“It will take time to build relationships with brokers in Saskatoon and Regina, but, we are confident that our commitment to service will allow us to build enduring partnerships over time,” he said. CMP

$273,000

The average house price for a recent (first-time buyer) in Canada - about four times the average annual household income of about $69,000 (Altus Group)

mortgagebrokernews.ca

19

News Industry

Manitoba flooding prompts changes to mortgage applications Brokers in and around deluged parts of Manitoba are highlighting the “safe” location of properties in their applications, anticipating lender concerns around the worst flooding the province has seen in 14 years.

The natural disaster has also set back the start of the spring season by as much as two months in some of the hardest hit areas, brokers told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. But applications are still finding their way into the broker channel, with originators focused on addressing underwriter concerns before they, in fact, crop up.

“The lenders haven’t asked for the information,” Brad Poole, principal broker for Avenue Mortgage in Portage La Prairie, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “But in our application notes, we’re putting in that the property hasn’t been affected by the flooding, or isn’t in a flood zone.

It addresses any concerns lenders, who are in Toronto and other centres, might have because they’re not familiar with the area.”

Poole is crediting the due diligence for helping him speed applications through the

underwriting process. He’s actually been able to grow year-over-year originations even as parts of south-western Manitoba continue to brace for more of the kind of flooding that forced the evacuation of thousands of Manitobans and the prompted plans to sacrifice 150 homes.

Since flooding began in April, more than 3,600 people have been forced to leave their properties as part of a coordinated flood relief plan, centred on containing the swollen Assiniboine River. Dykes have been intentionally breached in some areas, with plans to sacrifice some homes in near Portage and Brandon. Recently, officials struggled to close a critical flood leak north of the Portage diversion. That latest crisis was recently averted by Thursday afternoon, although government estimates of $200 million in property damage could still climb, said officials.

Poole and most brokers in nearby Brandon haven’t been directly affected, although many are chalking up that two-month delay in the spring season to the caution of buyers and sellers before and during the disaster.

“It’s the first time since I started as a broker 10 years ago that a flood has actually slowed down business,” Scott McMullan, principal broker at The Mortgage Centre Brandon, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “Even before the flooding, people looking to buy seemed to adopt a wait-and-see attitude, but most areas weren’t affected and things are starting to pick up again. It won’t take long to make up any ground lost.” CMP

YOU NEED TO DO MORE! Financial Planning, Insurance, Investments, Wealth Management, and MUCH MORE!

...we DO! For information on how you can do more for your customers contact Wane Davis, VP Marketing & Business Development

1-866-601-7632 · www.canadianfirst.com

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

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Industry

Centum enhances professional training for agents Centum Financial becomes the latest broker network to up its professional development game, choosing industry trainer REMIC to help agents expand their knowledge base as the market makes it tougher to nail down originations.

“Consumers demand exceptional counsel from Canada’s mortgage brokers, and Centum is dedicated to ensuring that our mortgage brokers are able to offer that advanced guidance by being the best trained in the industry,” said Paul Therien, director of business development for the Vancouver-headquartered super broker.

The deal is meant to arm more than 2,500 Centum mortgage professionals, in 260 offices across the country, with REMIC’s suite of training products. The program will be a mixture of go-at-your-own-pace online training, with an in-class component to follow.

“The idea is that it will eventually take the form of a diploma program,” Therien told MortgageBrokerNews.com, “one that could someday be extended to the industry.”

That fits with the mandate of the organization doing the teaching. The Real Estate and Mortgage Institute of Canada (REMIC), a member-driven online community of brokers, is focused on increasing overall performance of industry professionals though in-class and online training and by providing resources in both residential and commercial brokering.

“It is our firm belief that every Canadian benefits by using a qualified mortgage broker for all of their financing needs,” said Joe White, REMIC president, “and our innovative training products are designed to assist mortgage brokers in obtaining and maintaining the qualifications to meet those needs.”

Broker networks across the country are ramping up efforts to give agents the weapons to better compete with the banks. That battle become even more fierce as originations across several markets slows. Bank market share hasn’t necessarily taken the same dip, as they beef up mortgage specialist numbers and advertising campaigns. For many brokers, the dual move has highlighted the need to further differentiate themselves and their services from bank employees. A large part of that is making sure they live up to the boast of “mortgage experts.” CMP

High-flying stock market sends business to brokers Lingering caution at the big banks and wealthy clients increasingly bullish on the stock market are helping brokers claim their biggest share of high-end deals in years – with a RE/Max study helping to explain the phenomenon.

“We’ve recently just had two of the biggest deals of my career,” Mark Herman, an agent and team leader for Mortgage Alliance Mortgages Are Marvelous Inc. in Calgary, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “One was a new purchase for $1.525 million, with five per cent down, and the other one was for a $750,000 line of credit on a $1.5 million purchase. High-end mortgage business for brokers in Calgary has picked up like we’ve never seen.”

Calgary brokers may not be alone.

RE/MAX examined 12 major centres from coast-to-coast and found that luxury sales surged in two-thirds of them during the first four months of 2011, compared to the same period last year. While Vancouver led in terms of percentage increases – 118 per cent year over year – Dartmouth, at 27 per cent, Winnipeg, 24 per cent, Hamilton-Burlington, 13 per cent, and Greater Toronto, nine per cent, also saw spikes. Herman’s market of Calgary was also on that list, at 51 per cent, although that scorching hot performance fell short of setting a new record, unlike the other top jurisdictions on the list.

With the exception of Vancouver, their sales growth can be chalked up to domestic buyers.

Michael Polzler, executive VP for RE/MAX in Ontario-Atlantic Canada, pointed to three key factors for the rise in high-end business: equity gains, stock market recovery, and improved economic performance.

Brokers like Herman are pointing to some of the same factors to explain why they’re getting more high net-worth clients stepping across their thresholds.

“These guys weren’t buying as much during the recession, but with prices still below recent highs, high-end buyers are now out bargain shopping,” said the mortgage agent, also an MBA. “But what they’re doing is they’re looking to keep their money in the stock market and other high-yield investments and want to buy homes with as little money down as possible – it’s all about limiting opportunity costs. Also they’re coming to brokers this time because they’re finding the banks have been slower to ease credit and aren’t giving them the discounted rates they expect.”

Less than five months into 2011, another broker, Sharnjit Gill, has already surpassed last year’s total for high-value deals.

“We’re also seeing more activity there because those clients are more educated about what we as brokers can do for them beyond rate,” he told MortgageBrokerNews.ca.

Still the trend is less obvious at other mortgage brokerages, even in those markets highlighted by the RE/Max report.

While her Ottawa brokerage has seen an uptick in volume, said Kim McKenney, senior VP at Dominion Lending Centres The Mortgage Source.

“The average dollar amount has risen by only a couple of thousands of dollars,” she told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. CMP

mortgagebrokernews.ca

21

News News Industry Industry

Broker conventions take Vegas’s centre stage Super brokers are hoping what happens in Vegas, won’t just stay in Vegas, as they use network conventions to arm brokers with professional development tools, even as key markets slow.

“You can’t be all work and no play,” Verico President Colin Dreyer told MortgageBrokerNews.ca.

“But the emphasis of our upcoming Las Vegas conference is on education, with significant content and a very comprehensive training program, which is in addition to the training and educational programs we already offer our broker-owners and brokers.”

The super broker is one of two major players in the Canadian channel using Las Vegas as a backdrop for network conventions this season. Dominion Lending Centres wrapped up its own mega conference earlier this month.

The 2011 Verico Business Forum will use the glitz of The Venetian Resort on Vegas’s famed strip as a staging ground for the three-day event, June 26 – 28.

It will bring together broker-owners from the Maritimes to British Columbia, said Dreyer, for a series of panel discussions, professional development seminars, motivational speakers and face-to-face time with some of the industry’s lending giants.

The event marks Verico’s return to Vegas, having played host to a similar, albeit smaller retreat last year. A wider conference – opened up to the hundreds of brokers in the network – is planned for next year.

DLC’s own inaugural sales conference saw more than 500 of its broker-owners and brokers crowd the

corporate meeting space of The Cosmopolitan as well as its casinos, its nightclubs, its restaurants… . But here again, said Veronica Love-Alexander, DLC director of events and franchise relations, the emphasis was really on helping grow broker business and cementing relationships.

“From best practices seminars for franchise owners to hearing and interacting with lenders to learning how to best use the referral opportunities within the organization, the conference pulled together people from across the network to meet face to face,” she told MortgageBrokerNews.ca.

A trade show running all three days of the conference attracted more than 30 exhibitors, with lenders Merix, MCAP, Street Capital, FirstLine and First NationaI footing the bill for registration, hotel and flight costs for some agents.

“Many attended completely covered by lenders,” she said. “Also agents were eligible to receive as much as seven AMP educational credits and owners, seven to eight.”

Verico broker-owners will also have the opportunity to add as much as eight AMP credits to their respective inventories.The haul is equal to that offered at the CAAMP national conference, Dreyer told MortgageBrokerNews.ca.

Like DLC, Verico is planning to make a network-wide conference a biennial event. It’s a strategy financial planning networks have traditionally used to grow solidarity within their massive organizations and strengthen brand loyalty. CMP

DON’Tchange CHANGE YOUR BRAND , how much you do for your customers! ...want to do more, CALL TODAY! For information on how you can add Canadian First to your brand and offer more contact Wane Davis, VP Marketing & Business Development

1-866-601-7632 · www.canadianfirst.com

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

22

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Industry

Broker: Conversion clients winning extended rate holds It was once the impossible dream, say brokers.

But some lenders are now holding a fixed rate for as long as seven, 30 or, even, 90 days, buying existing clients the time to decide whether to convert their variable mortgages.

“It’s really just a discretionary policy unwritten by most lenders,” Mike Averbach, TMG The Mortgage Group Averbach Mortgages, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca, “but what we’re finding with some clients unsure about converting their ARMs to fixed-rate mortgages is that by encouraging them to ask their lenders for holds, they are getting them for as long as 30 days, and in some cases, 90. It’s worth telling clients to try, and then if that doesn’t yield good results, as brokers we can look at reserving a rate through another lender for as long as 120 days.

Either way it’s giving a client the time to decide whether they need to convert at this time.”

Traditionally – albeit unofficially – banks and monoline lenders have capped holds at a maximum of three days to allow clients time to weigh their options before converting and locking in. In Averbach’s highly competitive Vancouver market, a few lenders, most notably credit unions, are now prepared to extend that grace period on a case-by-case basis, he said. He points to a large credit union and a lender serving the broker channel as recent examples.

Ostensibly, their lenience is meant to help them better retain clients, who are increasingly prepared to take a penalty in order to secure a better rate with another lender.

The changes come as a growing number of Canadians move to lock in on a fixed rate in anticipation of the Central Bank’s move to raise its overnight rate as early as July.

The average amount of equity takeout by Canadian homeowners (CAAMP Spring consumer report)

$30,000

According to CAAMP’s spring report, among the 3.6 million Canadian homeowners with fixed-rate mortgages, 15 per cent locked in during the past 12 months. That’s up from the 12 per cent who locked in the previous year. A recent decision by the banks and other lenders to raise their fixed rates have also created an incentive to convert or at least attempt to reserve a fixed rate.

Staying with the existing lender is usually the best option for most of those borrowers, said Averbach, pointing to costs and convenience.

Brokers haven’t traditionally benefited financially from that choice, something that industry players acknowledge has limited the willingness of some mortgage professionals to take on that advisory role.

That’s a shortsighted approach, said Abraham Niyazi, a broker with Centum One Financial in Richmond Hill. While there may be no compensation when a client converts with an existing lender, mortgage professionals taking the time to walk clients through their options usually increase their referral stream.

“It’s all about the client,” he told MortgageBrokerNews.ca, “and if the client thinks that for one moment you’re not there for their best interests, you’ve lost them and their referrals.”

Still, helping clients win an extended rate hold with their current lender can accrue to the benefit of brokers compensated under the trailer fee model when a new five-year term is tabbed on. But even without that incentive, brokers advancing their customer service reputation, beyond originations and renewal dates, helps to better position them as country’s mortgage experts.

“I think it is important that the client always call to find out their options -- call their broker first for strategic advice and then the lender directly, if necessary, once we have educated them on what they should be offered,” Justin Blacklock, the mortgage manager at Averbach Mortgages, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “While it is true that the lenders never want to give a rate hold on a VRM conversion, they do in some cases. To be specific, different lenders will allow the client varying lengths of time to accept the offer. One lender might insist on an answer within three days while another may allow 30 days. We have seen both.” CMP

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23

News

community

Right Mortgage Alliance Canada is hoping to top last year’s total of $88,000 raised to fight breast cancer with its annual MAC Rally of Hope

Brokers biking across country in fight against cancer Mortgage Alliance President Michael Beckette to lead third MAC Rally Mortgage Alliance President Michael Beckette is gearing up for his third MAC Rally of Hope, aimed at knocking breast cancer on its head

24

Brokers going for broke on the back of bikes. It’s a tongue-twister, but precisely what Mortgage Alliance President and CEO Michael Beckette, a team of industry professionals and more than 150 bikers from across the country will do next month in an effort to fight a disease set to claim 5,100 Canadian lives this year.

