CMP 9.02

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CONTENTS

MARKET MATTERS 4 | Editor’s letter 6 | Letters to the editor 8 | Reading between the Lines A look at TD’s mortgage clause change 10 | News analysis Forget the economists – what do brokers think?

NEWS 9 | Product news A look at Mortgage Architect’s new website

FEATURES 16 | Broker advice Deepak Bansal gets back to basics with lead generation 18 | Broker debate Debate ensued on MortgageBrokerNews.ca following one lender’s 2.99 per cent rate

24 | National picture-ata-glance

20 | Lender roundup Three leading lenders share changes they made in 2013

58 | CMHC Q4 results breakdown

61 | Industry player unique sponsorship

26

COVER STORY

Diversifiers

issue

Mortgage brokering may be their bread and butter, but these industry players are reaching for new fare to satisfy their hunger for revenue.

9.2 HOW PLANS BECOME SQUARE FEET. Romspen Investment Corporation is a non-bank mortgage lender specializing in commercial real estate across Canada and the United States. With over $1 billion under administration, we offer customized mortgage solutions for term, bridge and construction financing from $4M to $100M. Blake Cassidy | 800 494 0389 | www.romspen.com

License # 10172

JANUARY 2014 | 1

CONTENTS

MARKETING

SPECIAL

43 | Client communication Digital vs. traditional

39 | Verico cocktail party

46 | Content marketing Not just a buzzword, content marketing is here to stay 52 | Client relationships How to drive sales

62 | Has CAAMP put the cart before the horse?

40 MARKETING

Doren Aldana on creating and promoting your uniqueness

55 | Tax issues in real estate

REGULARS 60 | Favourite Things 64 | CMP Service Directory

2 | FEBRUARY 2014

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3877337 Canada Inc. is a subsidiary of CIBC Mortgages Inc. and carries on business as HLC Home Loans Canada (“HLC”) except in Quebec, where it carries on business as HLC Hypothèques Logis Concept and is licensed as a mortgage agency. HLC is licensed/registered in Ontario as a mortgage brokerage under Licence #10423, in British Columbia and Nova Scotia as a mortgage broker, in Alberta as a mortgage brokerage and in New Brunswick as a credit broker. TM HLC Design is a trademark of CIBC.

FEBRUARY 2014 | 3TM

CONTENTS / EDITOR’S LETTER

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

STACKING THE DECK COPY & FEATURES EDITOR Vernon Clement Jones STAFF WRITER Justin da Rosa CONTRIBUTORS Paolo Di Petta, Deepak Bansal, Eddy Cocciollo, Doren Aldana, Anders Sorman-Nilsson, Peter Bowman, Nikki Heald, Marshall Haughey, Mark David COPY EDITOR Rachel Naud

ART & PRODUCTION GRAPHIC DESIGNER Red Redrico

SALES & MARKETING ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Trevor Biggs GENERAL MANAGER - SALES John Mackenzie MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS Claudine Ting PROJECT COORDINATOR Jessica Duce

CORPORATE PRESIDENT & CEO Tim Duce OFFICE/TRAFFIC MANAGER Marni Parker EVENTS AND CONFERENCE MANAGER Chris Davis

Editorial enquiries vernon.jones@kmimedia.ca Advertising enquiries trevor.biggs@kmimedia.ca Subscriptions tel: 416 644 8740 • fax: 416 203 8940 subscriptions@kmimedia.ca KMI Publishing 312 Adelaide Street West, Suite 800 Toronto, Ontario M5V 1R2 mortgagebrokernews.ca Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission of the editor. Contributions are invited, but copies of work should be kept, as CMP magazine can accept no responsibility for loss.

Brokers often avoid becoming a “jack of all trades,” instead preferring to focus on their own speciality. After all, they are mortgage brokers. Still, a growing number are now master of a few trades, including their primary work – a way of diversifying revenue streams but also ensuring they flourish at a time when too many of their peers are floundering.

An industry cross-section of that new breed of broker is featured in our “Diversifiers” issue (starting pg. 26) and those players have advice on how you too can expand your business.

Take the diversifier duo from Barrie, Ont. While one brother manages the mortgage side of their business, the other is a Canadian First Financial adviser.

The two share clients and manage their financial services holistically.

Or how about those who’ve wholly incorporated syndicate mortgages, consumer credit, insurance or employee benefits into their business models?

We’ve rounded up a number of brokers who have diversified into each of these areas.

This issue also offers a glimpse at some of the changes a number of lenders have made to product offerings in 2013 because, as we all know, even minor tweaks can mean the difference between finding a client a mortgage or not.

And although you may be lamenting the end of the 2014 Winter Olympics, we’re looking forward to our own awards ceremony with this year’s Top 75 Brokers set to be announced at The Mortgage Summit on May 8, with the CMAs following on its heels May 9. Toronto will play host to both of those CMP-powered events.

Cheers, Vernon Clement Jones

CONNECT

Contact the editor:

vernon.jones@kmimedia.ca

4 | FEBRUARY 2014

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Earn More ask us how

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JANUARY 2014 Independently Owned and Operated. ®/™ Trademarks owned by Centum Financial Group Inc. © 2014 Centum Financial Group Inc. The intent of this communication is for| 5 informational purposes only, and is not intended to be a solicitation to anyone under contract with another mortgage brokerage operation.

CONVERSATIONS / LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

LETTERS TO THE

EDITOR

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

Brokers to CMHC: who needs you?

And celebrating the Hot List

RE: READING BETWEEN THE LINES (CMP 9.1)

RE: HOT LIST (CMP 9.1)

CMHC’s dwindling appetite for refi deals had broker Jeff Mayer analyzing the impact for the industry.

CMP’s annual Hot List celebrated the success of industry players expected to make significant contributions to the industry in 2014.

CMHC AND THE MISSING REFI Jeff, I was expecting as much. Major drop-offs even in a steady market in Ottawa.

- Nick Bachusky

We have experienced the same drop in business and I am now adding another revenue stream in order to be able to continue in the brokerage business. It will be an interesting 2014.

- Cindy

Alternative and second-mortgage Jeff Mayer lending has become a larger part of our business. Establishing relationships with Realtors, with the view of financing more purchases, is a must! Alternative and second mortgage lending has become a larger part of our business. Establishing relationships with Realtors, with the view of financing more purchases, is a must!!

Re: “I had a client (who had) to put renovations on credit cards because they couldn’t refinance and they eventually lost (his) house. It has hurt a lot of hard-working people.”

Why couldn’t this person just have waited on the renovations?

Were they an emergency? Why put your livelihood at risk for a renovation?

TIME WILL TELL Congratulations to everyone on the list. I think that you should do a followup article of these people in a year’s time to see if they lived up to expectations. I know that this year will not be as easy as some of them may anticipate

-Ryan

- Mike Hislop

- John Van Driel

6 | FEBRUARY 2014

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MARKET MATTERS / READING BETWEEN THE LINES

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

READING BETWEEN

THE FINE PRINT TD Bank has set off a ruckus in the broker channel with what it thought was a quiet change to a mortgage clause focused on LTV requirements. Paolo Di Petta reads between the lines to explain broker reaction 1. In terms of how this clause affects brokers, I’m not sure. Any broker who cares about their

reputation should be careful where they send their business anyway. This lender seems to have become less customer-friendly with policies.

2. I think the bank made this change as it continues to tighten up policies. Until recently, it has been saying

things that are pretty real estate market-positive, but if you watch the change in the policies, it’s easy to see they’re getting ready for the storm. Watch what they do, and not what they say.

3. This policy change seems like it is part of a larger overall strategy to lock in good clients and to offload risk.

Combined with switching to collateral charges and the “payment holiday” feature – it seems TD’s strategy is pre-emptively defensive.

Paolo Di Petta, Di Petta Mortgage

Old Clause

New Clause 1

2

4

3

8 | FEBRUARY 2014

4. I think we’re going to see how all these changes (and any in the pipeline) form their strategy in coming years.

Hopefully brokers and clients have the foresight to avoid this.

MARKET MATTERS / PRODUCT ROUNDUP

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

PRODUCT NEWS AND INDUSTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS A bite-sized guide to the industry’s newest products and appointments as they enter the channel

WHO: Mortgage Architects WHAT: New consumer website The major mortgage broker network unveiled its new website, which focuses on consumer education.

Mortgage Architects hopes the new website will aid in educating clients about the benefits of using a mortgage professional, while also guiding them through the process of purchasing a home.

The website has been re-designed to be aesthetically inviting and engaging with clean typography, easy navigation and a host of useful homepage shortcuts., says Karen Fogel, marketing director of Mortgage Architects.

“At MA we are in constant pursuit to connect consumers with highly skilled mortgage professionals to educate and guide Canadians through the home buying process.” says Albert Collu, president of Mortgage Architects. “Our new and enhanced website delivers incredible information with direct access to MA mortgage professionals.”

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MARKET MATTERS / NEWS ANALYSIS

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

FORGET THE ECONOMISTS – WHAT DO BROKERS THINK?

A broker with his head deep in both Canadian and U.S. economic data suggests all signs, as mixed as they are, point to interest rates staying put.

“The January Canadian and U.S. employment data provide insight into the employment trends in both countries,” writes Dave Larock, in his monthly economic report. “Overall, these latest job reports should not substantially alter the plans of either the U.S. Federal Reserve or the Bank of Canada. From a mortgage-rate perspective, that means steady as she goes.”