“The 2011 MAC Rally of Hope is great fun for us and will depart from Vancouver, B.C., and make its way across Canada and arrive in St. John’s, Nfld. on Friday July 29,” Beckette told CMP, as he readied for the 7,500 km trek, crossing six time zones and hundreds of communities, from July 17 to 29. “But, we take it seriously in that everyone has been touched by breast cancer – either a family member or a friend – and this event if focused on raising funds to fight the disease, but also awareness.”

Beckette did the same thing last year, his motley crew of bikers raising $88,000 for The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

The national not-for-profit is dedicated to funding Canadian breast cancer research into the detection, prevention and treatment. The ultimate goal is find a cure for the disease expected to take the lives of 5,100 Canadian women and 90 men this year.

While Beckette will lead his dedicated band from one end of the country to the next, many riders will join them for shorter segments of the journey.

Those in it for the long haul will ride all the way through, only climbing down from their choppers to sleep, eat and pick up new riders along the way.

Like last year’s event, the 2011 rally will start in Port Moody, B.C. – at the east end of Burrard Inlet -- before riders wend their way across the Rockies and onto the flatlands of the Prairies. They then cut a swathe through Central Canada, before landing in the Maritimes. “It’s a long ride and sometimes you just want to go home,” Beckette said. “That’s especially the case when we’ve ridden all the way from Vancouver and we make it home

mortgagebrokernews.ca

to Toronto, and we have to keep on going. We want to keep going.”

It’s moments like that when thousands of well-wishers ringing the roads along the way come in handy. Their presence is helped along by a radio campaign meant to ignite interest in the local communities riders will visit. It also bolsters fundraising efforts and should help the event better last year`s performance by as much as $12,000 to $15,000 and onward to $100,000.

“It’s not a leisurely ride – it’s quite gruelling” Louie Bettio, national marketing director for Mortgage Alliance, told CMP. “But, no matter how tired you get, you’ll pull in somewhere and meet a cancer survivor and be inspired all over again. Their stories fuel your heart as much as gas fuels our bikes.”

While, Bettio rode coast to coast rode alongside Beckette – and, indeed, brokers from every major network in the country – for the rally`s inaugural run in 2008, this year he’ll meet up with the convoy only after it pulls into Ontario.

“It will mark my third time on the ride, but I’ll be riding from Ontario to Newfoundland this year,” he said, planning to ride his Harley-Davidson Fatboy “Pearl.” “I’d love to do the whole thing, but I’m recovering from cancer myself.”

He’s not alone.

According to a 2011 report from the Canadian Cancer Society, no fewer than 177,800 new cases of cancer (excluding some 74,100 non-melanoma skin cancers) will occur this year. The national death toll to the disease, for the same 12 months, is expected to reach above 75,000.

“We are connected in this country not just by a flag, but unfortunately, we are also all connected by cancer,” said Bettio, now cancer-free. “It’s why the MAC Rally of Hope connects with people all across our country.”

For additional information, go to www.macrallyofhope.ca. CMP.

Teamwork Wins!

YES, at Equitable it’s a Team approach to Lending.

Working together, we can see and hear what others may miss.

We work to understand each challenge and overcome obstacles to make the deal work for you.

Exceptional customer service in the delivery of innovative residential and commercial mortgage solutions are the reasons Canadians have turned to Equitable for over 40 years.

Equitable is your success team.

Got a client challenge?

Call Team Equitable today.

In Ontario call: 416.515.7000 1.866.407.0004 In Western Canada call: 403.440.1200 1.866.940.1201

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Business Advice

making mortgages motivating in a media age U

gh – social media. No doubt, at some point by now you have been to a seminar on the subject. Did you leave feeling confused yet inspired? Or perhaps obligated is the more accurate term. You were told about all the tools you must use to build your business in a relevant way. The reality is your business can survive without social media. Without Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, blogging, search engine optimization, video blogging, Groupon, or any one of the hundreds of options out there, business may carry on. What is notable however, is that just as with any form of marketing, social media can be an incredibly profitable to your business if you approach it with strategic intentionality.

In this first of a three-part series, join this journey of discovery of the types of social media that are relevant to the mortgage industry, hear how top professionals are using these tools most effectively, and consider whether there is a potential return to your business within any one approach. Social media does matter to your business, but “how” becomes a customized response.

Understanding how some colleagues are using social media for their mortgage business will provide some insight into options, choices and potential returns from this channel of business development. For that purpose, we will journey through examples of three different Canadian mortgage professionals currently using social media to develop their business. What will be evident by these three case studies is the plethora of options for business development depending on your approach to business, your target audience and the amount of time you choose to invest daily in social media.

@OttawaMortgage

Lisa Theriault is a mortgage agent and regional partner with MortgageBrokersOttawa.com who launched her career as a mortgage development manager in the banking industry. Now with six brokers and two administrators working with her, Lisa made a significant switch to her business approach early 2010. After feeling frustrated with the dollars invested in traditional advertising, Theriault decided to experiment in

In the first of a new series of articles, Carla Wood shows how three Canadian mortgage professionals have used social media to effectively develop their business

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social media for six months. Cautious not to eliminate her current strategy, Lisa continued with her current advertising approach and tracked the results of business that this generated, while at the same time started running ads on Facebook, networking on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. At the end of six months, looking back over her numbers, the social media efforts generated three times the amount of her traditional approach. The results sold Lisa, and she is now actively investing an average of 10 hours a week responding to messages, posting new articles, searching for articles, and working on her social media campaign. In addition, Lisa has live streaming video as well as a blog on her website, has regular email programs for clients and centres of influence, and is doing some light search engine optimization in her local area.

Lisa’s advice to colleagues looking to do the same is to set up a timeline of what you are going to do with each type of social media you use and how you expect to generate results.

“ knowing about and understanding social media for the mortgage industry is a requirement today. Determining how you use it for your business becomes a financial and strategic decision like any other. ”

Lisa does most of her social media on her own, although does use a virtual assistant company to help out as well. Twitter is all her though: she uses it for its networking function “to meet people I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet before.” Facebook is more about her own contacts and staying in touch with them personally, while the Facebook ads drive home to her audience what she does and how she does it. LinkedIn is more businessrelated where she networks with clients and posts business-relevant articles. Thanks to tools that work across platforms (such as Hootsuite or TweetDeck), Lisa is able to increase her efficiency when appropriate and automatically post new content across multiple online platforms.

@ErinKellydotca

Erin Kelly is a broker/owner for Calgary’s Dominion Lending Centres Mortgage Excellence with 35 associates and has been in the industry approximately five years. About 90 per cent of Erin’s business is generated through referrals and social media. Five years ago, Erin was winning about a deal a day from Facebook, but as more competitors get in the market, business generated from Facebook alone is equivalent to one application every three days. “I have a small group but I pour into them”, explains Kelly “I don’t see it as a social media strategy, I just use it as a way to connect with clients.” Erin says most contact is around commenting on photos, congratulations on a new baby and then following up with a gift and just doing life with people she cares about.

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27

Securing the future with a powerful technology plan.

T

he mortgage brokerage industry is experiencing increased commoditization of brokering services and competition from

non-broker channels. That’s why Mortgage Architects, a boutique-style brokerage with Canada’s best-in-class mortgage planners, is focusing on technology to be a key differentiator for their planners as they increasingly need to deliver valuable experiences to their borrowers.

“Our technology platform enables our planners to efficiently run their day-to-day operations and is continually enhanced to keep us ahead of the curve.”

Alice Chan, Senior Vice President To deliver its powerful technology focus, Mortgage Architects does not consider off-the shelf software an option. Instead, the company has two heavyweights looking after their technology development: Joe Fakhri, CIO, and Alice Chan, Senior Vice President.

Joe has an undergraduate and masters degree in software engineering where he researched information extraction and retrieval disciplines.

In addition to teaching his area of research in college and specifically Googlelike systems, Joe spent the last 10 years engineering and designing B2B and B2C software applications for channel-based Joe Fakhri, CIO

powerofvalue.ca

organizations.

Alice Chan has twenty years of mortgage technology and

that helps Lead Planners and Franchise owners

process experience, and

manage the productivity of their teams.

knows how to help elite

3. A new broker portal that provides unique

mortgage brokers develop

user experiences with matrix access to various

business plans and work

business applications depending on their profile.

flow their office for optimum Alice Chan, Senior Vice President

2. Comprehensive dashboard: key reporting

4. Upgrades to Client Monitor, a proprietary

business efficiency and

and customizable platform that downloads

excellent customer service.

clients and deals automatically from Filogix

Joe and Alice without

Expert, and is capable of managing the

a doubt combine to make the most powerful

entire mortgage life cycle of a customer. The

technology team in the mortgage brokerage

personalised internet mortgage application

industry.

provides a more complete application than

“We’ve built our long-term technology plan with two goals: first, to build applications that are based on input from our planners and, secondly, to develop applications that can run on an auto-pilot basis so planners can focus on what they do best – meeting with clients and closing mortgages,” said

the standard Filogix web app and is submitted electronically to Expert through Client Monitor .

5. Upgrades to Mortgage Blueprint, a wealth analyzer tool that allows planners to assess clients’ total debts and provide a personalized mortgage plan.

Fakhri. “And we believe it’s important to own our

All technology will be fully integrated with existing

own technology; our applications can’t be easily

web-based commission, compliance and marketing

copied, they keep us unique and ahead of trends,

applications so planners can run their businesses

and we have the ability to make quick changes

anywhere through internet access.

based on planner feedback.”

“It’s an aggressive plan based on broker input,

In early June, seven Lead Planners representing

process automation, and leading-edge mortgage

all regions participated in a mortgage planning

planning technologies,” said Chan. “We are

process engineering session. The technology

dedicating the resources to build the tools that

group wanted to know how these planners saw the

will help our Lead Planners generate new

process from lead generation to deal closing and

business, grow their bottom line, and secure

after-sale CRM. They always want to make sure

a very exciting future.”

their technology development is on track or if some fine tuning is needed.

The technology plan is far reaching and includes: 1. Auto pilot E-CRM that touches customers from application stage to renewal, and automatically reminds planners of clients’ birthdays, mortgage anniversaries and maturity dates.

“At the pinnacle of the mortgage brokerage industry, Mortgage Architects has created something extraordinary: a team of broker legends. We invite you to be one of them!”

Meini Ickert, VP National Sales © Copyright 2011, Mortgage Architects, all rights reserved.

News

Business Advice

About one in every 20 posts on Facebook is actually mortgage-related.

Erin uses Twitter a little differently than Facebook. For her, Twitter is mainly about referral relationships with Realtors, and a means to recruiting quality mortgage agents. The trick to Twitter, according to Erin is that “it’s about making other people look good ... if you are a complainer, followers disappear, but if you are building people up, then those types of people stick together.” Her advice as you type each tweet is not to send it if it is not adding value to the lives of your followers.

Erin does not like to consider her time spent on social media as a strategy, but rather just an organic way to love people that is also good for business. For her, that investment means about 45 minutes a day, primarily using her smartphone. And in order to still operate a successful, busy brokerage, Erin’s boundary for herself is only to check social media and email three times a day – breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Otherwise, says Kelly, her entire day could be consumed with replying and chatting online.

Final words of wisdom from Erin Kelly: “mortgage brokers forget that if they are connecting with people on a day to day basis, those people don’t care about their mortgage, they care about their family, their friends and their jobs.” That is why Kelly believes she is successful in social media – she cares about their lives, and connects authentically on a personal level.

@mortgagetwyla

Twyla Verhelst is a mortgage associate at DLC – Mortgage Excellence in Alberta and has been in the business since 2006. Twyla now spends 30-120 minutes a day on social media for her business between Facebook, Twitter, direct email, managing her website and writing her blog. Her social media focus has been underway about 18 months, and Twyla is quick to caution that whatever form of social media you engage in takes commitment, especially early on. “It takes time to set up and you have to stick with it before you see connections or direct results” Twyla shared “trying it out by checking your Twitter account every other day is just not enough.”

“ I don’t see it as a social media strategy, I just use it as a way to connect with clients ”

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When Twyla first set out using her two primary social media sources: Facebook and Twitter, she was trying traditional marketing approaches online but quickly discovered that the real value wasn’t connecting with clients about mortgage rates, but rather relationship marketing and connecting with those she would never have otherwise connected with. This includes other industry members and entrepreneurs from across the country who information share, provide ideas and information that she can share and learn from.

“Twitter is so much faster-paced” Twyla tells me “and ultimately it is the easiest way to connect with new people in the least intrusive way.” Due to the fast-paced nature of Twitter, Twyla can post similar messages in different ways throughout the days to connect with different people. She often shares similar information on Twitter and Facebook, but is able to check Facebook once a day and see her entire news feed, where with Twitter there is more of a real-time back and forth communication.

The ultimate question is has social media gained direct business for Twyla. Her response was yes it has, but ultimately for her, that is not where these tools earn their value for her. For Twyla’s business being able to communicate and connect is the true value. She has found a community that can provide information, insight, advice and motivation in an industry where all of those can be precious commodities.

These three professionals have very different applications of these same tools, which begs the question “what am I supposed to do?”

Knowing about and understanding social media for the mortgage industry is a requirement today. Determining how you use it for your business becomes a financial and strategic decision like any other. Next month we will discuss goals for social media in your business and the return on investment calculation to consider. The third instalment of this series will wrap up with practical ways to integrate social media into your business’ value proposition. In the meantime, reflect on the business approaches of Lisa, Erin and Twyla, talk to others and start by looking up all the language that was new to you in this article since you will continue to be hearing this terminology in upcoming articles, and in culture in general.

Carla Wood, MBA, MSRE – Managing Director, EDI Implementation Engineers (www.edicoaching.com / Twitter: @allstrategy) CMP

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News News Industry Industry

CMHC gives Equity Financial Trust the nod New lender Equity Financial Trust has won CMHC approval – although that’s not a signal for brokers to start sending in their A deals quite yet, said its CEO. “We went for the CMHC approval now because it’s a long process to get it, and we wanted to be in a position to seize an opportunity in CMHC-insured mortgages if it should arise,” Nick Kyprianou, the lender’s top executive, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca.

“But our business is and will always be Alt-A and B, so this doesn’t mean that we’ve changed course.”

Nick Kyprianou On April 19, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation officially conferred Equity with the title of “NHA Approved Lender for Underwriting and Administration.” The probationary seal of approval allows the lender to make and service CMHC-insured mortgages for residential properties of no more than four units. Another key requirement is Equity submit to an onsite review of its underwriting after the first year or after it advances 500 insured loans – whichever comes first.

Make no mistake, said Kyprianou, that review won’t likely come until after the first 12 months given the company’s business model.

Meeting revenue projections remains pegged to servicing B and Alt-A clients, and not migrating to the prime market CMHC deals with.

Other lenders are, in fact, looking to Alt-A and B business to shore up their bottom lines as spreads tighten and new federal mortgage rules make it harder for many Canadians to win prime rates.

Still, the vagaries of past markets suggest an opportunity for Equity Financial to aggressively explore the A market could crop up as the economy lurches forward.

“After 2007, bond rates drop and created a big spread on CMHC-approved loans, making them very profitable for lenders,” he told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “That spread doesn’t exist now, and we expect to do a small portion, maybe five to 10 per cent max, in prime lending. But there is that possibility of spreads widening and allowing us to explore opportunities with prime mortgages. We do feel that there is an opportunity in 2012 to do some CMHCinsured lending.”

Moving to obtaining the crown corporation’s approval now also extends Equity the wiggle room acquire another lender’s portfolio, if that opportunity reveals itself.

Still, the company, long established as a transfer agent, has already begun to carve out its own mortgage-sector opportunities.

“April was a successful month for us and we hit our target,” said Kyprianou, pointing to a book split between refinances and new purchases. Some 60 per cent of business falls into that first category.

What may be more fixed is the industry’s geographical constraints.

In the short- to mid-term, the lender will stay focused on the Ontario market, Kyprianou told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. CMP

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Mortgage Architects welcomes first franchise Mortgage Architects is now counting River City Financial – in Alberta’s Heartland – as its first franchise, a deal coming less than two months after the company signaled its intention to welcome partners focused on maintaining their independence at the same time gaining access to the company’s exclusive lender.

“The franchise model at Mortgage Architects allows me to take advantage of their technology, compliance and payroll, while keeping the investment I have in my own brand,” said David Armstrong, who started his independent brokerage in 2004 in Edmonton and has since expanded its coverage area to nearby Fort Saskatchewan. “Access to Mortgage Architect’s exclusive lender, MyNext, also allows us to differentiate ourselves from other brokers.”

Armstrong’s River City Financial becomes Mortgage Architect’s first franchise since the opportunity came available in March. It will now operate under the name “River City Financial Your Mortgage Architect.” The franchise relationship was necessary to meet Alberta licensing requirements and allow Armstrong to retain the brokerage moniker he’s invested time and money developing.

The deal will also give the Alberta firm and its team of five brokers ready access to Mortgage Architect’s exclusive lender myNext Mortgage, its increasingly popular trailer fee model. River City also gains the back-office might that comes courtesy of Mortgage Architect’s economies of scale.

“They have excellent people and the best professional reputation in the industry,” said Armstrong, who will now concentrate on further developing his own.

News

Industry

The partnership is based on a quid-pro-quo relationship, and effectively grows Mortgage Architects presence in Western Canada at the same time widening the pool of potential borrowers for myNext.

“I’m thrilled that David Armstrong and River City Financial have joined Mortgage Architects as the company’s first franchise,” said Meini Ickert, VP of national sales for the Canadian-owned brokerage.

“Armstrong has exceptional financial David Armstrong services experience and River City Financial is a very well-established brand in the Edmonton market. It’s exciting that our new franchise models now allow us to attract an independent brokerage like River City that is looking for the support and value programs that Mortgage Architects offers, while maintaining the reputation and recognition of their own brand.”

Armstrong’s relationship with Ickert’s team will be different from that of Mortgage Architect’s lead- and associate planners.

While the latter operate under the Mortgage Architect banner, River City will maintain its own branding and the hard work that’s gone into building it.

“I’ve done a lot of marketing around the name River City,” Armstrong told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “This new franchise model allows me to be a member of the Mortgage Architect family, but continue to advertise under the company name River City Financial Your Mortgage Architect. It’s a bit long in print, but on radio, where we do a lot of our advertising, it reads very nicely.”

The franchise announcement comes little more than a year after Pacific North America acquired Mortgage Architects, along with myNext in March 2010. Pacific also has MortgageBrokers.com under its corporate umbrella. Attempts, earlier this year, to acquire leading brokerage Invis with a $9 million cash offer, including stock, failed. CMP

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News

Appointments

appointments The Mortgage Centre Canada is pleased to announce that Tim Rye has accepted the position of chief operating officer effective immediately. Rye brings over 15 years of mortgage and financial service experience having held various roles in sales, service, product and operations management.

Rye’s most recent position was leading the CIBC Mortgages and Lending Sales Effectiveness Team.

In this role he provided strategic leadership on the website programs, focused on brand and channel strategies while executing and managing the overall Tim Rye sales channel optimization efforts.

“We are very excited to have someone of Tim’s experience and passion for excellence joining the MCC leadership team,” said MCC president Eddy Cocciollo. “We have a good path in front of us and I am confident Tim is the person to navigate our team going forward.”

Axiom Mortgage Partners has recently appointed Tony Roberts as the vice-president of Ontario and Eastern Canada.

Before making the transition into mortgage brokering in 2008, Roberts spent over 20 years on the lending side of the mortgage industry – working for the likes of Household Finance, TD/Canada Trust and Wells Fargo.

During this time, Roberts accumulated some useful insight into the mindset and day-to-day rigours that brokers face – first, as part of the brokers and Tony Roberts sales force at TD/Canada Trust and, later, as one of the pioneers of Wells Fargo’s brand new “non-prime” program.

Through these roles, Roberts acquired an understanding of the symbiotic relationship that exists between brokers, agents, lenders, insurers and other industry professionals in the broker channel – a relationship that he believes is imperative to the success of the broker channel as a whole.

“It is critical that we protect each others’ interests and perform with the utmost professionalism and integrity in order to solidify the broker reputation and attract unprecedented consumer appeal,” he said.

TMG welcomed Gerald Krahn to TMG The Mortgage Group as director of sales and business development for TMG Ontario. Krahn brings with him 15 years of mortgage industry experience, most recently as the regional manager for Mortgage Intelligence/ INVIS, covering the Golden Horseshoe and South Central Ontario. Prior to that, Gerald spent seven years working as a BDM with various lenders.

“I am looking forward to looking outside the box and taking on new challenges, working with new Gerald Krahn people, and moving in a new direction with a new progressive company,” Krahn said.

“Gerald has a tremendous reputation and track record and shares TMG’s values and vision,” said Mark Kerzner, president of TMG, The Mortgage Group. “He brings a wealth of new ideas and new energy to the team and will be a great asset to the TMG family.” CMP

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Ord’s contributions to MA ‘recognized’ The CEO of Pacific Mortgage Group is publicly acknowledging the contributions of Mortgage Architects founder Bob Ord, at the same time expressing confidence in the team and corporate “culture” he leaves behind with his departure.

“We recognize Bob’s significant contributions to Mortgage Architects and the mortgage brokerage industry,” Alex Haditaghi told MortgageBrokerNews.ca, in a statement “and wish him well with his future endeavours. We give credit to Bob Ord for developing such as strong senior management team - Alice Chan, Dong Lee, Meini Ickert, Kelly Neuber, Suzanna Stefanec, Joanne Vickery, Lorraine Sato, Luisa Simonetti and Glen Ward are the best management team in the industry and continue to be there for all of the planners at Mortgage Architects.”

The comments follow on the heels of Ord’s unexplained exit from Mortgage Architects, the national brokerage he headed as both chairman and CEO. He, in fact, launched the company in 2006, and presided over the operation when Pacific acquired it in March 2010. Lending arm myNext Mortgage Company was also part of the equation.

Ord’s departure comes little more than a year since that deal was struck and has raised eyebrows across the industry. The veteran mortgage professional -- who also played pivotal roles in building Mortgage Intelligence, FirstLine, Mortgage Centre Canada and Filogix -- could not be reached for comment.

Haditaghi is now pointing to plans to further build on the model Ord created at Mortgage Architects, identifying Alice Chan as “the Acting Leader.” He’s also suggesting those new plans will leave the corporate culture of the company largely unchanged.

“Pacific also knew that the secret to the successful acquisition of Mortgage Architects and myNext Mortgage was to respect the traditions, broker models and culture of the companies,” he told MortgageBrokerNews.ca.

Despite the loss of Ord, the company will continue to implement its long-term strategic plan.

“We’re very focused on what we want to accomplish,” said Chan.

“We’re holding a technology planning session with eight of our planners from across the country next week. We feel their input is critical as we continue to work on implementing a very aggressive and powerful proprietary technology plan.” CMP Bob Ord

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News Industry

CREA report echoes broker concerns about rule changes Brokers – and now CREA – are pointing to successive mortgage rule changes to explain the faltering first-time buyer market and the 15 per cent drop in purchases this April compared to last.

“Everything in terms of business fell after April 18,” Rita Ronit Tkach, a mortgage agent with Real Mortgage Solutions in Toronto, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “With the rule changes last year requiring buyers to qualify for the posted five-year rate and the changes this year around amortization, fewer first-time homebuyers are able to qualify.”

The broker’s analysis echoes that the Canadian Real Estate Association and its national report on housing sales for April.

Seasonally adjusted sales activity edged down in April by 4.4 per cent from March, while actual sales activity on a year-over-year basis dropped a whopping 14.7 per cent. The largest declines in sales activity occurred, as expected, said CREA, in large pricey urban centers such as Vancouver and Toronto.

Of little consolation for brokers now dealing with that decrease in business activity is the growth in the average selling price. It rose to $372,544, up eight per cent from the same month last year. That marks the third consecutive month the average price has increased by eight per cent on a year-over-year basis in 2011, although that rise has more to do with high-end home sales in Vancouver than any across-the-board escalation benefiting brokers.

“Changes to mortgage regulations that took effect in April 2011 likely sidelined a number of first-time homebuyers,” CREA economist Gregory Klump said. “By contrast, higher-end home sales in Greater Vancouver and Toronto had their best April ever.”

First-time buyers have been hard hit by mortgage rule changes introduced earlier this year and following on last year’s round of federal amendments. These changes, like the ones last year, pulled sales forward as worried homebuyers raced to beat the March 18 deadline ending the 35-year mortgage.

While some brokers saw an uptick in business prior to that sweeping change, Genworth Canada and other industry players suggest the activity fell within seasonal norms.

The rule change that forced buyers to qualify for a five-year fixed rate regardless of what term they

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chose had a much more profound effect on first-time buyers, said Tkach, suggesting it has greatly reduced their buying power and effectively prevented them from getting into the market. Many are now waiting it out, hoping for a price correction that might not come.

“Many clients are hoping the slowing activity will force prices to drop and that will allow them to buy,” the seven-year veteran told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “But I doubt that will happen in big markets like Toronto.”