They’re just one variable, but the jobs numbers are considered key to predicting which way rates will move and when. Their prominence has everything to do with consumer confidence, the ebbs and flows of discretionary spending and, ultimately, the need for continuing economic stimulus in the form of rock-bottom rates.

Larock isn’t alone in studying those employment stats, although economists differ in how they read the tealeaves. Here, from Larock’s blog, is his take on Canada’s January performance.

EMPLOYMENT

JANUARY’S HIGHS AND LOWS • Our self-employed ranks increased by 28,300, accounting for almost all of the last month’s gains.

Policy makers can be skeptical of job creation fueled by self-employment because it often includes a sub-group of would-be full-time workers who are really just under-employed.

• Private-sector employment fell by 13,600, after falling by 30,200 in December. This is concerning because private-sector job growth forms the backbone of a healthy, growing economy.

• Our economy created 50,500 new full-time positions in January, recovering most of the 56,000 full-time jobs that were lost in December. This reassuring reversal implies that last month’s plunge was a one off, instead of the start of a longer-term downtrend.

• Average hourly wages rose again and are now growing at 2.6 per cent on a year-over-year basis.

While that may not sound like much to get excited about, it’s more than double our average inflation rate of 1.2 per cent (as measured by our Consumer Price Index) over the same period. This means that the average Canadian worker has been getting more bang for his/her buck as of late.

10 | FEBRUARY 2014

KEEP ‘EM GUESSING

Mark Carney is showing he’s still got what it takes to send homeowners locking into fixed-rate mortgages.

The new head of the Bank of England set off a minor earthquake in the UK this February, sending a stampede of homeowners running to lock into fixed rates ahead of any central bank policy change.

Mortgage brokers on the other side of the pond were inundated with calls from clients ahead of Carney’s pronouncement on what, if any, new protocol on setting rates he’d usher in. The fear was that the BoE would step back from its practice of linking rate hikes to the unemployment rate.

By broadening its analysis to consider other economic data, the bank might be tempted to raise interest rates to reflect a rosier picture of the economy, warned economists.

While most analysts dismissed the possibility of an increase from the longstanding 0.5 per cent rate, borrowers didn’t.

Their concerns virtually mirror those of Canadians when Carney sat at the head of this country’s central bank and fears of an imminent hike swirled ahead of his rate updates.

Those may, in fact, have been the good old days for brokers, with a rush of consumers looking to make their move before the rates went up.

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MARKET MATTERS / NEWS ANALYSIS

BUMPY RIDE; SOFT LANDING?

Vancouver real estate appears headed for a much softer landing than the large-scale crash so many brokers anticipated, and may have secretly wished for.

A new forecast from regional economists points to B.C.’s largest city slowly losing altitude, over the course of several years, and not plummeting to earth in the kind of scenario more than a few brokers have dreamed of as a way of getting fence-sitting clients into buying mode.

But even a soft landing would mark a change in course from the year-over-year price gains that have sent business careening for so many mortgage professionals.

The hope is a moderation in price growth will get buyers into the market.

Still, that may be wishful thinking. Economists are expecting prices to continue moving upward despite the correction fears, although not at the 2.5 per cent growth experienced in 2013. That year, the average single-family house came with a price tag of $927,000.

Any sustained decrease may be years in the making if at all, say analysts.

While home prices in the Greater Vancouver area fell 9.3 per cent from September to October 2013, they experienced monthly increases in November and December, 5.3 and 5.6 per cent, respectively.

$927,000 Average price of a singlefamily house in Vancouver(2013)

2.5 per cent Vancouver price growth in 2013

12 | FEBRUARY 2014

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

YIELD TO RATES

IT’S 11 O’CLOCK. DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR BOND YIELD IS?

A key differentiator for brokers has always been access to the best rates.

Still, it’s the bond market that ultimately dictates those terms, with growing indication that fixed rates will, in fact, edge higher in the second quarter -- a trend that could ultimately heighten the appeal of brokers in 2014.

This graph charts the five-year trend for both the best five-year fixed-rates and the yields for five-year government bond. It also hints at future, upward movement, say economists.

KEEPING PACE WITH THE U.S.

Of course, Canada’s not the only market dependent on government bond rates. In fact, a growing number of brokers in this country are now following the bond market in the U.S., increasingly seen as the chief indicator for where rates are going in Canada.

In recent years, government bond rates in Canada have kept pace with government bond rates in the U.S., as shown in this graph.

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

JANUARY 2014 | 13

MARKET MATTERS / NEWS ANALYSIS

ARRRGH! WHAT AFFORDABILITY?

Toronto brokers are pulling out their shoehorns to get clients into increasingly pricey homes, but they may not be alone, according to this cross-Canada of check of house prices against household incomes • British Columbia’s housing affordability remains relatively poor across all segments despite some improvements. The trend shows no signs of reversing • Alberta’s homes become even more affordable Owning a home at market value in Alberta became slightly less affordable for most housing categories in the final quarter of 2013 but continued to compare favourably against historical and national averages • Saskatchewan’s affordability trends sideways Housing affordability in the province continued to play a predominantly neutral role in homebuying decisions with levels standing close to historical norms. Affordability measures, however, declined for two-storey homes and went up marginally for condos.

• Manitoba’s surge in listings lends a hand to affordability A surge in newly listed homes for sale weakened demand-supply conditions in Manitoba during the second half of 2013, which ultimately helped to improve affordability for two-storey homes and for condos while that for bungalows slipped.

• Ontario’s affordability picture remains largely unchanged Condos were the only segment of the market that saw affordability unchanged.

Owning a single-detached home at market value continues to take a larger share of household income compared to the historical averages.

• Quebec’s affordability conditions little changed from the third quarter The only observable variation in affordability conditions in Quebec during the fourth quarter was in the two-storey homes category. The measures for bungalows and condominium apartments remained unchanged.

• Atlantic Canada retains decent affordability conditions Housing affordability in the region remained at generally neutral and favourable against the majority of markets. Affordability for two-storey homes and bungalows slipped. It rose marginally for condos.

14 | FEBRUARY 2014

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

BANK FRETS ABOUT T.O. MARKET

POLL

WHAT’S FLAHERTY DOING? Brokers are never bashful come time to criticize the government, so MortgageBrokerNews expected some of you would step up to answer a poll question virtually inviting that reaction. It wasn’t to be.

While you answered in droves, you came to praise Jim Flaherty’s move to make CMHC more accessible to small lenders, not to pan it. Overall, was the 2014 budget positive or negative for brokers?

99% Yes

it encouraged lender competition

1% No

it was detrimental, considering CMHC changes

The irony won’t be lost on brokers, but the bank some blame for the rate wars is offering a cautionary note about property prices.

BMO is now sounding the alarm about escalating home prices in the country’s biggest market, in the process raising eyebrows over the possibility of a broker-breaking slowdown in sales.

“In Canada, accelerating home prices in Toronto (7.1 per cent in January compared to a year ago) risk straining affordability further, causing a correction when interest rates normalize and the market is trying to absorb a record number of newly built condos,” says BMO Senior Economist Sal Guatieri.

The analysis is echoed in BMO’s latest economic forecast for North America, which counts the rapid rise in property prices as one of a handful of challenges on the horizon.

A rate war here in Canada has been blamed for driving up prices in the GTA, with many brokers citing BMO’s own trendsetting 2.99 per cent on a five-year fixed back in 2012 as the single-biggest stimulus.

Rates have since fallen and risen and then fallen again, but cheap money continues to encourage the kind of rising prices economist worry will rob many of the homeownership dream.

For now homes continue to sell, although brokers are being forced, say many, buy-down rates to unsustainable levels in order to better compete with the big banks and a proliferation of rate sites.

Still, Guatieri doesn’t see a near-term threat to the Toronto market even if prices continue their climb.

In fact, other factors point to eventual easing of property values, despite the reduced number of construction starts spelled out in the latest report from CMHC.

7.1 per cent accelerating home prices in Toronto

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ccording to Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the one and five year posted mortgage rates are expected to only rise slightly in 2014, and see modest and gradual increases late in the forecast horizon. These changes are consistent with high economic growth prospects in the coming year.

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MARKET MATTERS / BROKER ADVICE

BROKER-TO-BROKER ADVICE:

BACK TO

BASICS

Even established brokers are heading back to the basics of lead generation.

Deepak Bansal, with DLC Mortgage Village, offers a brief refresher course with a couple of new approaches thrown in for good measure I received a piece of advice from a sales coach that I’d like to pass along to all the overworked, overwhelmed and overcommitted mortgage professionals out there: “Learn to get people talking about you, and you’ll get more referrals.”

Your existing clients should be your No.1 source of referrals, as they will likely be the most effective leads you can find; these are “warm” leads, since they come with a substantial recommendation.

That’s great once you have an existing clientele, but if you’re new to the industry and don’t have any existing clients to cultivate, where do you start?

Reach out to friends and family to let them know what you do and then ask for referrals!