Brokers in British Columbia are now grappling with the same decrease in originations, as first-time buyers find themselves increasingly frustrated.

“The market in Victoria is cooling, definitely – I’m seeing drop in the new-purchases end of my portfolio,” said Greg Martel, owner of Dominion Lending Centres Harbour View Mortgages, based in the capital city.

He’s now re-focused his attention on mining for refinancing and other business opportunities associated with mortgage holders.

“I’m now marketing to existing clients,” he told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. CMP

broker: ‘Habitual refinancers’ facing forced listings There’s strong indication new mortgage rules have begun to cull the number of “habitual refinancers” said one 20-year veteran of the broker industry, suggesting a spike in the number of forced listings should soon follow.

“Among our team of six brokers, we’re seeing about three to four clients a month who we would identify as habitual refinancers – meaning they typically have refinanced their credit card debt back into their mortgages every two years,” Bob Smith, broker/owner for Verico K-W Mortgage, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “But what we’re seeing now is that those clients are now finding that they can no longer do that.”

For that group, frustration is setting in as they watch their disposable income shrink and are forced to use more of their income to service debt.

Compounding that discomfort, said Smith, is “each transaction has added to their principal with an increased insurance premium, which has whittled away at their equity. It means that with a forced listing, they will have little or no equity available to downsize after legal and selling expenses.”

Smith is one for the first brokers to identify a phenomenon many saw coming when the federal government nnounced it would lower the loan-tovalue ceiling on refinances to 85 per cent from 90, among other key changes.

News

Industry

Pacific Mortgage Group riding high on Profit One of the broker channel’s biggest players – Pacific Mortgage Group – is now looming large on the national scene, with PROFIT magazine naming it the second most rapidly expanding company in Canada.

“For Pacific Mortgage Group, it is a great milestone for our shareholders, mortgage brokers and staff – something that we can be very proud of. But there is a lot of work to do and we are looking forward to what we can accomplish in the next five years,” Pacific CEO Alex Haditaghi told MortgageBrokerNews.ca.

“Pacific is also unique in the industry in that our brokers and staff are owners in Pacific and they are working hard every day to build their own company and dreams and not someone else’s.”

On June 1, leading consumer magazine PROFIT announcing it had placed Pacific second on the list of 200 Canuck companies that defied the recession and exponentially expanded their business over the last five years.

“The PROFIT 200 companies are the innovative, high-growth enterprises Canada

The move took effect on March 18, exactly 11 months after Ottawa made another clawback of five percentage points, dropping the maximum LTV from 95 per cent to 90.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has rationalized the narrower constraints for CMHC-insured mortgages as the best way of discouraging Canadians from using their homes as ATMs. Smith largely agrees. He’s not alone, although some brokers are concerned the policy change has placed undue pressure on homeowners now vulnerable to losing their homes.

“I don’t think that the new refi rules are good, at least not across the board in that the difference between accessing a LTV of 85 instead of 90 per cent may force someone who is in a tough situation through no fault of their own out of their home,” said Curtis Cannon, a sub-mortgage broker with TMG The Mortgage Group in Prince George, B.C. Cannon would have liked to seen the government afford insurers some level of discretion, making exceptions to the rule in deserving cases such as spousal buyout and injury or death.

“What may have been more effective as for the government to place limits on credit card interest and force the credit card companies to do better underwriting to minimize default,” Cannon told MortgageBrokerNews.ca.

Still, Smith is convinced brokers will see more forced listings across most markets, even in his relatively buoyant Kitchener-Waterloo.

“I’ve lived through five recessions,” he told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “The one in the early 90s was the worst, this time around, at least, interest rates were low.” CMP

needs to compete on the global stage,” said Ian Portsmouth, editor-in-chief. “PROFIT is proud to celebrate their achievements and ambitions, and we encourage all businesspeople to learn more about the many ways they’ve come so far, so fast.”

Still, many may find it hard to wrap their heads around Pacific’s phenomenal growth between 2005 and 2010. The parent company of Mortgage Architects, MortgageBrokers.com and lender myNext Mortgage widened its revenue stream of $229,603 in 2005 to $55.5 million by the close of last year. That’s more than a 24,000-per cent increase in the span of five years, with the company employing 1,085 people in 2010. The expansion placed it second only to Mood Media Corp., a global provider of in-store media and digital signage and now owner of the ubiquitous Muzak. In behind Pacific was Hi-Def surveillance software maker Avigilon Corp, which grew its revenue stream from $200,000 in 2005 to a whopping $32 million and change by 2010.

Corporate titans like Blackberry-maker RIM also graced the list of who’s who, alongside marketing marvels like parka design house Canada Goose.

Haditaghi was quick to acknowledge the contributions of the group’s mortgage professionals.

“Achieving greatness and success can only be accomplished with a dedicated team who are passionate about our business and focused on a common goal – that of achieving uncommon results,” he said, in a note sent off to the network’s managing partners, lead planners, mortgage associates, business partners and staff. “Over our past five years, we have achieved tremendous results but so much remains to be accomplished. I am very much looking forward to what the next five years might bring.”

His company’s ranking on the PROFIT list may also help to lift the profile of the broker channel, say analysts, at a time when brokers are struggling to retain clients at the same time add to them.

Haditaghi is hoping for the same outcome.

“The high ranking of Pacific brings a considerable amount of positive attention to the mortgage brokerage sales channel and the mortgage industry from a broad spectrum of the Canadian business community,” he told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “Such attention could be instrumental in facilitating new investment and business partnerships for the industry.” CMP

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this time last year It’s time to lock in With people banking on the main interest rate going up in June, it seems like a good time to for homeowners to lock in their fixed-rate mortgages.

In the past year about 12 per cent of mortgage holders with fixed-rate mortgages “locked in,” or switched from variable-rate mortgages, according to a report by Will Dunning, chief economist at CAAMP, and another 10 per cent had already switched from a variable rate more than a year ago.

The rate for conventional five-year mortgages was at 6.25 per cent at the end of April – that’s nearing the 5.25 per cent rate at the end of May last year - the lowest since 1973 when the Bank of Canada data began.

“As interest rates rise, expect homebuyers to increasingly opt for fixed-rate loans, in turn leaving banks with more fixed-rate assets to hedge in the swap market,” said Mohammed Ahmed, a rates strategist at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in Toronto.

Housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 201,700 units last month.

One year later Brokers are finally seeing a change in consumer appetite for risk after the second chop to fixed rates in two weeks.

“Up until a couple of weeks ago, we were still seeing 50 per cent of our clients coming in looking for fixed and the other 50 per cent looking for variablerate mortgages,” Dan Mass, owner of Verico Canada First Mortgage, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “But that’s now changed, we’re seeing 80 per cent now looking for fixed and only 20 per cent looking for variable since the fixed rates started dropping.”

RBC set off another chain of falling rates recently by shaving 0.1 percentage points off its posted five-year fixed, taking it to 5.49 per cent. Over the weekend, TD Bank, Scotiabank, BMO and Laurentian

mortgagebrokernews.ca

followed suit, with most broker channel lenders having now effecting the change. Their collective move follows another 10-basis-point chop last week, although the most recent price cut also applies to the posted and special rates on one-, two-, three- and four-year loans.

Lenders are now pointing to falling yields on government bonds across a range of terms as impetus for the rate decrease. The decline actually runs counter to what most economists had predicted for the remainder of 2011. It also comes as consumers react to media speculation about a possible hike in the Central Bank’s key overnight rate. That move won’t come overnight, said Central Bank Governor Mark Carney. Still, the narrowing gap between fixed and variable rates is expected to send many homeowners to their lenders looking to lock in and join the more than 60 per cent of Canadian homeowners who have opted for the security of a fixed-rate mortgage.

Mass’s observations reflect that change only in part. The boom in business many brokers were looking for as the gap between variable and fixed narrowed hasn’t yet materialized, he said.

Still, another broker is predicting that increase in activity may come this fall as the banks near their year-ends and look to stir up more business.

“I think there’s still more room for lenders to drop their fixed rates before hitting the floor,” said Corey Romyn, an agent and COO for Taurus Mortgages in the Toronto area. “We’ve seen that in the last few years, especially when volumes are down for most lenders, as they are this year.”

Still, there is a limiting factor at play. The buyers may be attracted by the rates, Romyn told MortgageBrokerNews.ca, but may ultimately find themselves frustrated by the dearth of houses for sale. CMP

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australia Home loan approvals lowest in decade

Fresh cracks have appeared in the fragile property market with new figures revealing new home-loan approvals plunged to a 10-year low in March.

As borrowers grapple with the soaring cost of living and rising interest rates, the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ monthly housing finance data showed recently that the number of home loans fell 1.5 per cent in March to a seasonally adjusted 44,968.

The shock decline - the lowest result since February 2001 - bucked economists’ expectations for a two per cent increase and follows from a revised 4.7 per cent decline in the previous month.

Commsec economist Savanth Sebastian said that the housing market had “well and truly come off the boil”.

“The rate hikes over the past year are having a profound impact on consumer spending patterns,” he said.

In a sign that the housing affordability crisis continues to worsen, first homebuyers made up just 16 per cent of dwellings that were financed in March.

Housing Industry Association chief economist Harley Dale said governments had to take action to support the industry.

“The clearest signal in today’s figures is the need for federal and state governments to step up to the plate and deliver on stimulus and reforms to reduce the cost of new housing,” he said.

The ABS data is the latest evidence that higher mortgage repayments are forcing consumers to cut back on spending even as Australia experiences the biggest mining boom in its history.

The commodities supercycle is bad news for borrowers because it puts pressure on the Reserve Bank to raise the official interest rate to rein in inflation, or the cost of consumer goods and services.

Australia’s $380 billion pipeline of resources investment threatens to exacerbate inflation through increased demand for workers, leading to higher wages and ultimately driving up the cost of living.

For this reason, the Reserve Bank warned that it would need to increase the official interest rate from 4.75 per cent “at some point”.

Separate ABS figures showed that inflation is already increasing much faster than official consumer price index, or CPI figures, suggest, with employee household costs rising 4.9 per cent in the year to March.

Master Builders Australia chief economist Peter Jones said recent interest rate rises and cautious consumers had dented demand for housing. CMP

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Despite the hype and the hopes of private lenders who have more money than ever to lend, Vernon Clement Jones discovered that tougher mortgage rule changes introduced this year haven’t increased their business, although they’re continuing to meet the needs of brokers and clients

P

rivate lenders can be forgiven for thinking they would see a boom in business courtesy of recent mortgage rule changes. After all, so many of the signs seemed to point in that direction: As early as April, the conservative lending guidelines of the big banks and, even, some monoline lenders had grown more rigid; and yet consumer thirst for new homes seemed unquenched, with MLS sales data reflecting only a modest decline in volumes for key markets at the start of 2011.

To boot – and of the utmost importance to private lenders, who pay closer attention to a property’s overall marketability than a property owner’s credit history – housing values seemed intent on bulking up beyond 2010’s already hefty levels. In fact, demand seemed to outstrip supply in large urban centres, the preferred stomping grounds for most private lenders. Reports of multiple bidding wars and buyers left waiting at the altar by a dearth of sellers also began to surface. It all fuelled the dreams of private lenders, namely syndicates and mortgage investment corporations, who looked at the strengthening economy and hoped it would bolster consumer confidence as well as incomes. And then, of course, there were the comments of the prime lenders themselves, convinced the government’s new mortgage

“ consumer thirst for new homes seemed unquenched, with MLS sales data reflecting only a modest decline in volumes for key markets at the start of 2011 ”

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beware of collateral-charge mortgages While private lenders are increasingly looking for “opportunity financing” that expands their portfolios beyond refinancing and debt consolidation, that core business remains an industry pillar. The growing use of collateral-charge mortgages by the big banks, however, is threatening to erode that support, said David O’Gorman, broker/owner of MortgageLand Inc., an independent firm brokering private lending deals.

“We’re saying ‘no’ more often now than we did in the past, and I can think of no less than six people since last year that we’ve simply had to turn away because there was nothing we could do for them,” he told CMP. “It’s because they’ve signed up for a collateral mortgage with the banks, and have pledged all their equity to that bank. It makes it all but impossible for a second lender to come behind and provide a second mortgage or refinancing or even for a homeowner to switch lenders at renewal.”

Last fall, O’Gorman and other brokers working with private lenders raised the specter of a loss of business stemming from collateral mortgages at the big banks.

They are securing mortgages with a promissory notes backed by collateral charges. That translates into a first or second lien on the property for as much as 125 per cent of its value. That doesn’t, in fact, mean the borrower is guaranteed access to all those funds.

The private lenders that O’Gorman deals with – along with most banks and monolines – refuse to accept the transfer of collateral mortgages, forcing homeowners to pay additional fees to register a new mortgage in order to move the loan from the original lender for a much-needed second mortgage or refi.