16 | FEBRUARY 2014

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

NETWORK Network and build your “COIs” (Centres of Influence): Your COIs are people within your network who can open the right doors for you and refer leads. A small list can include financial planners, contractors, tradesmen, photographers, wedding planners, divorce lawyers, and, of course, Realtors. The list can go on and on, but remember to use your creativity when networking. When building a COI relationship, follow the Law of Reciprocity, or the “givers gain” approach: Give and you shall receive. Of course, to properly employ this, you both must be in a trusting business relationship.

I don’t expect referrals from my COIs, but I use every opportunity I can to make a referral to them.

One of my favourite motivational speakers and sales trainers, Zig Ziglar, once said: “You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.”

GENERATING LEADS: Exhibit at Tradeshows: They are a great opportunity for brokers to promote themselves and generate leads. Be well-prepared! Tradeshow success is determined by your marketing plan, “elevator pitch,” creativity and most importantly, your post-show followup.

Host Seminars and ‘Lunch & Learn’ Sessions: Be known as the “expert” in your field. In addition to homebuyer seminars that generally cater to firsttime buyers, get creative and put together seminars for existing homeowners as well, with topics such as refinancing for debt consolidation, using home equity for renovations, financing rentals and vacation homes, just to name a few.

Brokers can also approach small business owners offering to provide a “lunch and learn” session for their staff. It’s a great way to get in front of a crowd that could have a good mix of both first-time buyers and existing homeowners.

There are many other marketing initiatives from which to generate referrals. By getting the lead and funding the deal, you’ve only won half of the battle.

In my opinion, the equally important other half is to ensure the service you provide throughout the entire interaction is impeccable. No matter how a lead is generated, I am always sure to provide clients with remarkable service so they become my “cheerleaders.” After all, I want them to refer their friends and family.

In one of my favourite books, Purple Cow, author Seth Godin speaks on transforming your business by being remarkable: “You’re either a Purple Cow or you’re not. You’re either remarkable or invisible.

Make your choice.”

Be remarkable and the leads will come.

BANSAL PUTS HIS MONEY WHERE HIS MOUTH IS These potential clients may have more pressing things to worry about than mortgages, but one broker is using a unique strategy to get before consumers as they prepare to make the biggest commitment of their lives.

“It’s my third year (having booths) at trade shows and I have personally found a lot of success,” Bansal tells CMP. “I’ve been to the bridal shows, reaching out to first-time buyers; young couples looking to get married, are eventually going to be buying their first home and they need advice.”

In some cases, these bridal shows are flooded by hundreds of thousands of potential first-time buyers and although Bansal knows mortgages aren’t a top priority when they’re snaking through weddingthemed exhibits, buying a home is often a logical next step.

“At these shows we have giveaways; we get people to fill in ballots as a means for lead generation,” Bansal explains. “Once they’re at our booth, we talk to them very briefly because we know that mortgage financing is probably the last thing on their mind but we actually take it offline afterwards, we give them a call, thank them for coming to the show and set up an appointment to get them a preapproval.”

It’s a strategy he’s seen more and more brokers pick up on.

“The first year I didn’t see any brokers (at bridal shows), but last year I did see two other brokers and this year I noticed two other brokerages there,” he says. “I feel that more and more brokers are starting to see the benefits. There is a large cost involved and I think that’s what makes a lot of brokers shy away from it.”

And he doesn’t stop at bridal shows, either, noting that a very different potential client can be reached at home shows.

“The home shows attract existing homeowners (who may be looking) for mortgage renewals, refinances, equity take outs – it’s a different market,” Bansal said.

“Learn to get people talking about you, and you’ll get more referrals.”

FEBRUARY 2014 | 17

FORUM / COMMENTARY

Brokers,

PICK A

MortgageBrokerNews.ca provides an open forum for brokers to comment, pontificate, praise, blast and generally sound-off on the issues of the day. A lender’s decision to offer 2.99 per cent on a five-year fixed ignited a debate on buy-downs. It also begged readers to pick sides I understand that different people/companies have different revenue and profit models. I am always interested at the low-cost model as I am curious how much volume per staffer is required to make it viable.

One would certainly think that a high volume experience would entail a no-frills experience meaning very little time spent on the customer’s long-term financial goals, and crafting a mortgage strategy that fits with those goals.

Bankers fight relentlessly on rate with each other.

They buy-down rates from their own compensation all the time. CIBC road reps have been offering 2.99 per cent for two weeks. We are in an information age and it’s here to stay. Brokers make ourselves look bad when we talk about keeping our compensation a secret. We look good when we pull out all the stops to get the consumer what they want.

-Christopher Bisson -Ron Butler There’s a “new normal.” Lenders are designing promos with lower commissions as a fact of life.

-Ron Butler

Personally speaking, the amount of media attention to the 5-year fixed under 3 per cent is ridiculous.

According to the finance ministry, this is some kind of a psychological barrier that encourages reckless borrowing even though the difference in payment between 2.99 and 3.19 won’t even fill up your gas tank … The reality is any time brokers divulge this sort of information about internal procedures and compensation plans, all they do is wipe away their value proposition and set themselves up to be shopped.

-Lior Hershkovitz 18 | FEBRUARY 2014

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

SIDE

I agree with Ron, on all fronts. I have always thought it was silly that the broker industry and agents who comment on here and other blogs shout from the mountain tops about offering better rates than the big bad banks, but as soon as there is internal competition, within the broker industry, using options, or promotions available to everyone, the whole thing is horribly wrong.

-Marc F. Let’s fully explore the implication of this no-bridge financing via an example. Let’s say the client takes a $500,000 mortgage at 2.99 per cent and sells the home in year two as they just bought a bigger home and they want to port the mortgage at 2.99 per cent because rates have shot up to 4.50 per cent in two years. Their purchase is on June 1 but their sale is on June 15 so they need bridge financing for 14 days.

Well, if their lender does not have bridge financing, the client will have no choice but to break the current mortgage and take their mortgage to a lender that will give them bridge financing. So, what is the financial implication to the client? Four costs: 1. Discharge fee of say $300; 2. Reinvestment fee of $400; 3. penalty of $3700 (assuming three months interest), and 4. Higher interest cost of 4.5 per cent vs. 2.99 per cent for 3.5 remaining years $26,400. Total cost to client: $30,800.

If the client instead took a regular mortgage at, say, 3.19 per cent, their incremental interest cost of 3.19 per cent vs 2.99 per cent is $5,000 over five years.

This is far less than their exposure and risk of not buying and selling the same day.

I realize my example is a bit extreme on future rate of 4.50 per cent but you never know. At minimum, you need to explain this type of potential risk to the client and put a numerical example attached to it.

Otherwise, you are not doing your job!

-Jim Tourloukis 2.99 is a great rate and far outweighs the bridge aspect (if it ever comes into play). You need to coach the applicant when it comes time to sell on the closing dates. With my clients, the bridge is nice to have to get into the home sooner, not because the seller isn’t flexible with the dates.

- Mike Rice

Really, it’s sad; too many mortgage brokers have such negative knee-jerk reactions about lender rate specials or promotions, trying to pick apart the products. Let’s just offer great value to consumers, disclose factual product features and get consumers excited about dealing with mortgage brokers.

-Ron Butler FEBRUARY 2014 | 19

MARKET MATTERS / PRODUCT TWEAKS

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

LENDER PRODUCT

TWEAKS

EVOLVING WITH THE MARKET

The broker channel is moving quickly to tweak its mortgage product as a way of better competing with the banks. Some recent changes, in particular, are garnering broker praise and bolstering business HOME TRUST Home Trust made some changes to its accelerator program in 2013, which include: • • • •

No tax administration fee No maintenance fee No renewal fee Its five-year variable rate mortgage (VRM) does not have a locked-in period and only has a three month interest charge on prepayment • 20/20 prepayment can be made any time throughout the year

Some of the features of the accelerator program include: • Stated income program available for selfemployed applicants • No appraisals required on refinances • Available in every province • Dedicated and knowledgeable underwriters ready to assist you

“For us there were two main changes in 2013. They weren’t new products but we re-introduced our rate program, which is the accelerator,” Pino Decina, executive vice-president, residential mortgage lending for Home Trust tells CMP. “We sort of pulled that product back for about a 12-month period and it came back to market last year.

20 | FEBRUARY 2014

“It offers rates similar to, or less than in some cases, our competitors in the A-space. I think brokers were happy to see that product come back.”

With the launch of guidelines B-20, there was obviously some more tightening under home equity lines of credit last year. And we, obviously, did the necessary changes to that product to make it B-20 compliant but I think the main thing is that the product is still available. That’s the largest thing in the lending right now is that it is very difficult anywhere to even find a HELOC, and so once we got our guidelines all changed around and B-20 compliant there is sort of a re-launch that happened in the fourth quarter of last year and we can see the demand really growing and the volumes coinciding with that going into 2014.

We ask our brokers to watch out for exciting news to come on the HELOC side.

For us, in both fronts, it is bringing back what’s old. What is old is new again, with some necessary mandated changes. We always listen to what demands our broker partners are hearing in their marketplace and whenever we can provide them a value-add in the marketplace, it’s a win for both.

They really needed to have a HELOC product in their toolbox.... and with a few tweaks here and there it is B-20 compliant and it satisfies the needs of the marketplace.

-Pino Decina

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JANUARY 2014 | 21  

MARKET MATTERS / PRODUCT TWEAKS

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

Being billed as the “home equity loan with endless possibilities,” Home Trust’s Equity Visa line was another major addition in 2013.

“Our second one is the equity line Visa product.

Here was a fantastic product for mortgage brokers to have in their toolboxes for various reasons. Whether it is a customer that had a prime mortgage at a bank that they didn’t want to disrupt the term of because the rate was so favourable but they needed additional financing the equity line visa provided that,” Decina says. “Whether it was an individual who couldn’t meet the bank’s lending requirements, the equity line Visa satisfied that.”

CMLS FINANCIAL The major change, according to the lender, was launching its Residential Mortgage Division, which was recognized as an opportunity area for growth for the company. CMLS’s multi-platform funding options with the strength and 40-year history of their commercial division put them in an excellent position to launch the new residential offerings. The company is on pace to lend over $1 billion in residential mortgages in their first year of operation.

The other major focus area was continuing to be a driving force in the re-emergence of the CMBS lending platform. CMLS have originated over $1 billion in CMBS mortgage loans since 2012.

According to CMLS, the compensation model being offered to brokers is somewhat unique in the industry

CMHC & Conventional Mortgages for:

CMHC/Conventional Financing Phone: 416-368-3266 Email: toronto@peoplestrust.com

22 | FEBRUARY 2014

RMG RMG made improvements to its system, Gateway, in 2013 “in an effort to have one of the most productive, efficient and interactive mortgage broker portals in the industry,” according to Bruno Valko, director of national sales.

“You will be able to upload mortgage documentation directly via Gateway by clicking on the Attach Document link next to any of the conditions required,” Valko said in a note to brokers. “To give you the option, RMG@MortgageServicing.ca or Fax: 1-866-761-9176 will continue to remain live in addition to the ability to upload documents directly to the file.”

RMG also made it easier for brokers to upload documents and view commission on its website.

Single Family Alternate Equity Lending:

Multi-Family Rental Properties Senior’s Housing Projects Commercial Properties Construction Projects

Toronto

and gives brokers the choice of how they want to be compensated when they place mortgages with CMLS Financial. It offers upfront and renewal-based programs.

The company’s move to offer residential mortgages in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, in addition to Ontario, B.C. and Alberta is one way it views itself as continuing to support the broker industry.

CMLS assures brokers it is committed to the broker channel and will continue to focus their efforts in 2014 on strengthening relationships with their existing broker affiliates. They will also be adding some new brokers who focus on the Prairies to service customers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Equity Take Outs Purchases/Refinances Homeowner or Rental Flexible Income Verification

Calgary CMHC/Conventional Financing Phone: 403-237-8795 Email: calgary@peoplestrust.com

Vancouver CMHC/Conventional Financing Single Family Financing Phone: 604-685-1068 Email: vancouver@peoplestrust.com

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

We are dedicated to you, the mortgage professional.

A partnership you can rely on.

That is why we are pleased to introduce our new Equityline®Visa* team to assist you, our broker partner.

Rose Butera Senior Manager, Equityline Visa

HOME TRUST M OR TGA GES

I

V ISA I

R E TA I L C R E D I T

I

DEPOSITS

hometrust.ca JANUARY 2014 | 23

® Registered trademark of Home Trust Company *Visa Int./Home Trust Company, licensed user of mark.

STATISTICS / RESIDENTIAL SALES ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PICTURE AT-A-GLANCE This month’s roundup looks at the most recent data on residential new and resale listings As the temperature dropped in January, so too did housing sales across the country, as Canadians stayed inside rather than trudge through the snow to visit open houses.

“A number of buyers likely waited out January’s deep freeze before going house hunting, particularly where I’m from in southern Ontario,” CREA President Laura Leyser said. “It’s a perfect example of how a local influence that may not be shared by other markets can factor into national sales activity. Like the weather, all real estate is local.”

Nine provinces and territories experienced yearover-year percentage drops in January, with only 9,905 homes changing hands in Ontario; accounting for a 6.1 per cent drop in sales for the province. That drop was due, in large part, to the GTA’s underperformance in January. The region saw a 5.5 per cent decrease in sales.

Other provinces that recorded significant sales drops include Manitoba (-6.3), Quebec (-3.1), New Brunswick (-6), Nova Scotia (-17.2), Prince Edward Island (-17.1) and Newfoundland & Labrador (-14.7).

Meanwhile, Canada’s three most western provinces fared fairly well. British Columbia saw a 24.5 per cent jump in sales, Alberta enjoyed a 5.6 per cent increase and Manitoba recorded a slight 1.3 per cent hike.

And the rest of Canada’s markets are expected to follow suit as the colder months give way to a milder end of winter and, eventually, the beginning of spring.

“Canadian housing market performance in January was a weather report of sorts, with January’s Polar Vortex having dented both resale activity and new construction,” said CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump. “We’ll be keeping a close eye on February’s numbers for signs of a rebound in southern Ontario, where sales reflected deferred home purchases due to cold weather rather than home buyers getting cold feet.”

24 | FEBRUARY 2014

+0.4 per cent

Overall Canadian sales activity

+33.3

per cent

+12.2

per cent

+89.4

per cent

+100

per cent

South Central Alberta

Thompson Saskatoon

South Okanagan

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

SALES ACTIVITY BY PROVINCE (year-over-year monthly percentage change)

Source: CREA

HOTTEST MARKETS Canada’s sunniest cities for January real estate sales (year-over-year percentage change)

British Columbia: +24.5 per cent

Alberta:

+5.6 per cent

Saskatchewan: +1.3 per cent

Quebec:

-3.1 per cent

New Brunswick: -6 per cent

Ontario:

-6.1 per cent

Manitoba:

-6.3 per cent

Newfoundland and Labrador: -14.7 per cent

+66.7

per cent

Prince Edward Island:

+72.7

-17.1 per cent

per cent

+62.5

per cent Rideau-St. Lawrence

Northern New Brunswick

Nova Scotia: -17.2 per cent

Yukon:

-45.8 per cent

Yarmouth Northwest Territories: -50 per cent

FEBRUARY 2014 | 25

COVER / THE DIVERSIFIERS

THE

DIVERSIFI Mortgage brokering may be their focus, but these players are winning with a host of sidelines. CMP is shedding light on those alternative revenue streams

26 | FEBRUARY 2014

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

ERS

Private lending

SHAWN ALLEN

Matrix MortgageGlobal

Toronto, Ont.

When eating a fancy dinner would

Which areas have you diversified into?

you be satisfied with just a big piece of steak, regardless of how delicious, seasoned and filling it is?

Of course not. Because it should be complemented by sides; mashed potatoes, green beans, a salad, gravy.

Well, these industry leaders view their business in the same light.

Most may have started in the mortgage broker industry, but they have each branched out into other areas of financial services to complement their business. Whether it’s insurance, bank products, syndicate mortgages, lending or financial planning; each one has found a unique way to diversify and include alternative revenue streams to help boost their bottom line.

Of course, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all diversification strategy. That’s why we’ve rounded up a number of unique perspectives to see how and why they chose a specific diversification approach.

And we have even caught up with two of the diversifiers featured last year to see what sort of progress they have made.

So sink your teeth into the insights of your fellow brokers. Who knows, you may find some inspiration for the next stage of your own business.

We have a paid training program called “no agent left behind.” We pay agents while teaching them to underwrite our live deals that we get from our marketing campaigns.

We’re also set up as a lender. We have investors who come to us and are able to get funds out for us to fund deals. It allows us to offer a diversified product. Similar to a Home Trust on the lending side; they offer A and B products and so do we.

Is being a one-stop shop the key to diversification?

Being a one-stop shop is difficult when it comes to diversifying because there are so many different components to the mortgage business, so you want to be a specialist. For us, we’re just trying to stick with the alternative sphere and master every component; from the underwriting, to getting investors who can lend the funds out, to working with our in-house lawyer.

So diversifying beyond our core business is not really our strategy.

How do you deal with compliance?

We have an in-house compliance person who does spot-audits, who does checks for Equifax and checking to make sure all documents are on-point.

Do you have specialist devoted to that non-brokering area?

We have tenured agents, so we delegate responsibilities to a number of our inhouse specialists.

What are the potential pitfalls in diversifying? What have you learned?

It’s difficult. There are so many things to learn and the business is constantly changing. You always have to be on-point with the business as it exists today; constantly staying on top of the direction it will take in the future and learning about the areas you diversify into. That’s the main challenge.

What are the benefits to servicing more of your clients’ needs in-house in terms of building relationships and ownership of the client?

Diversification is perfect because your clients trust you. They come to you for advice and they know that you’re going to get the job done. If they know you can handle whatever comes to you -- whether it’s the A, the B, debt consolidation – that makes you a better broker because your clients can trust you.

FEBRUARY 2014 | 27

COVER / THE DIVERSIFIERS

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

Syndicated mortgages

What advice would you offer brokers wanting to diversify?

It is always in the best interest to look for alternate business for the brokerage and the agents to keep them active and maintaining a steady cash flow.

HARI SREEDHARAN

Centum Future Mortgage Group Inc.

Mississauga, Ont.

How do you generate leads and service the client to meet all their needs?

We do email marketing, tap into referral sources, postcard marketing and other methods of marketing.

If we are not able to meet the needs of our client, we refer them to our referral partners.

How do you deal with compliance?

Which areas have you diversified into?