O’Gorman wrote to Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty last November, outlining his concerns.

“Lending money to people, with ‘different to the norm’ conditions and increasing the borrower’s exposure to significant loss, all the while flogging a cheap closing service, enticing the borrower to go without the opportunity of having an independent legal opinion of the documents they are signing, just plain stinks,” he wrote in the two-page letter.

A policy adviser for Flaherty did contact O’Gorman for a brief discussion, although the broker doubts the matter will move beyond that.

“This is all going to end when mortgage brokers are all working for the banks and they’ve eaten up all the business,” he told CMP. “I’ll still make a living, but I’m also concerned about making sure that people are treated fairly.”

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“ what we’re seeing is a loss of what were A clients that no longer qualify as borrowers with us because of the rule changes. I think those clients have gone to the alternative lender market ” rules had already chased clients over to the alternative side.

“The spring market has been softer, I’d say about 15 per cent,” Joe Digiambattista, vice-president of sales for Canadiana Financial told CMP, as prime lenders and brokers alike began to take notice in early May. “What we’re seeing is a loss of what were A clients that no longer qualify as borrowers with us because of the rule changes. I think those clients have gone to the alternative lender market.”

Digiambattista and other prime lenders may, in fact, have had little to fear from private lenders.

“Generally, There hasn’t been a boom in business for us because of the mortgage rule changes,” Dean Koeller, VP and chief compliance officer for Calvert Home Mortgage Investment Corp. told CMP. “In fact, given the first round of mortgage rule changes last year, I wasn’t really expecting a boom this year.”

The Albertan wasn’t alone, with other private lenders in his province – Canada’s largest MIC market – witnessing the same kind of slowdown as A-lenders. The shared reality was especially striking, said analysts, because the two camps of lenders generally operate on separate planes.

While financing opportunities at private and prime lenders run the gamut from first and second mortgages for single-family residences to refis to residential and commercial builds, they vary in the type of clients and their loan terms. A-sphere lenders, which tend to focus on long-term, insured deals, rely on the government’s overnight rate and bond yields to set their own interest rates for prime borrowers.

Private lenders, on the other hand, generally rely on investor money, either through a funded pool or a syndicate brought together

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private lending for brokers The private lending community is as diverse as any other in Canada, says Dean Larson, business development manager for Alta West Mortgage in British Columbia. It’s important brokers are aware of both those similarities and, indeed, the many differences that exist between individual lenders. He offers a primer.

Private lending rates reflect the higher risk private-lender investors take on.

They’re higher than those of the banks and monoline lenders in both prime and subprime spaces and start anywhere from eight to 10 per cent and run all the way up to 18 per cent. “Rates have more to do with where the actual source of the funds are coming from,” said Larson. “When a private lender is funded by a MIC, they have to return a good rate of return back to their investors.”

Private lenders use loan-to-value maximums that tend to go no higher than 85 per cent, although many private lenders prefer 75 per cent as a ceiling, at least in B.C., said Larson. “As for the floor, there is none.”

While many brokers have their own lists of private individuals looking to invest in mortgages, most private lenders represent a group of investors – either syndicates or mortgage investment corporations. The first is a group of investors usually focused on funding a particular property or project. MICs, on the other hand, pool together the money of their investors and make it available to several deals as they come available and subject, of course, to their lending guidelines.

Private lenders like property, especially if it’s in a major urban centre and meets appraisal expectations for the area. Location often dictates interest and interest rate.

Private lending is also used for construction projects, quick closings for property acquisitions, commercial property financing for industries or building types not supported by the banks. This varies from lender to lender. “The offering memorandum of a MIC states the type of deals that the lender will fund,” said Larson, “and you can’t talk about a specific deal that all will take or leave.”

Private lenders are in for the short-term. The most common term being one year. “Private lenders are also constrained by not by their own preferences, but how the investment is written up and marketed to investors,” said Larson.

“The biggest different from a brokering perspective,” Larson told CMP, is that private deals see the client pay the broker’s fee directly, whereas with prime lending, a broker’s commission isn’t deducted from the loan amount.”

on a case-by-case basis. They then look to fund subprime deals or other transactions deemed unsuitable by mainstream lenders.

Privates are usually in it for the short term, charging higher rates reflective of their faster turnaround times, the higher risk often associated with “B-deals” and their assetbased lending formulas.

It was perhaps only “at first glance,” said David O’Gorman, a broker specializing in private lending, that new mortgage rules ushered in this spring seemed poised to grow

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“ everything in terms of business fell after April 18. With the rule changes last year requiring buyers to qualify for the posted five-year rate and the changes this year around amortization, fewer homebuyers are able to qualify. ” the number of clients for subprime and private lenders.

It was, in fact, last January, in a move to ratchet down on record high levels of consumer debt, that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced the government would remove CMHC backing for 35-year mortgages, lowering the cap to 30. Among other key changes such as removing insurance for home equity lines of credit, the federal government also lowered the maximum amount Canadians could borrow against their homes to 85 per cent loan-tovalue from a more generous 90 per cent. The housing market registered the changes almost immediately.

“Everything in terms of business fell after April 18,” Rita Ronit Tkach, a mortgage agent with Real Mortgage Solutions in Toronto, told CMP. “With the rule changes last year requiring buyers to qualify for the posted five-year rate and the changes this year around amortization, fewer homebuyers are able to qualify.”

Her analysis echoes that of the Canadian Real Estate Association. Its national report on housing sales for April identifies a 15 per cent, year-over-year chop to the number of first-time buyers – a key demographic for broker channel lenders.

Private lenders, operating outside the insured mortgage market, are nonetheless subject to its ebbs and flows, said O’Gorman, broker/owner of MortgageLand Inc. in Markham, Ont. “The new mortgage rule changes have tightened what has been, even in Canada, a period of historically loose institutional mortgage lending,” he told CMP. “At first glance the changes may appear to provide opportunities for private lenders. However, if

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these new rules significantly slow down real estate sales, opportunities are reduced for both institutional and private lenders. I only hope the politicians and bureaucrats remember their lessons about the ‘multiplier effect’ from their Economics 101 classes. Real estate and construction are huge engines of the overall economy. Slow down real estate sales and you slow down the whole economy.”

Koeller, now serving as president for the Alberta Mortgage Brokers Association, is expressing similar reservations about the new rule changes, and more specifically, their impact on the all-important refinancing market for private lenders.

“The mortgage rule changes have not only made it more difficult to get refinancing through CMHC, but also through private lenders,” he said. “It has also slowed the resale housing market, which is opposite to what private lenders want – the more sales you have in the marketplace, the more opportunity there is for private lenders because there are more people interested in buying. That not only drives business for prime lenders, but private ones.”

Ironically, the government’s move to lower the LTV on refinancing did have a knock-on effect for alternative lenders, but not the one many had hoped for.

“In lowering the LTV to 85 per cent, the government has made it harder for private lenders to take on refinancing deals from clients who want to borrow above that limit,” said Koeller. It’s because after a loan term of one to two years, a borrower’s LTV may still be too high for them to move over to a prime lender. It means a viable exit strategy may be harder to find.”

Above all else, private lenders, whether individuals, syndicates or MICs, need a clear exit strategy.

“We’re here as a private lender to help out people with bruised credit,” says Moe Haymour, private lender Capital Direct’s

“ the new mortgage rule changes have tightened what has been, even in Canada, a period of historically loose institutional mortgage lending ”

Top: Dean Koeller Bottom: David O’Gorman

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business development manager for northern Alberta. “It means that even if we could refinance them at 90 per cent, a year from now, they could be in a worse position come time to transfer that mortgage to an A lender, even if property values were to remain the same. It’s why we don’t go to that 90 per cent at Capital Direct: we want the client to be able to successfully move on from the loan after a year or 18 months.

That’s essential.”

But the new, tighter mortgage rules aren’t the only thing challenging brokers looking to place clients with a private lender. In provinces like Alberta, the number of players has actually taken a hit, their departure fuelled by the lingering effects of the recession and a new federal regulatory regime that has upped their costs even as the number of deals remains below 2008 levels. In short, it means less is coming in and, regrettably, more is going out.

While MICs in B.C., Alberta and Ontario are effectively regulated as mortgage brokers in their respective provinces, federal instrument NI 31-103 now requires them to be licensed with their respective securities commissions. The new regime, just being implemented in B.C., is focused on streamlining registration and exemptions for

Jason Strandlund

“ it’s why we don’t go to that 90 per cent at Capital Direct: we want the client to be able to successfully move on from the loan after a year or 18 months.

That’s essential ” securities dealers and advisers from one end of the country to the next. At the same time, the federal instrument will impose new registration requirements for MIC managers, with an eye to better protecting their investors by increasing capital, bonding, disclosure and compliance requirements.

That attention to transparency should increase investor confidence in MICs, which continue to grow in the western provinces and Ontario. Still, there is some indication that the NI 31-103 could needlessly duplicate industry oversight, said Koeller.

Alan Cross, president of the newly formed British Columbia MIC Managers Association (BCMMA), agrees.

“We’re concerned that NI 31-103 regulations might possibly duplicate existing

Top: Alan Cross Bottom: Dean Larson

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CMP_Third_page_JaS.indd 1

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regulations with respect to investing in mortgages in B.C.,” he told CMP. One possible impact, argue critics, is that the new requirements around increased capital, bonding, disclosure and compliance could prove too onerous for smaller MICs to handle.

Koeller has already seen as many as six smaller players exit or prepare to quit his home market of Alberta. They’ve been unable to shoulder the burden of extra insurance and licensing costs. As AMBA president, he’s spearheaded a group of 23 private lending members looking into potential ramifications stemming from the federal instrument. The legislation could, in fact, give the Alberta securities commission a mandate to introduce educational requirements for mortgage investment fund managers and the power to censure those who fail to live up to that standard. Those potential negatives, when combined with the new mortgage rules, could amplify woes for some private lender, argue brokers. It could also boost business for others.

“The exit of some private lenders is small compared to what we will see over the next few years as the new regulations come into full force, with the mortgage rule changes as well,” said Koeller, who manages day-to-day operations for Calvert, a mid-sized MIC in a province with more than 75 of those pooled investment funds.

Calvert has actually benefited from that opening up of the playing field, picking up the slack exiting players leave behind. While that only goes so far, even for the select number of lenders able to pick up the extra work, it does nothing for brokers looking to find the right fit for clients but instead finding fewer and fewer “boutique” players to choose from.

The phenomenon isn’t exclusive to slower markets, with a real need for private lending even in hot local economies.

“ the exit of some private lenders is small compared to what we will see over the next few years as the new regulations come into full force, with the mortgage rule changes as well ”

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Hali Strandlund, president of Fisgard Capital Corporation What type of lending does Fisgard offer brokers?

Fisgard mortgage products range from residential first and second mortgages for those borrowers who do not fit into today’s conventional financing box to multi-million-dollar commercial and construction loans.

One of Fisgard’s strengths is its innovative approach to difficult or unusual mortgage situations. This is a result of over 40 years of successfully providing alternative solutions to Canadian mortgage consumers.

How does a private lender such as Fisgard differ from banks?

Fisgard’s philosophy of “full-spectrum financing” considers a wide range of mortgage situations and is a one-stop shop for mortgage brokers and borrowers. Fisgard is a true balance sheet lender, lending our own money, not securitizing or leveraging our portfolio.

What is different for brokers when dealing with a private lender like Fisgard?

Brokers turn to Fisgard when looking for competitive, flexible and creative short-term solutions for their clients. There are a few key factors to consider when dealing with Fisgard: Equity Lender: Our primary concern is the value and marketability of the real estate security. The borrower must show a reasonable ability to pay, but as long as the real estate is good the rest is flexible.

Private means private: We are a private company with experienced and knowledgeable staff and have total confidence in our underwriting decisions. We offer products that are accessible, with terms that are flexible and easy to understand.

Rates are not tied to the bond market: We are not subject to the same rate fluctuations or rely on a spread to make our profits as most conventional lenders. We set our rates and terms based on the level of risk we are taking, what a borrower is reasonably able to pay and the expectations of our investors: Common sense lending at its finest.

continued on page 50

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“We’re in a good market here and everybody knows that,” Regina broker Elaine Terry, with Premier Mortgage Group, told CMP. “But overall there is a demand for subprime from people who just need a break.”

The Saskatchewan capital, along with Saskatoon, is a welterweight but increasingly packs an economic wallop, benefiting from Canada’s role as breadbasket to the developing world.

The primary economy has also handed Saskatchewan the country’s lowest unemployment rate, 5.0 per cent for April and well below the national average of 7.6 per cent. The stable job market, the small population and the dominance of commercial banks and credit unions have traditionally limited the province’s appeal for B-lenders in the broker channel. While that employment situation has sparked the highest level of migration to Saskatoon and Regina in the last 50 years, it has also made for a tight rental market, with many renters now looking at homeownership as a cost-effective alternative. Although most will qualify for prime mortgages, many – even despite steady employment – have the kind of bruised credit keeping them from accessing favourable rates. That’s where her private lenders have traditionally stepped in, said Terry. But more and more, even their lending constraints are frustrating those deals.