We have diversified into the area of syndicated mortgages because they have the potential to provide our clients a secured mortgage with a return of eight per cent (with the possibility of getting additional return on completion of the project, where they have invested). RRSP, LIRA and TFSA funds which are deposited in mutual funds through the banks do not, nowadays, provide a good return in view of the fluctuation in the stock market. The return from GICs are also meagre, so we are offering our clients an alternate source by way of a self-directed investment in syndicated mortgages.

Is being a one-stop shop the key to diversification?

No. We merely wanted an alternate source of revenue for our agents. If the mortgage business is not good for our agents we wanted them to help their clients with alternate business proposals. Also, they can offer the syndicate mortgage proposal to their existing clients. Further, we do not have problem of losing a client looking for a mortgage to the local bank branches.

28 | FEBRUARY 2014

We are a referral source for the syndicated mortgage promoted by FDS. We do our own investigation about the project and if we are satisfied, we refer the clients to them. The advantage and disadvantages are explained to the client and the final choice to invest is ultimately left to the client. Syndicated mortgages are part of the mortgage business and hence we are in compliance with the authority.

Do you have specialists devoted to that non-brokering area?

We provide training to our agents periodically to keep them up-to-date on that side of the business. If they have doubts, they directly contact the expert in the area with the syndicated mortgage promoters and get their doubts cleared before they move forward.

What are the potential pitfalls in diversifying?

What have you learned?

Diversifying into alternate sources of revenue is required for the steady growth of the brokerage. It is better to diversify in the same area of your business rather than adding an entire new line of business to your portfolio of offering.

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JANUARY 2014 | 29

COVER / THE DIVERSIFIERS

EILEEN CROSBIE

Broker, Dominion Lending Centres, the Mortgage Source Smiths Falls, Ont. Which areas have you diversified into?

Credit cards

In addition to our core offering of DLC mortgage products, we’re primarily focused on providing our clients with the opportunity to apply for DLC Visa cards, MPP life and disability insurance. We also offer a comprehensive leasing service.

Is being a one-stop-shop the key to diversification?

Life and disability insurance

Being a one-stop-shop is not necessarily the key to diversification. If you spread your focus around too much, you may not be able to provide the kind of quality product or service you can be proud of. I think the key is to diversify into one or two areas closely related to your core offering so that your field of expertise is cohesive and the services you offer are all interconnected.

What advice would you offer brokers wanting to diversify?

I would advise anyone who wants to diversify to begin slowly and to pick products they believe in and are comfortable with. The more you know about your products, the better able you are to provide your clients with the kind of service that will turn them into repeat customers. Focus on one or two things and get really good at those things before you move on.

How do you generate leads and service the client to meet all their needs?

We generate leads by maintaining a strong community presence – we let people know who we are and what 30 | FEBRUARY 2014

we do. We also rely on word of mouth and mutual referrals, but we ask for those referrals by encouraging our clients to send us their friends and family. We try to stay in touch regularly with our client-base through emails and newsletters. We’ve discovered that reaching out to our clientele frequently is the best way to make an impression on both established and potential customers and we do this by attending a lot of local events, tradeshows, festivals and by sponsoring local teams.

How do you deal with compliance?

The Mortgage Source has an established protocol which we follow to ensure compliance.

Do you have a specialist devoted to that non-brokering area?

At our DLC location we have a small team and we’re all specialists in each of the services we offer.

What are the potential pitfalls in diversifying?

As I mentioned above, I think that diversifying into too many areas or into unrelated areas means risking the integrity of the services you offer. It’s better to do one or two things really well.

What have you learned?

I’ve learned that diversification can help to grow a healthier business but also that the needs of the client must always come first. One thing that makes it easier for us is that we believe in our DLC products. Our DLC Visa Credit Cards, for instance, have some of the lowest interest rates in the country. It isn’t difficult to diversify into an area like this when the product you’re offering is genuinely a good one, especially compared to some of the other options available. We simply offer the card to everyone and allow the great rates to speak for themselves.

What are the benefits to servicing more of the clients’ needs in-house in terms of building relationships and ownership of the client?

Offering more services in-house builds a better and more trusting relationship with clients and this, in turn, leads to more repeat business. It’s nice to be able to offer to help clients ourselves rather than having to send them elsewhere for the kind of services they want. In the rare circumstance that we cannot help a potential client right away, we try to followup with that potential client and work with them in order to get them into a home.

There are “Real Advantages” to joining RMA

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

Real estate

DANNY ALESSANDRINI

The Mortgage Centre The Real Estate Stop: Algoma Mortgage

“A s s o o n a s t h e l e n d e r s s e n d t h e c o m m i s s i o n s t o h e a d o f f i c e i t ’s direct-deposited into my account.

H i g h est co m m i ss i o n s a n d p ro m p t payroll. I love RMA!”

Donna Stewart RMA Mortgage Broker Guelph, ON

Sault Ste Marie, Ont.

Which areas have you diversified into?

Our firm started out as a real estate brokerage house so diversifying, for us, meant developing a mortgage brokerage strategy. We manage both within the same high profile property (previously a CIBC branch building) and have recently developed a private mortgage arm.

Is being a one-stop-shop the key to diversification?

Our company name is The Real Estate Stop Inc. and we are exactly that: A one-stop organization that provides solutions from property acquisition to mortgage sourcing and assisting in arranging for a solicitor, if required, to close the deal.

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

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What advice would you offer brokers wanting to diversify?

Diversifying provides more opportunity for both the organization and the client; however if you fail to deliver in any aspect of the process, your reputation and future business can be negatively affected. So it is imperative that everyone is professional in their specific role.

What have you learned?

The magic formula is to avoid the jack of all trades syndrome. It is imperative that everyone who performs a task in your organization knows it well. For example: If you are selling life insurance – which, by the way, can be incredibly lucrative -- you need to know the products. If you are doing B-business or providing private financing, you must be knowledgeable enough to provide the right information to help a prospect in the decision making process.

Learn more about the advantages of joining our team at

www.rmabroker.ca/join 1.877.677.7778

FEBRUARY 2014 | 31

COVER / THE DIVERSIFIERS

IAN MACKAY

Verico RedPath Financial Toronto, Ont.

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

Employee programs

Which areas have you diversified into?

We have diversified into offering companies Employee Mortgage Programs in partnership with a firm that offers employee benefit consulting, financial planning and wealth management.

Is being a one-stop shop the key to diversification?

No, being a one-stop shop is not the key to diversification. The key to diversifying is making sure that you are proficient and competitive in the areas you are diversifying in. If the products and/or services you are offering are not competitive with the market they will just be a drag on your other lines of business.

What advice would you offer brokers wanting to diversify?

Choose your areas of diversification and potential partners carefully. Make sure they complement your existing business model and continue to re-evaluate your return on each line of business. If you are spending 50 per cent of your time on a line of business that generates 20 per cent of your profit with no upside in sight you need rethink where your time is best served.

How do you generate leads and service the client to meet all their needs?

Leads are generated through multiple streams; I’m not a fan of having all your eggs in one basket. As far as servicing goes, we all stick to what we do best.

Mortgage guys do mortgages; financial planners provide our clients financial planning and wealth management products.

How do you deal with compliance?

Compliance for each line of business is handled specifically by that business group.

What are the potential pitfalls in diversifying?

What have you learned?

You may try something and, for whatever reason, it doesn’t work. Don’t get discouraged. Learn from it and continue to try and grow your business in different ways.

32 | FEBRUARY 2014

What are the benefits to servicing more of your clients’ needs in-house in terms of building relationships and ownership of the client?

Every product or service you provide a client puts another post in the fence around them. The reality is that nowadays no one can claim ownership of a client.

What you strive to do is be top of mind when it comes to a client making that first phone call with a question.

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

JANUARY 2014 | 33

COVER / THE DIVERSIFIERS

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

What advice would you offer brokers wanting to diversify?

ADAM AND LUKE BAZUK

Canadian First Financial Centres - Thornton, ON

Dominion Lending Centres YBM Group Location: Thornton, Ont.

Stop thinking about it and just do it. What your gut is telling you (that you should diversify) is indeed the case. For me, it was never about “how much money will I make if my brother Luke sells someone an RRSP?” I have often told my peers that having the ability to walk my clients across the hall to speak with Luke, to have him design a financial plan, set up an RRSP or whatever it happens to be, has made me look more professional in the eyes of my client.

How do you deal with compliance?

Canadian First Financial controls compliance from its head office. Our adviser is fully licensed and gets the support required to make sure we are always OSFI compliant.

Which areas have you diversified into?

Life insurance

Wealth management

My brother Luke and I have been mortgage agents and, subsequently, brokers since 2005. We have always worked together and have enjoyed building this business and creating strong relationships with our clients, together. It was in 2009 that we started to become sensitive to the fact that the long-term sustainability of our business required us to have the ability to offer more to our clients. Thanks to a referral and recommendation from our DLC principal broker, Darick Battaglia, Luke and I had the opportunity to purchase a Canadian First Financial Centre in August of that year and incorporate that business into our existing branch office. Luke became our CFFC adviser, along the way obtaining his licences to be able to offer financial advice and investments (mutual funds, RRSPs, TFSAs, RESPs, GICs and so forth) and life insurance to our clients, while I continued to lead the mortgage business through our Dominion Lending Centres branch. As time has gone on, Canadian First has developed into a very exciting diversification opportunity, having obtained a Schedule 1 bank licence in June of 2013 and purchasing MonCana Bank in August of that same year.

We are shareholders of Canadian First Financial Group and, as a result, we are now owners of our own bank. We plan on launching our own GICs, RSPs, TFSAs, bank accounts and unsecured lines of credit.

Is being a one-stop shop the key to diversification?

Absolutely. We passionately believe in doing more for our clients, keeping more relationships to ourself and owning more of the value created from being a trusted adviser in your local community.

34 | FEBRUARY 2014

Do you have a specialist devoted to that non-brokering area?

As mentioned previously, up until now we have had a dedicated financial adviser and life insurance agent, which was required to be able to offer the nonbrokering products to our clients. However, CFFBank will soon offer solutions where some of the investment products can now be done directly (by me, the mortgage broker) with my bank (GIC, RRSP, TFSA).

What are the potential pitfalls in diversifying?

What have you learned?

I don’t feel there are any pitfalls in diversifying if you do it right. That means you need support. Otherwise, you can be spread too thin and lose sight of your core business -- mortgage brokering.

What are the benefits to servicing more of your clients’ needs in-house in terms of building relationships and ownership of the client?

My strongest client relationships are ones in which my client has elected to do more with us; mortgage, TFSA, RRSP, RESP, life insurance. It is these clients that send me the most referrals because they are so happy and believe in us. It is these clients that I feel most confident that they will return to me for all their future financial needs including the all-important mortgage. I just can’t wait to be able to offer checking accounts and unsecured lines of credit. On an individual client basis, I firmly believe that together with a high level of customer service, if I have them arrange a mortgage with me, a payroll chequing account and their child’s RESP, there is a much higher chance they will be my client for life.

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

JANUARY 2014 | 35

COVER / THE DIVERSIFIERS

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

CATCHING UP WITH SOME FAMILIAR FACES CMP is checking back in with these two members of last year’s diversifiers list

Gord McCallum

Terry Kilakos

New developments since we last spoke:

New developments since we last spoke:

We’ve continued on largely the same path since the original article. Recently we’ve added additional life insurance and group benefit options for our personal and commercial clients. We’ve recently entered into negotiations to acquire an existing general insurance agency which would act as a base for a second location in Edmonton, and we’re exploring other financial services. Basically the business model is to offer everything that a bank offers, and more, in-house with the key differentiation that everything is brokered.

We’ve launched another site. We’ve put into full swing NorthEast Realties, which is the real estate arm of NorthEast Mortgages. When a client comes in for a pre-approval, we have in-house real estate agents who are able to handle the file.

The whole point behind doing this is we’re trying to eliminate the client from getting taken away by anyone else. Someone will come in for a pre-approval, we’ll take care of it and once the client is qualified we’re able to pass that file onto the real estate agent. The real estate agent then will do the transaction, find the property; the file comes back to us, we do the mortgage and we’ll refer it to the in-house insurance department and we also have in-house notaries as well so, basically, it completes the transaction.

First Foundation Edmonton, Alta.

Which area is the main driver of cross-selling?

Because our mortgage business had a 10-year head start on the other lines of business, it still drives the majority of the leads for general and life insurance.

At some point, however, due to book growth and client retention, we can see a day when general insurance drives a lot of leads in the other direction as well.

Mortgages may always have a bit of an advantage because it’s the natural first-step in the process, with insurance products coming afterwards.

36 | FEBRUARY 2014

Verico NorthEast Mortgages Montreal, Que

Which area is the main driver of cross-selling?

The mortgage business is still the number-one driving force behind his business. Clients come for a mortgage and, thanks to his diversified business, North East handles almost every step in getting a client into a home.

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OPEN LETTER / THE MORTGAGE CENTRE

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

OPEN LETTER THE MORTGAGE CENTRE

One broker network celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and while new ownership in 2013 has brought significant changes, it’s brought even more speculation. MCC President Eddy Cocciollo is setting the record straight about brokerage retention, network autonomy and, ultimately, its longevity In 2014, The Mortgage Centre celebrates its 25th Anniversary. A significant milestone in an industry that, compared to other similar industries, is really still in its infancy. Since July – in our new world under new ownership – we have seen significant changes to our tools, products, technology and training, but the overall core values of The Mortgage Centre remain intact.

MCC has a special group of owners and agents that go back the 25 years MCC has existed. You hear all the time that MCC has the best of the best in terms of producing agents and teams across the country. That legacy will always remain as we continue to retain and attract amazing people to our organization.

The most apparent difference from our previous ownership is speed to market. We don’t have the bureaucracy of a bank to deal with which has allowed us to compete more fiercely. Yes, we lost a lender but we also gained one in the process with our very own MCC Centric Mortgage.

Since July we haven’t lost a single franchise. We have had over a dozen renew in the last few months and all have signed a new five-year agreement with us.

We have also added a few new franchises and are working on adding over a billion dollars of net new production over the next few months. It’s quite remarkable that we are the ones being called on by some surprising broker teams asking what is new at MCC. One of our challenges is that some feel that DLC will slowly switch MCC to DLC. I can assure you that this is not in the plans. A move like that really doesn’t make any sense as the MCC history, people and model

38 | FEBRUARY 2014

are an advantageous complement to DLC. Gary Mauris now has two seats at every table, with different sets of values that appeal to two different kinds of entrepreneurs.

Overall we are in a better position than we were previously. We are able to tap into an incredible and knowledgeable back office team that gives us 100 per cent attention, helping improve our value-add and allowing us to stay on top of the competition. Life is good at The Mortgage Centre.

Eddy Cocciollo

MCC MILESTONES January 1989 Founded FY2013 - Achieves $6.9 billion in funded volume June 2013 - Enters partnership agreement with Dominion Lending Centres

SOCIAL / VERICO BROKER COCKTAIL

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

The Mortgage forum lasts only a few days in November but memories of the networking and socializing surrounding it live on.

Here is a snapshot – several snapshots – of Verico’s own cocktail party around the 2013 forum in Toronto.

L to R: Natasha Rogano, Martin Marshall, Vanessa Dimarco, Sue Rogano

L to R: Andrew Persaud, Roger Nambiar, Sean Widdess, Raymond Persaud, Sahib Rana, Yidel Fischer.

L to R: Darren Thompson, Colin Dreyer

L to R: Mark Van Orman, Eleonora Van Orman, Marty Wagman, Roslyn Goldmintz

L to R: Angelo Ghaleb, Jeff Higgins, Ryan White, Naresh Thakkar

FEBRUARY 2014 | 39

BUSINESS STRATEGY / SECRET #12

SWIM AGAINST THE CURRENT...

FOR A UNIQUE

PROPOSI T

40 | FEBRUARY 2014

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

VALUE

ION Going beyond promises of ‘best rate’ and ‘best service’ to establish a unique selling proposition is the mandate of any superstar broker, writes Doren Aldana

SECRET #12: THEY CREATE AND PROMOTE THEIR UNIQUENESS. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to notice that there are loads of mortgage professionals and lenders out there and in some areas it seems as if we’re reaching the saturation point. Have you ever had a prospective client say, “I’m already working with my bank” or “I’m happy with my current broker?”

What’s the average mortgage professional’s response to that objection? It’s usually the same old worn-out line you hear time after time: “I’ve got better service” or “I’ll get you better rates.”

Sound familiar?

On the other hand superstar mortgage professionals have learned to create and clearly articulate their unique selling proposition (USP) -- something that sets them apart from every other Joe Shmoe mortgage professional out there. And just in case you haven’t noticed, “best rates” and “best service” ain’t going to cut it! Your USP needs to be something unique and memorable that answers the question in the mind of your prospect: “Why should I do business with you, over all the other options available?” If you don’t have a compelling answer, don’t be surprised if your clients defect to your competitors.

You don’t have to be strange or outrageous, like Richard Branson, to have a compelling USP. You just need to be able to clearly articulate what separates you from all the other mortgage providers out there in a way that will be quickly and easily remembered by your target market. For example: If your niche is jumbo mortgages, you might title yourself “The Luxury Home Financing Expert” and your slogan might be “Elite financing services for luxury homeowners.”

Here’s another example. Let’s say you want to attract more Realtor partners who send a lot of referrals. As you might expect, Realtors are bombarded on a regular basis by “parasite” mortgage brokers who just want to suck them dry of referrals without giving any unique value in return.

And, frankly, Realtors are sick and tired of it. So, rather than following the herd, you should decide to take a different approach. Offer your Realtors an opportunity to receive exclusive marketing services to help them attract more listings and sell them fast for top dollar. Instead of talking about “great rates” and “great service”, you focus on what they really care about: Helping them close more sales and make more money.

Still stumped? Consider the A.C.E formula for standing out: Authority. This is about gaining dominance in your market using the power of educationbased marketing. Instead of being me-focused and saying, “look at me. I’m so awesome,” you become client-focused by hitting your clients’ hot buttons and talking about what they really care about. For example, you could offer a book, CD, DVD, report, etc. that teaches “insider secrets” on how to avoid costly mistakes, save thousands of dollars on interest and penalties and secure the best mortgage with the best rates and terms available. By providing this valuable information upfront at no cost, before they even become a client, you become their trusted adviser -- with authority.