“Increasingly, our investors are willing to accept a lower rate of return in order to mitigate risk,” said Koeller, echoing the observations of private lenders staring at the same economic uncertainty prompting A-lenders to tighten their rules. “Our turndown rate has increased by 20 per cent over the last two years as our lending guidelines have tightened.”

“ there’s one thing that we know for sure is that there’s lots of money out there for private lenders, and the Canadian investor believes in the mortgage and real estate investment ”

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continued from page 48

Hali Strandlund, president of Fisgard Capital Corporation Faster turnaround time: All decisions are made ‘in house’ and brokers get their deals in front of a decision-maker immediately. Most approvals are made within a few hours of receiving the deal – a rarity in the private lending industry!

There is no ‘box’: We are flexible and creative. We do not impose strict requirements on what the borrower needs to prove in order to qualify. We want equity!

What does the future hold for Fisgard and private lending?

Fisgard will continue offering mortgage products to borrowers on terms that are no longer available in the prime markets.

Fisgard offers shorter terms, longer amortizations, flexible qualification and reasonable and fair prepayment terms. Fisgard fills the voids left open by conventional lenders. The use of private lenders will continue to increase in the coming years as mortgage rules tighten and the institutional lending ‘box’ shrinks.

We are seeing more and more clients who were hurt financially due to the recent recession and are trying to get back on their feet. Our clients are not people who don’t pay their bills or mortgage payments. They are simply people who need a short-term solution and a bit of time to recover and not lose their home.

But private lenders remain focused on growing their portfolios despite the uncertainty around real estate markets across much of the country, Hali Strandlund, president of Fisgard Capital Corp. told CMP. “There’s one thing that we know for sure is that there’s lots of money out there for private lenders, and the Canadian investor believes in the mortgage and real estate investment,” she said. “Yes, they are

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“ this is the market we’re going to be in for the next few years and we’ve become accustomed to it and expect it to remain the same for the foreseeable future. ” accepting a lower return with less risk, and I see great opportunity for private lenders, give our ability to be more flexible and creative than some of our conventional lending colleagues. This is the market we’re going to be in for the next few years and we’ve become accustomed to it and expect it to remain the same for the foreseeable future.

But that future looks bright for Fisgard and the private lending industry.” CMP

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Third generation brokering Mortgage coach Greg Williamson believes brokers should and can be getting better results from their referral sources by simply shifting their thinking from Old World to New World

Back to Basics? I don’t think so.

In the last several months I have decided that I need to shift my thinking and as such shift my business to a whole new level. I call that level the “third generation.” The shift from the “Old World” thinking to the “New World” comes from my judgment that my old marketing techniques and methods are working less.

I believe that when I am not happy with the results I am getting in my life or business then I must choose to change. Sitting and continuing to do the things I have done, to get the results I don’t like, with some unsustainable idea that my results will change, is not workable for me.

It is not that I am over-complicating this journey by not using programs I have used in the past to great success, or to approach the same referral sources I have before, it is that I think I need to approach my prospects in a different way and with a much more aligned value proposition for them then what I had.

I have broken my journey to what I call the third generation into two distinct pillars to build. The first is building a massive list of engaged, impacted, and excited people who I have not yet done business with and the second is to ensure I control the lead, which effectively empowers me to control the lead source.

Build a list I have not yet done business with In my experience with mortgage professionals, a big part of their marketing efforts and thus their success in business in the “Old World”, is by relentlessly marketing their past client database. I certainly was the same way.

“ the shift from the “Old World” thinking to the “New World” comes from my judgement that my old marketing techniques and methods are working less. ”

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The challenge as I said earlier is that this is not delivering the same results it once did, or I have the thought I could get much better results by building a big prospect database of people I have not yet done business with.

There are two main reasons why I think my past database will not be my primary focus in my “New World” business. First, people are growing increasingly resistant to the methods of how we deliver information to them. Second and the most obvious of all is that at some point, my database becomes exhausted. It is like a sponge filled with water, eventually after wringing it vigorously it will be dry.

I know some will ask “but what about referrals from the database?” If people are becoming resistant to my methods to communicate or in my message at all, then they certainly are not going to share it.

Finally, what about newer people to the business that do not have a large past client database? This “Old World thinking” will certainly not serve them well, as we all navigate the uncertain waters in the coming months and years.

Control the lead This is not necessarily new thinking for me, I have for some time been driven to get to lead sources before anyone else (Realtors, builders, financial planners, divorce lawyers etc). In my experience it is new thinking for most mortgage professionals and will require likely an uncomfortable paradigm shift for them if they choose this path.

I think that as mortgage professionals in our “Old World” businesses we have naturally settled into a servant relationship with referral sources. Once again, this does

“ I am now competing with all other professionals vying for her attention with “I have the best service” as the resounding battle cry. ”

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“ I think that as mortgage professionals in our “Old World” businesses we have naturally settled into a servant relationship with referral sources. ” not mean I do not get results, the question I always ask myself is “can I be getting better results?”

Alignment is the key thought in thirdgeneration selling. Are my interests aligned with my prospect? For instance, I think the relationship between Realtors and mortgage professionals is at an all-time low, due mostly to a lack of alignment. I think if you asked most Realtors “What do you want?” they would answer with some version of “I want to find more buyers and sellers before they have chosen a Realtor.” The lack of alignment comes from a servant mortgage professional responding to the same question of “what do you want?” with the answer “I want more mortgages.”

The Realtor is not aligned with me. They are caring less and less whether I get mortgages, resulting in most Realtors only sending leads when a customer specifically asks for a referral to a mortgage professional. In this instance, I am now competing with all the other professionals vying for their attention with “I have the best service” as the resounding battle cry.

I answer the question of “what do you want?” with “I want to find more buyers and sellers before they have chosen a Realtor.” I am aligned with my Realtors now; we both want the same thing.

I am turning around the statement I was hearing all too often from Realtors lately from “I will send you mortgages if you pay me” to “I will send you more buyers and sellers and you will pay me.”

Greg Williamson is the founder of 180 Degrees Coaching (www.doa180.ca). CMP

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Feature Credit Unions

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Feature Credit Unions

Credit unions have as much as 14 per cent of Canada’s banking business. As Vernon Clement Jones found out, they’re aiming to take a much bigger share of broker business

W

hen Vancity was hunting around for the best way to catapult itself into the Vancouver Island market – what was then virgin territory – it targeted mortgage brokers.

“We didn’t then have the brand recognition in that market in 2010,” recalls John Derose, director of mobile sales and brokerage at Vancity Saving credit union.

“What we were able to do with brokers is bring in business that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to except through brokers.”

There may be a lesson in there for broker channel lenders. There certainly was for credit unions, which have stepped up their courtship of brokers, dangling rock-bottom fixed rates, competitive commissions and expanded coverage areas.

“We’re now coming to get them,” says Robert Leaker, VP of emerging markets for Meridian Credit Union, pointing to banks and broker channel lenders alike, although he could just as easily be referring to brokers.

“Part of the challenge for credit unions is getting our name out there, and we have to leverage any distribution channel that we can. A large part of that is partnering with brokers. They’re not going away and we can leverage that strength.”

Meridian, the country’s fourth largest credit union, projects it will do more than

Top: Robert Leaker Middle: Darick Battaglia Bottom: Kathy McGarrilge

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“ what we were able to do with brokers is bring in business that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to except through brokers. ”

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“ part of the challenge for credit unions is getting our name out there, and we have to leverage any distribution channel that we can. A large part of that is partnering with brokers. They’re not going away and we can leverage that strength. ” $300 million worth of business with mortgage brokers this year alone – a 600 per cent increase from the $35 million of just two years ago. A large reason for the increase is also another reason why its appeal with Ontario brokers is set to grow.

“We just finished our acquisition of Desjardin Credit Union and its 19 branches,” Leaker said, and we’re now offering brokers regional coverage from Windsor to Ottawa, right across the province.”

That wider reach answers one of the perennial concerns of mortgage professionals and why for years, credit unions simply didn’t make it onto their radar screens. That’s no longer the case, especially in key Western markets where those financial institutions are increasingly fierce competitors to the Big Five.

“We’ve already reached our year-to-date budget for originations through brokers and are already more than 70 per cent toward our annual target,” Derose tells CMP. “Over the last three years we have done more with brokers.”

Feature Credit Unions

“ our shareholders are our members and our dividends of sorts are handed out in the services we offer our members. ”

Top: Brent Irving Bottom: Luisa Hough

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He’s not alone. Credit unions are moving up the rankings in terms of attracting their share of the broker business. The rise runs alongside and has fuelled growth in their collective mortgage book. Vancity and rival Coast Capital Savings claim a collective portfolio of $13 billion in mortgages across their B.C. market. The latter, in particular, has attracted brokers and their clients by what many, across the country, are only now noting – the highly competitive rates of credit unions. Especially their fixed ones.

While credit unions also point to their variable product, in an industry increasingly driven by rate, more and more brokers are being wowed by the fixed rates of those financial institutions compared to other lenders, even the monolines who work exclusively through the broker channel.

“The gap really took a lot of us by surprise,” says Luisa Hough, broker/owner of Verico Exclusive Mortgage Professionals, based in Surrey. “Last spring, we had clients that were anxious about variable rates possibly going up. They wanted to lock in, and here were credit unions offering us what was, in some cases, about a half percentage point off of what our lenders were. I booked about 10 to 15 deals in two months.”

That divide is often less pronounced, but almost always, it is there, says Brent Irving, another lower mainland broker, now doing 20 per cent to 30 per cent of his originations through credit unions. Only a year ago it was 10 to 20. “Credit unions have become very aggressive – with many of them, their compensation for brokers is definitely competitive – and yet they’re offering the lowest rates in the market,” says the broker with Dominion Lending Centres Leading Edge, also in Surrey.

In Irving’s market, and others, that gap again grew wider early this spring when

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the banks and lenders in the broker channel added 20 to 35 basis points to their five-year fixed rates, a way of compensating for rising bond yields, although they subsequently narrowed the divide by a series of interest rate drops to bring them in line with the increasingly volatile bond market.

Those competitive fixed rates come part in parcel with the mandate of credit unions as non-profits. In some cases, it means they aim for a lower return on equity, nearly 10 percentage points lower than most chartered banks and monoline lenders, directly answerable to their shareholders.

“Our shareholders are our members,” said Leaker, “and our dividends of sorts are handed out in the services we offer our members.”

But rate isn’t the only attraction.

Brokers are increasingly discovering the product innovation of credit unions, something the credit unions themselves crow about when explaining the broker interest they attract.

“Our ‘You’re the Boss’ mortgage, launched in November last year, is growing at a rapid rate, and what brokers and their clients are really responding to is its built-in flexibility on so many levels,” Kathy McGarrigle, COO for Coast Capital tells CMP, pointing to its combination rate and no-charge skip-a-payment options, plus its “Save and Take” payment plan, which extends annual prepayment rights of up to 30 per cent of the principal. At the same time it allows borrowers to quickly and easily pull out equity in an emergency.

Prepayment flexibility with credit unions, in general, often exceed industry norms and increasingly lead the industry in terms of product innovation, says Darick Battaglia, owner of Dominion Lending

“ prepayment flexibility with credit unions, in general, often exceed industry norms and increasingly lead the industry in terms of product innovation. ”

Feature Credit Unions

“ we don’t undercut our brokers, because we don’t want to create animosity between the branch and brokers. ”

There are 427 credit unions in Canada affiliated with the Credit Union Central of Canada

++1,733 locations ++5 million members ++$117 billion in assets ++$106 billion in deposits

Centres Bankfighter Inc. in Ontario. He’s grown the number of deals he books through credit unions not only because of their trendsetting ways but because it’s often in the client’s best interest.

Credit Unions continue to tout their customer service as the driver of their growing popularity. That relationshipbuilding has also been applied to their interactions with brokers even as many look

++$97 billion in loans ++24,000 employees Source: Credit Union Central of Canada

to adopt the kind of efficiency standards and volume requirements used by the big banks and other lenders. Vancity is now in the

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Feature Credit Unions

“ our goal is to create a mutual partnership relationship with brokers, and for them to recognize that we are focused on treating their clients, our members, better. ” process of further developing its monitoring of broker deals with an eye to focusing on those professionals that have been most successful in closing deals.

“We want to build a relationship with brokers to make that happen, it’s much easier to do that with 500 brokers instead of 5,000,” says Derose.