1

Doren Aldana is considered by many to be Canada’s leading Mortgage Marketing Coach and has won the “Best Industry Service Provider” award two years in a row at the 2012 and 2013 Canadian Mortgage Awards. Since 2005, he has been dedicated to helping mortgage professionals attract more clients with less effort, regardless of market conditions.

For a free copy of Doren’s new CD titled, “21 Secrets of Superstar Mortgage Brokers,” visit: www.

SuperstarMortgageBroker.com

FEBRUARY 2014 | 41

BUSINESS STRATEGY / SECRET #12

2

Celebrity. What do Suzy Orman, Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz all have in common? They all used mass media to raise themselves from obscurity to celebrity. This might seem way out of your league, but keep in mind they started out in the same boat.

You can leverage the media (i.e. TV, radio, newspapers, etc.) in your local market to position yourself as a “mortgage celebrity.” You don’t have to be a talented showman to do this either. All you need is helpful mortgage advice (which you already have) and a willingness to get out of your comfort zone and share it. The cool part is, once you’re somewhat famous, people will line up to do business with you.

Exclusivity. Starbucks, Apple and BMW have this one figured out. You can buy cheaper coffee, computers and cars elsewhere, but people pay way more for an extraordinary experience because it makes them feel special, significant and part of an exclusive group. You see, people buy identities, not products. As Anthony Robbins says,

3

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

“Sales and marketing teams have to know specifically who their ideal customer is and not only what they want, but what they need at the deepest level. If you’re able to meet these needs, you’ll develop a raving fan culture.” So, what can you offer that no one else offers? What can you do to create an extraordinary, elite experience for your clients and/ or referral partners?

For my clients, I provide a simple tool called the “performance gap analysis” that allows for quick identification of their unique advantage within their specific niche market. It’s all about showing a broker how to clearly articulate his or her USP in such a compelling way that prospects naturally conclude they’d by crazy not to do business with that broker.

In next month’s 13th secret, you’ll discover the reason why superstar mortgage professionals never have to worry about market trends or whether the rates are going up or down. Stay tuned...

YOUR SOURCE FOR • PERSONAL LOANS • 2 ND MORTGAGES • CONSTRUCTION MORTGAGES

www.tribecca.ca 261 Sheppard Avenue West | Toronto, Ontario | M2N 1N4 Tel: 416.225.6900 | Fax: 416.225.6905 | Licence # 12225

42 | FEBRUARY 2014

It’s time for a new perspective.™

BUSINESS STRATEGY / COMMUNICATION

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

CLIENT COMMUNICATION: DIGITAL VS. TRADITIONAL As blogs, newsletters and videos become normal modes of client communication, brokers are heading into the brave new world of digitization.

But old-school communication is just as key to connecting with a client’s enduringly emotional heart, says Anders Sorman-Nilsson

FEBRUARY 2014 | 43

BUSINESS STRATEGY / COMMUNICATION

We are entering a world of digital disruption: the idea that everything that can be digitized will eventually be digitized. This includes the customer service and marketing touchpoints that are essential tools for brokers seeking to win the hearts and minds of tomorrow’s home buyers.

Digital disruption is a force to be reckoned with for those professionals, but it doesn’t mean that everything that can be digitized should necessarily be digitized. It’s essential to pay careful attention to your communications mix so that you don’t throw out the traditional baby with the traditional bathwater. While the digital world represents a shiny new penny that is key to engaging with the customer’s increasingly digitized, rational mind, old-school communication remains vital to connecting with the client’s enduringly traditional, emotional heart.

The digital world disintermediates the relationship between financial and bricks-andmortar mortgages and the end consumer, and that consumer is increasingly doing their due diligence digitally. This means that you run the risk of being digitally disintermediated unless you start providing more value to the customer. Think robo-brokers, but also think about fighting that threat a new way.

Digital is phenomenal for attracting new clients, and traditional is great for retaining existing clients.

Thus, you need to become a thought leader in the way that you provide informational, rational value to clients’ increasingly digital minds, while still connecting with them emotionally.

To be able to compete with digital comparison portals and to protect yourself against digital disintermediation, it’s critical that you figure out which touchpoints you should digitize and which ones you shouldn’t digitize. This isn’t a choice between either the digital or the traditional channel.

Instead, you must go “digilogue.” Here’s how:

PROVIDE VALUE TO DIGITAL MINDS

website. Create a four-two-one digital content schedule: blogging four times per month, sending two digital newsletters per month, and creating engaging and educational video content at least once per quarter.

For example, a broker in Coal Harbour, Vancouver, could create a four-two-one digital content schedule to provide informational value to clients’ (and prospective clients’) digital minds, while also boosting his or her Google rankings. It would look something like this:

FOUR-TWO-ONE DIGITAL CONTENT SCHEDULE

BLOG

1. “The impact of the central bank decision on property values in Coal Harbour” 2. “A cost-benefit analysis of cashing out existing investments to transfer those funds into the Coal Harbour market” 3. “Do’s and don’ts when using RRSP-eligible investment to buy Coal Harbour property” 4. “Top 7 questions about REIT investment alternatives” DIGITAL NEWSLETTER

1. “3 tips to ensure a good equities-real estate portfolio mix” 2. “Coal Harbour property trends – why the time is right!”

VIDEO

1. Interviews with current clients currently investing in Coal Harbour’s housing market.

Put your industry thought leadership and professional expertise on the digital line by creating a great blog, newsletter, and well-designed, interactive

It’s absolutely necessary to make each tangible traditional encounter with current and prospective clients world class 44 | FEBRUARY 2014

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

BEING SEEN You must be seen in the digital world. Your prospects need to start trusting you as a thought leader in the digital world before making an approach to see you in the traditional world. In the digital world, where clients are doing their digital due diligence, offering engaging content is king.

Creating search-engine-optimized, localized content that can be easily accessed by a prospect via mobile devices will be key to your success in winning digital minds. For example, have content on offer that your clients can view while they’re walking up the street in your area and checking out property.

Big deals are usually still sealed with a handshake. There is something about the ritual of signing on the dotted line … that the digital world still cannot mirror.

CONNECT WITH TRADITIONAL HEARTS While it is critical that you, as a broker, are digitally accessible and provide value to digital minds, you also have to ensure that you connect deeply with traditional hearts. Traditionally and enduringly, most transactions take place in the traditional , face-to-face world. Big deals are usually still sealed with a handshake. There is something about the ritual of signing on the dotted line with a Montblanc pen, for example, that the digital world still cannot mirror.

It’s absolutely necessary to make each tangible traditional encounter with clients, and prospective clients, world class. If a client, or prospective client, decides to spend traditional, face-to-face time with you, you must show incredible respect for the time they invest with you by connecting deeply with their traditional hearts.

In June 2013, when I spoke at the Million Dollar Round Table in Philadelphia, I gave the following recommendations. Have a think about them.

RECOMMENDATIONS • Scenario planning and consulting on a one-on-one basis with your client. Sit down each quarter face-to-face and revisit goals and the long-term plan. Provide your client with hindsight, insight and foresight based on our plan, while providing a sense of partnership during these conversations.

• Writing a handwritten card: This will remind the client of their investment and savings goal, or congratulate them on goals achieved. When I was working with mortgage brokers who sold Advantedge products, one broker said that handwritten notes was his key way of adding traditional value and ensuring he retained his clients’ loyalty.

• Hosting investment and financial literacy workshops for clients and their friends: This is a great way of adding value to existing relationships, while also building a pipeline of trusted referrals.

• Speaking at industry conferences: This will boost your personal brand and thoughtleadership credentials, and harness your financial networks (accountants, mortgage professionals, stockbrokers, banks, etc.) both for speaking opportunities and face-to-face introductions. If you become a trusted broker and thought leader within the industry, the likelihood is that the industry will talk about you.

This in turn can generate positive PR and recommendations.

There is a time to be digital and there is a time to be traditional. Financial services professionals must ensure they find the correct blend. Digital is phenomenal for attracting new clients and for boosting your own digitally amplified branding, while traditional can be great for building enduring trust, retaining business and closing deals.

Increasingly, you must learn to shift seamlessly between the digital and traditional worlds. In one word, you must start becoming “digilogue.”

Anders SormanNilsson is a global futurist, innovation strategist, keynote speaker at TEDx and author of the new book, Digilogue: How to Win the Digital Minds and Traditional Hearts of Tomorrow’s Customer.

FEBRUARY 2014 | 45

BUSINESS STRATEGY / CONTENT MARKETING

CONTENT

MARKETING HERE TO STAY Content marketing might be the latest marketing buzzword, but what does it mean and, more importantly, can it add value to your advice business? One thing is certain, Peter Bowman explains, for the foreseeable future: it’s here to stay

46 | FEBRUARY 2014

Content marketing involves creating and sharing content in order to promote your business, retain existing clients and attract new ones. The content you create is stored on your website, which acts as your online storefront. You share your content by adding website links on your social media pages.

So how is content marketing different from traditional marketing? Traditionally, most services used a mix of television, newspaper, radio and telephone directory advertising. This provided people with the ability to find you and make an appointment.

When you think about it, this is really one-way communication – your business sending a message to the marketplace. If they are satisfied with you, they may tell their friends about you and make a referral.

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

Content marketing, however, is more like two-way communication. People have the opportunity to interact with you and share your content with their own connections.