Compensation for those brokers runs at about 80 basis points, and Vancity doesn’t offer the volume bonuses of Meridian, for example, which routinely net brokers 100-plus basis points on a five-year fixed. While the Ontario titan offers very competitive remuneration for brokers, it is also focused on keeping a level playing field for both brokers and their branches, making sure clients originating from whatever source access the same rates. That’s important, says Leaker.

“We don’t undercut our brokers, because we don’t want to create animosity between the branch and brokers,” he says, echoing McGarrigle at Coast Capital. “Our goal is to create a mutual partnership relationship with brokers, and for them to recognize that we are focused on treating their clients, our members, better. Offering rates that vary depending on whether you come from a broker or the branch does help us achieve that.”

Meridian’s expansion is similar to consolidation efforts in British Columbia and Alberta – markets where credit unions enjoy an even greater slice of the mortgage pie. The trend should remove the last historical impediment for brokers, who once dismissed unions as too “regional” to cover their expanding service areas.

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Feature Credit Unions

“ we’re getting very high quality customers through brokers - ones, at the end of the day, we would not have had the opportunity to see. ”

Still, the growing success of credit unions has the potential to limit their partnership with the broker channel as it services a growing number of Alt-A and B clients.

“They tend to be looking for the higher quality client these days,” says Irving. “They used to be more receptive to clients who

weren’t A, but with their newly competitive rates they’re able to be more selective.”

Meridian doesn’t necessarily fit that bill, says Leaker, suggesting the credit union maintains its “common sense lending approach” at the same time it continues to focus on building relationships with brokers and members.

McGarrigle says much the same thing while acknowledging what may be the elephant in the room.

“The model has change with brokers today, and we’re no longer the lender of last resort, she tells CMP. “We’re getting very high quality customers through brokers – ones, at the end of the day, we would not have had the opportunity to see.

That wasn’t the case ten years ago because the brokers themselves have gone higherend as well.” CMP

We think outside the branch.

The Mortgage Group Canada Inc.

For over 20 years, The Mortgage Group has built a reputation on expertise and integrity with over 670 Mortgage Professionals across Canada.

In fact, our No Sweat approach to mortgage solutions has helped over a quarter million Canadians.

From our vast lender network and leadingedge tools to innovative training and unparalleled support, we take pride in what we do, where we work and who we work alongside.

www.mortgagegroup.com

TM

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Business Marketing

In a new series, Doren Aldana explores some of the ways mortgage brokers can harness the power of social media to build referrals

I

n last month’s article, we talked about how to close more loans using Facebook by setting up your own “free marketing tips” fan page for real estate agents.

Once you’ve signed up on Facebook with your main profile account, and you’ve set up your Realtor Tips Fan Page, now you’re ready to post content on your fan page. Before we get into the details of what exactly to post, let’s talk about what NOT to post.

1. Don’t post negative news. For example, don’t rant about how bad the economy is or how difficult it is to get a mortgage because the rates or the minimum down payment just went up.

Remember, you want to be a ray of sunshine, not a gloomy cloud. In other words, if there was an earthquake in California, while everyone else was freaking out, you’d be the one talking about how good the surf is in Hawaii. There’s always a way to turn lemons into lemonade – if you look for it.

6. Don’t ask for referrals – just focus on giving first. If you don’t already have a strong relationship with a solid bond of trust established, asking for referrals can often do more harm than good. With a void of trust, asking for referrals can make you look needy and selfish – attached to a particular outcome. It’s much more attractive to simply focus on being a conduit of service: someone who is committed to providing real, unique value that improves his or her life. Trust me, this will generate lots of referrals without even asking for them.

Like I said earlier, most of this is common sense but you’d be surprised how uncommon “common sense” is nowadays. The next point I’m going to make actually came from a buddy of mine, Carl White, who is an absolute genius when it comes to marketing. This really impacted me when I first heard it, so much so that I’d be remiss not to share it with you. So here it is…

Your job as a mortgage professional, is to take your target market (in this case, Realtors) from a 2. Don’t post boring graphs and charts. You frown face, feeling depressed, stressed, anxious, don’t want to put people to sleep (unless they’re heavy, dry, dull, bored, etc. – which is where most complaining about their insomnia problems). people live – and take them to a smiley face where they feel relieved, if not happy. Mark Twain once 3. Don’t post abbreviations, slang terms or said, “Most people live in a quiet state of jargon. Deliver your message in simple, desperation.” If that’s true, the objective of your laymen’s terms. You need your fans to Facebook posts (along with all your other understand what you’re posting so that there’s marketing) is to take them from dullsville to no disconnect. delight, and you can do that by providing helpful tips that are meaningful, worthwhile and 4. Don’t overdo the mortgage stuff. Contrary to impactful. This might seem like an outlandish goal what you might see your peers doing, just beyond your ability, but if you shoot for the moon talking about mortgage rates, mortgage trends and miss, chances are you’ll still land among and real estate is not a good idea. In fact, unless the stars. you want to bore them to death, it’s best that you only post mortgage-related content once “ per month.

5. Don’t post about politics. The moment you start bashing the prime minister or a particular political party, you have at least a 50 per cent chance of offending someone. Unless you are intentionally trying to attract only staunch liberals or conservatives, it’s best just not to go there.

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contrary to what you might see your peers doing, just talking about mortgage rates, mortgage trends and real estate is not a good idea. ”

Business

Marketing

web 2.0 marketing secrets for mortgage pros wer o p e ess th video n r a h line n o f o

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Business Marketing

So what kind of content should you post for Realtors? Here are a few ideas: 1. How to get more quality listings and sell them fast and for top dollar.

2. How to get more qualified buyer leads. They need buyer leads to sell their properties, right?

“ up until about five years ago, online video marketing was still relatively costly.

With today’s technology, marketing with video is not only easy, it’s very affordable - in many cases it’s free. ”

3. How to achieve a higher success rate at their listing presentations. For example, if they do 10 listing presentations and they’re only closing four out 10 and you provide a few tips that help them close eight out of 10, they’re making double the Of course, the answer is video. TV has sold money with the same amount of effort. That’s a more products and services than any other huge positive impact in their life! media on the planet. Billions and billions of dollars have been sold using video through TV 4. How to attract more referrals (without asking advertising. Up until about five years ago, for them). online video marketing was still relatively costly and laborious. However, with today’s 5. How to attract more repeat business by mining new technology, marketing with video is not the gold from their database. only easy, it’s very affordable – in many cases it’s free.

6. How to use technology to streamline, automate, There are two main types of online videos. systematize their marketing so they can do all The first type is the Talking Head Video. This the above with less time, energy and effort. can be done by simply recording yourself talking in front of a webcam, digital camera, Those are just a few ideas, which will give you iPhone, etc. Oftentimes people use plenty of ammunition for killer content that’s teleprompter software to display their script relevant and valuable to a real estate professional. on the computer screen so they can remember Now, at this point you might be wondering, what to say. Teleprompters are fine as long as “Where do I get my ideas and tips? I mean where you don’t look like you’re reading from a script. am I going to get all this info?” Good question.

The second type is called Screen Capture After all, you can’t give that which you do not have. Video, which records your computer screen You’ve got to find some place to dig up this and your voice narration at the same time. information so you can serve it to your real estate agents on a silver platter.

Here are a couple ideas for you: 1. Go to www.ezinearticles.com – which is the largest article directory on the planet. Just search for Realtor tips, or real estate agent tips, and you’ll find plenty of ideas for helping them grow their business, and it’s all free info.

2. Invest in a few Realtor marketing home study courses. If it’s a good quality course, the tools, training and systems it provides will give you loads of gems you can spoon-feed to your real estate agents for months – and even years – to come. All the while they’ll think you’re a genius.

Now that you know what content to provide your Realtors, the question is, “What’s the best, most effective format for delivering your content?”

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Business

Marketing

This is often done using PowerPoint, so it looks kind of like an online webinar. The screen capture software required for this ranges from free to $300, depending on the editing capability.

It’s very easy to create screen capture video, especially if you’re already doing live webinars because all you need to do is record the live webinar once and you’ve just created tons of content that you can slice, dice, and repurpose a multitude of ways. Another great benefit of screen capture video is that it allows you to create a video without having to have a “good hair day” – just press record on your screen capture software, click through your PowerPoint slide show, speak into your USB headset microphone, and you’re good to go.

In next month’s article, I’ll teach you the best video platforms for uploading your videos and how to build a herd of Realtor fans on Facebook who know you, like you, trust you, and most importantly, refer business to you.

“ another great benefit of screen capture video is that is allows you to create a video without having to have a “good hair day. ” About the Author: Doren Aldana is considered by many to be Canada’s leading Mortgage Marketing Coach. Since 2005, he has been dedicated to helping mortgage professionals attract more clients with less effort, regardless of market conditions. Among Aldana’s latest innovations, is a completely done-for-you video marketing solution that allows you to instantly deploy powerful videos through social media that attract mortgage clients like crazy. To see a free demo, visit: www.Done4UVideoMarketing.com. CMP

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Profile Brokers

(Left to Right): Justin Blacklock and Mike Averbach receiving their 2010 Canadian Mortgage Award from Boris Bozic of Merix Financial.

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Profile Brokers

With a philosophy built around its award-winning customer service, Averbach Mortgages in Vancouver builds its business one mortgage client at a time

One for all and all for one I

t was a partnership born of proximity.

Sitting together in the “bullpen” at TMG The Mortgage Group in Vancouver seven years ago, Mike Averbach and Justin Blacklock came to understand that their differences were exactly what could make a partnership work.

“Together we have a great team,” says Averbach, president of Averbach Mortgages, TMG The Mortgage Group. “We know each other’s skill set and where it’s best utilized and that’s where it’s put to use.”

Averbach’s primary role is marketing and liaising with existing and new referral sources, while Blacklock’s job as mortgage manager is servicing clients.

“My background is customer service,” says Blacklock. “I know my strengths and my weaknesses and in the past I was working on my weaknesses. We maximize what we are both best at.”

First Averbach had to sell his colleague on the idea.

“It took a couple of years to convince Justin that he was the guy I needed to take it to the next level,” says Averbach jokingly.

“Sitting next to Mike kind of motivated me,” recalls Blacklock, “seeing this younger guy lighting the world on fire.”

Before getting into mortgage brokering, Averbach was working 60 hours a week as a product manager for an online casino and sportsbook.

“After a while I knew that I could do a lot better with my time and the efforts I put into my work,” says Averbach. “I thought my passion for service and sales would be better utilized in mortgages.”

It wasn’t as big a gamble as one might think. There’s a family history with mortgages, as Averbach’s father owns a commercial lending company – Belmont Properties.

“One day I wanted to step into his shoes and wanted to gain the experience to do so,” remembers Averbach. “I had no idea the efforts I put into mortgage brokering my first couple of years would lead to what we have now.”

Although he does some commercial underwriting and marketing with the family business, Averbach says the dream has been deferred, “because I am having so much fun in this business.”

Working as a mortgage broker, Averbach realized that he needed a different approach if he was to continue.

“I spent all my time at a desk doing deals and not enough time getting out there and meeting with new clients and referral sources and marketing. I was reaching a point where I was not going to grow exponentially if I wasn’t out there marketing, because at some point business was going to dry up. I wanted to be out there meeting people and schmoozing, using my marketing skills to bring

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Profile Brokers

business in the door. What I needed was a way to streamline that.”

After a short-lived experiment with another company in an effort to realize his ambitions, Averbach returned to TMG and asked Grant Thomas to provide him with the resources he required, and that’s when Blacklock joined Averbach Mortgages.

Averbach and Blacklock’s philosophy may sound simple, but using customer service as a business model requires a different mindset from the usual method of brokering, according to the partners.

“Volume in not our goal, servicing our clients is the goal,” says Averbach. “Because if our clients aren’t 100 per cent satisfied, we’re not going to get that referral. If we just run ourselves as a mortgage mill, we’re not relationship-based anymore. We’re a transactional business and no better than a bank branch.

“Our clients are making the effort to go with a broker, why would we treat them like they’re just another bank client? They want a different experience and we want to provide that.”

The lengths Averbach Mortgages goes to for clients might seem to be above and beyond what a typical broker might be willing to do because of the time required, and they’ve been told that by no less than some lenders “Some lenders have come to us and said, ‘We want more business from you, but we think you’re spending too much time on one client,’” recalls Averbach.

Referring to the company’s pair of Canadian Mortgage Awards for Customer Service, Averbach says, “We wouldn’t have gotten those if we had that mindset.”

For Blacklock it’s about having a loyal client at the end of the day, someone who is more likely to refer someone to you and more likely to come back to you.

It’s not as simple as it sounds, says Blacklock.

“People want a cookie-cutter answer as to how you do that,” he says. “You can’t say ‘you need to do the following three things’ with every client, because not every client wants that. The key is to listen.

“Every client is different and every client needs something different from the experience. So all you have to do is show up and listen. If you listen to what they want and are willing to put in the time to give them want they want, you’ve got a totally satisfied client.”

It’s also not as simple as offering clients freebies, such as legal or appraisal fees.

“That’s just buying the client,” says Blacklock.

“If you give good service, you retain clients and get

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“ we can’t sell ourselves short like that. We’ve worked too hard to be just a commodity to a client.

We want to show them that we’re worth their effort in going with a broker rather than a bank. ” referrals, so the money is going to come. Have we done this in a way that maximizes the money from the beginning? Definitely not.”

Averbach concurs.

“We can’t sell ourselves short like that. We’ve worked too hard to be just a commodity to a client.

We want to show them that we’re worth their effort in going with a broker rather than a bank.”

Unlike banks, Averbach Mortgages doesn’t spend a lot of money on advertising.

“We’re simply putting our money back into our clients with our efforts,” says Averbach. “We do marketing through our website and our newsletter, but all of that is geared towards our existing clients, our referral sources and we pride ourselves on growing organically.”

Averbach Mortgages deal mostly with A clients, first-time homebuyers and those moving from condos to a detached house and those are the groups they will continue to target because, “those are the kind of clients we want because it’s relationship-business, not transactional,” says Averbach.

“Relationship-business is the first-time homebuyer and those that are returning because they appreciated the job we did on their first mortgage.”

The relationship continues, but Averbach and Blacklock are from the school of marketing that says you must contact clients a certain amount of times throughout the year.

“There has to be a good reason,” says Averbach.

“We want to provide our clients with information that is knowledge.”

“You can’t come across as selling something all the time,” says Blacklock. “When we’re contacting clients, we’re contacting them with an opportunity to save money.”

Answering questions from clients who don’t require a mortgage at that moment can seem like a waste of time, says Averbach, “but, in the long run, it means when there is a change to their situation, they’re going to call us first.” CMP

profile

PROVIDER

HomEquity Bank announced that its flagship financial solution, CHIP Home Income Plan, has now been made available to Canadian homeowners as young as 55

boomers a boon to brokers A

Steven Ranson

move by HomEquity Bank to lower the eligibility age for its reverse mortgages to 55 is set to increase broker originations by as much as 10 per cent, according to company President Steven Ranson, while at the same time expressing confidence in the company’s current compensation structure for brokers.

“Our understanding of the broker market is that their client base skews younger than our traditional client base, he said, “and our move to lower the eligibility age to 55 should see referrals through brokers – and all other referrals sources – increase by as much as 10 per cent.”

Recently, HomEquity announced its CHIP Home Income Plan would now be made available to Canadian homeowners as young as 55, five years lower than the previous minimum.

The move comes primarily in response to a significant demand by couples where one spouse is over 60 while the other may be a few years younger. By lowering the eligibility age to 55, HomEquity Bank also positions itself to capitalize on the growing number of well-heeled baby boomers planning early retirement, a type of client many brokers are also pursuing.

Responsible for some 700 leads in 2010, Brokers are already playing an increasingly

important role in reverse mortgage originations at HomEquity, helping clients pull out as much as 40 per cent of the equity in their homes.

Accrued interest is then tabbed onto the loan’s balance as the mortgage grows. When the client dies or sells their home, that money is then paid back to HomEquity.

Ranson is now responding to broker suggestions that their referral numbers could, in fact, be further increased if HomEquity bumps up finder’s fees and raises the maximum LTV above its current 40 per cent. Neither move, he said, is in the works.

“We’ve comfortable with our compensation for brokers -- we think it’s competitive and it also reflects the more-modest demands we place on brokers in terms of the application process compared to conventional mortgages,” Ranson said, adding “Brokers are a very fast-growing channel for us, and we see it as growing in the next two to three years. A lot of seniors may not have used mortgage brokers, but we see that changing as the percentage of people using brokers increases and that applies to seniors.”

The current LTV will also be maintained, he said, calling it in line with marketplace demands and a consideration of the deferred interest plan characterizing the reverse mortgage.

HOMEQ’s numbers for the three months ending March 31, 2011, largely matched company expectations. While the lender’s mortgage portfolio of $1.1 billion increased 16 per cent, its originations grew by one per cent to $47 million.

Some 50 per cent to 60 per cent of originations are the result of referrals from banks, financial planners and mortgage brokers.

Bringing that last group up to speed on the ins and outs of HomEquity’s offerings remains a priority, said Ranson.

“We have someone dedicated to serving the mortgage broker industry,” he said, “and we spend a lot of time on the education side.” CMP

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Profile Insight

Brokering 101 Halifax broker leading the way in educating Nova Scotia’s next generation of mortgage brokers

A

course focused on teaching industry basics to new mortgage brokers in Nova Scotia has more than doubled its enrolment as the province faces growing pressure to attach an educational component to its licensing standards.

“The way the legislation is now, someone wanting to be a broker only has to be able to fog a mirror and pay the licensing fee,” said James Shinners, the broker who developed Mortgage 101, a 35-hour in-class course offered at Maritime Business College in Halifax. “That’s expected to change, and I think the growing interest in our course speaks to the willingness of brokers to have an educational component attached to their licensing. Our course provides both practical training as well as theoretical and legislative information specifically about Nova Scotia, which they’ll need.”

Shinners, an AMP and owner of Mortgage Managers in the burgeoning HRM, rolled out the program last fall, working with college instructor Lara Kirkpatrick to flesh out its curriculum. While the course just won accreditation through the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors, it hasn’t yet sought CAAMP’s sanctioning. That hasn’t slowed interest among new brokers, said Shinners pointing to early enrolment for the upcoming August term, which more than doubled last November’s participation in the one-week program.

“The goal is to educate newcomers to the mortgage brokerage world so that they can gain an understanding about the basics like pulling and reading a credit report, advising a client, preparing and packaging an application and working with underwriters,” said Shinners. “But, we’re also looking to prepare students for the unique challenges and opportunities associated with practising

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“ “I think the growing interest in our course speaks to the willingness of brokers to have an educational component attached to their licensing. Our course provides both practical training as well as theoretical and legislative information specifically about Nova Scotia, which they’ll need. ” in this jurisdiction. That’s something similar courses offered in Toronto and through CAAMP don’t do.”

CAAMP did, in fact, bring its own introductory class to Halifax last summer for the first time, although hasn’t yet announced plans to build on the initiative.

Mortgage 101 is hoping to fill that void, a way of helping professionalize a growing industry in Atlantic Canada. The increasing interest coincides with an uptick in housing activity – some markets seeing double-digit price increases following the start of the recession in 2008.

Increased demand for brokers has outstripped the legislative updates Shinners and other seasoned professionals are calling for as a way to bring broker licensing standards in line with those in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.

“From the mortgage brokers’ perspective, the course allows them to sit down with the client armed with the requisite knowledge to gain their confidence,” said Shinners. CMP

James Shinners

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Favourite Things

Sandra Hay

Food Grilled veggie pita. I’m in my Mediterranean phase.

+ MortgageBrokers.com + Barrie, Ont.

Favourite Things Place to be On a hill overlooking Lake Ontario, near Presqu’ile Provincial Park. My great grandmother’s grandfather was one of the first settlers to see it. And every generation up until mine farmed there. My reminder to take it back to basics and be grateful for our moment in the grand scheme of things.

Celebrity Rick Mercer.

Because I’m a satire junkie.

Hobby I guess I can’t put “working” here?

Making themed gift baskets for friends and family. I may think I favour other pastimes, but there is never a time when I don’t have a gift basket in process for someone’s upcoming special occasion.

Vacation spot If it has palm trees, I’m there. Every day something needs to be accomplished, unless there are palm trees and an ocean view.

Drink Peach Schnapps with milk on ice. One way of having summer all year. Some occasions do call for chocolate martinis, though.

Movie Death Becomes Her It’s a corny family tradition. I can’t believe I admitted that. Always makes us laugh.

Thank you, Goldie Hawn.

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Book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It captures something ethereal and so much larger than the words themselves.

Sport Yoga. And when all that stretching gives me longer legs, then I’ll look at Rollerblading.

Music The Beatles. Celtic Thunder for the eye candy – I mean harmony, for their enchanting harmony.

Attention all

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Guest Column

value proposition R

ecently MortgageBrokerNews.ca posted a video in which a mortgage broker commented on the need for an association that represents mortgage brokers that will serve to elevate the profile and professionalism of practitioners and promote the services of brokers to consumers.

As the president of the Independent Mortgage Brokers Association of Ontario (IMBA), my initial reaction was one of surprise and embarrassment. There are three vibrant, effective and committed associations in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario that have been doing exactly what this broker stated “was lacking.” Having said that, his commentary made me consider this thought: If he wasn’t aware of our existence and the work that these associations have done, how many others in our industry are unaware?

If industry participants aren’t aware of what the associations have achieved in raising the bar for brokers then we as leaders of these associations have partly failed in our efforts…shame on us for that. This particular broker’s commentary is a wake-up call for the provincial associations and the broker members that they serve. Perhaps it’s time for the provincial Albert Collu mortgage brokers’

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“ if he wasn’t aware of our existence and the work that these associations have done, how many others in our industry are unaware?” associations to band together, to identify common challenges, and to identify commonalities and differences within the associations; all with the intent to make brokers the go-to people for consumers when they require mortgage financing.

The associations’ leaders need to identify value for their members and value for consumers.

Those value propositions must be articulate, must be loud and must be consistent.

Notwithstanding the fact that members compete against each other in the marketplace, brokers must realize that the mortgage brokerage industry is stronger when all the participants are rowing in the same direction with a defined and common set of objectives.

So here’s the challenge. For all of you readers who agree with our commentary, send your provincial associations’ directors a message: “It’s time to work together!”

Please forward your comments to: albert.collu@imba.ca. CMP

Current IMBA president Albert Collu wants to remind brokers that Canada’s provincial broker associations are there to serve them

service directory

Banks

Insurance

Bridgewater Bank www.bridgewaterbank.ca Ph: 1 888 837 2326 Page 9

HomEquity Bank www.homequitybank.ca Ph: 1 866 522 2447 Page 31

Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance Company www.canadaguaranty.ca Ph: 1 866 414 9109 Page 49

FirstLine Mortgages www.firstline.com Ph: 1 800 387 2020 ext. 6044 Inside Back Cover

Fisgard Capital Corporation www.fisgardmortgage.com Ph: 1 866 382 9255 Page 47

Genworth Financial Canada www.genworth.ca Ph: 1 800 511 8888 Outside Back Cover

Broker Networks

ICICI Bank Canada www.icicibank.ca Ph: 1 800 ICICI CA or (1 888 424 2422) Page 7

Home Trust www.hometrust.ca Ph: 1 877 903 2133 Page 43

National Bank www.nbc.ca Ph: 1 888 483 5628 Page 45

Peoples Trust www.peoplestrust.com Ph: 1 800 663 0324 Page 69

Centum Financial Group Inc. www.centum.ca Ph: 1 604 257 3940 Page 11

Dominion Lending Centres www.DominionLending.ca Ph: 1 888 806 8080 Pages 52 & 53

Non-Bank Lenders

Capital Direct www.capitaldirect.ca Ph: 780 868-0550 Page 12

Equity Financial Trust Company www.equityfinancialtrust.com Ph: 1 866 393 4891 Page 63

Equitable Trust Company www.equitabletrust.com Ph: 1 866 407 0004 Page 25

Resmor Trust Company www.resmor.com Ph: 866 809 5800 Page 35

Street Capital www.streetcapital.ca Ph: 877 416 7873 Page 5

The Money Source www.mymoneysource.ca Ph: 416 699 2274 Page 51

Home Loans Canada®

Home Loans Canada www.hlcmortgages.ca Ph: 1 866 452 1821 Inside Front Cover

Mortgage Architects www.mortgagearchitects.ca • Ph: 1 877 802 9100 Pages 28 & 29

The Mortgage Centre Canada www.mortgagecentre.com Ph: 1 800 423 0107 Page 3

mortgagebrokernews.ca

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service directory

Technology/Software

The Mortgage Group www.mortgagegrp.com Ph: 877 899 1024 Page 65

180 Degree Coaching www.doa180.ca Ph: 403 250 2150 Page 61

D+H Limited Partnership www.dhltd.com Ph: 1 866 345 6449 Page 2 Real Estate

Canadian National Association of Real Estate Appraisers www.cnarea.ca Ph: 1 888 399 3366 Page 26

VERICO www.verico.ca Ph: 1 866 983 7426 Page 13

Services

Commercial Lenders

ROMSPEN investment corporation www.romspen.com Ph: 1 800 494 0389 Page 1

Canadian First Financial Centres www.canadianfirst.com Ph: 1 866 601 7632 Pages 14, 17, 18, 20 and 22

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Y Your

news n ews is our news!

Do you hav have a e news to share? r Hav Have ave you you heldd a recent event v or made d a new w appointment? pp If so,, CMP W WANTS ANTS to hear ffr from om you.

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