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

TRADITIONAL MARKETING VS CONTENT MARKETING CREATE AND PLACE YOUR MESSAGES

NEWS

There are six reasons why you might consider adding content marketing to the marketing activities of your business:

1

The shareable nature of social media makes content marketing highly believable when it is shared and liked by your followers. Prospective clients are more likely to trust a referral from a friend than to trust an advertisement. Therefore, content marketing provides a great way to introduce your expertise to people who you don’t do business with yet. In some ways, it’s the modern version of a referral – it’s a virtual handshake.

Traditional advertising is seen by many consumers as an interruption to their television viewing, radio listening or newspaper reading.

Content marketing, given that it’s news you can use or entertainment, is more likely to engage with consumers than interrupt and annoy them.

If you’re not on social media, you are likely to be seen as old-fashioned. Once upon a time a business needed a fax number and a website just to be considered credible. The same can now be said for Facebook and LinkedIn company pages.

Tomorrow’s clients live with social media.

Teenagers today don’t know what life is like without the Internet. And although it’s medically possible, many don’t think they can live without a Facebook update or a tweet. The point here is that the Internet has changed the way we communicate and interact, not only with each other but with businesses too. If you don’t embrace change like this, you’re likely to be limiting your business’s longevity.

Content marketing is highly measurable. With inbuilt metrics within social media tools, and Google Analytics for your website, you can see how widely your content is shared and what this marketing effort and cost is bringing to your business. Accountability in marketing is always a good thing, and content marketing allows you to assess the cost of a new client clearly.

5

• Contact you to make an appointment • Potential to tell their friends about you by verbal referral

• Contact you to make an appointment • Potential to tell their friends about you by verbal referral

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ACTIONS TAKEN BY POTENTIAL CLIENTS

PLUS ONLINE THEY CAN

• Follow you • Like you • Comment on and ask questions about your content • Share your content with their friends

6

The more content you have, the more credibility you have with search engines like Google.

Content marketing can help improve your Google rating. More and more people are going online to search for assistance rather than look through the telephone directory.

SO WHAT CONTENT SHOULD YOU CREATE? Creating shareable content is the key challenge of effective content marketing. Shareable is the key word here. Shareable content identifies a problem, helps solve a problem, entertains, or a combination of all three. By sharing this kind of content, you have the opportunity to be seen as the go-to person for help within your community on your area of expertise.

Effective content marketers avoid straight selling.

They do this because straight selling is likely to be seen as spam by an audience, who are likely to ignore it.

FEBRUARY 2014 | 47

BUSINESS STRATEGY / CONTENT MARKETING

The type of content you can create is really only limited by your imagination and your marketing budget. Typically though, content marketers produce things like: • • • • • • • • •

Fact sheets Did you know? blog articles White papers Case studies How-to guides and e-books Interviews Podcasts YouTube videos Video-recorded seminars

WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS SHOULD SHARE YOUR CONTENT? There are new social media channels popping up every day, but the most popular ones are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and Pinterest.

It makes sense from a content marketing perspective to create pages on the social media channels where your existing and ideal clients are. It also makes sense to have a personal LinkedIn profile so your professional network can connect to you online.

WHAT DOES IT COST? In traditional advertising (radio, newspapers, television, and telephone directories) there are usually two costs: the cost of creating the advert and the cost of advertising space itself. Content marketing only has the cost of creating the content, as all of the popular social media channels are free.

HOW DO YOU MAKE THE DECISION TO EMBRACE CONTENT MARKETING? Using the principles from my book, Service 7, here are seven questions you should ask yourself before jumping head first into content marketing:

1 Peter Bowman is a private marketing consultant and the author of Service 7, a book that helps professional brokers market their firms more effectively.

48 | FEBRUARY 2014

Can it add value to our business?

How you define value will depend on your business. But for most, it comes down to client satisfaction, business income and profitability. If you don’t believe content marketing can add value on these measures and your own, then perhaps it is not right for you.

Does it help us understand our clients better?

Understanding your clients and meeting their needs is certainly a key to success within any service. By connecting with your clients online, not

2

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

only can they follow you, but you can also keep up to date with what’s going on in their world in a non-intrusive manner.

Does it help us tell our story better and build our reputation?

Content marketing may afford you the opportunity to tell your story better over time. Articles and fact sheets can demonstrate your expertise and opinion leadership. YouTube videos are great at helping explain complex matters and sharing personal messages where traditional face-to-face communication usually works better.

Can it help us attract new clients?

As with assessing all business development decisions where you intend to make an investment of time and money, it’s prudent to ask yourself how effective this effort might be. If no one is using the telephone directory or reading the newspaper any more, then ask yourself if content marketing offers a way to connect with prospects and potential clients.

Will it help us deliver better customer service?

Not only might you be able to attract new clients with content marketing but you might also be able to service them better. Perhaps there are frequently asked questions or difficult issues you can share some insight on. Or perhaps you can offer taxtime reminders as a part of your content marketing – so you are delivering part of your service online too. Remember, content marketing is two-way communication.

Can it help us enhance our service design?

Content marketing has the ability to change the way you deliver your services. Perhaps it’s time to create an online service capability that might include an introductory client fact page and a welcome video.

Will it help us create the future, or is it just change for the sake of change?

As with all innovation, it’s important that you’re confident you are making changes within your business because it makes sense to do so. It’s also likely that your competitors are considering content marketing, too.

Given the increasingly online nature of the world we live in, content marketing isn’t going to go away.

As with all marketing initiatives, however, it’s important that you take some time to create your goals, plan your messages, select your channels and assess the results to ensure your content marketing strategy is working for the betterment of your business.

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BUSINESS STRATEGY / COMMUNICATION

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

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FEBRUARY 2014 | 49

BUSINESS STRATEGY / SUCCESSION PLANNING

SUCCESSION

PLANNING

When it comes to mapping out an exit strategy, a broker is ‘in tough’ if she ignores the basics of maximizing business value for prospective buyers

Most business owners go into business planning to maximize the value of the business and extract that value (most often by selling) when they exit. But the research tells us most don’t have a plan or strategy around how to do this and therefore often fail to either maximize or extract the value or both.

Achieving a successful outcome centres around both internal and external factors.

INTERNAL AREAS When it comes to internal areas, the question to ask is “what are the key things we can focus on to ensure our business is valuable, attractive and saleable?”

In my experience, there are eight key areas to focus on when answering this question:

1

Size Simply put, size does matter. There is plenty of research supporting the fact that businesses with a turnover of $5m or more nearly always sell at higher multiples than their smaller counterparts.

While I am not in favour of growth for growth’s sake, designing your business to grow to at least this level of turnover will maximize value.

2

Business model Is your business operating under a boutique or scale model and, even more importantly, is every aspect of your business aligned with your model? This includes: 50 | FEBRUARY 2014

• • • • •

customer service online presence the people you employ your pricing strategy your marketing materials: I recently met a financial advisor looking after high-net-worth individual clients who was extremely good at what he did and as a result charged a premium.

But he then gave me a business card on very flimsy paper that looked like it had been printed as cheaply as possible

3 4

Revenue Recurring revenue is vital. Do you have clients on long-term retainers, extended contracts, or some type of residual income trail?

Sales and marketing Your business needs to be able to generate new business, leads and, ultimately, sales without relying on either your or a key person’s skill and sales ability. All businesses need a sales and marketing machine.

5

Systems Save yourself time, effort and money: not only are systemized businesses far simpler to run, far less stressful and generally far less risky, but they are also more valuable.

6

Employees Do you have an employee incentive plan whereby employees are rewarded based on performance? This could either be a profit share-

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based plan, or ideally an employee share ownership plan. This substantially reduces one of the key risks for buyers – that your employees will exit when you do!

7

Corporate governance and compliance Corporate governance and compliance is often ignored by business owners as either something only large firms need to worry about or something that’s simply too hard and far too boring.

Focusing on this area can add considerable value (particularly when we look at attracting the right type of buyers), as well as reducing risk.

8

Owner dependence The business must be able to run independently of your involvement.

For example, you must be able to leave for two months for a holiday in Europe without contacting the office, while the business maintains, continues and even improves its performance in your absence.

EXTERNAL AREAS When it comes to external areas, the question to ask is “what do we need to prepare to attract the right buyer (who will pay more)?”

Having bought and sold several businesses over the last 15 years, there are several factors that stand out to me when answering this question:

1

Strategic buyer For every business there is a strategic buyer who will pay more for your business simply because they benefit more than most other buyers. The most common example of this is complementary products and services.

2

Information memorandum (IM) document It is amazing to see the number of businesses, which are otherwise quite valuable, whose owners are prepared to sell up on the basis of a cheap, home-made flyer-style document. A well-prepared IM will be able to attract and convince the right buyer.

3

Tax planning Every exit has several different elements of taxation. Inadequate planning in this area can cost you a large percentage of the sale price in taxation.

4

Due diligence and documentation Many transactions fall over at this point, but this can actually be used to assist in improving the value of the business. If all of your documentation is complete, accurate, up to date and demonstrates a well-managed business, it will support your value proposition, not detract from it.

The business must be able to run independently of your involvement

5

Negotiation Being in a position to create some competitive tension by attracting several of the right buyers is a good start, but the conduct of the negotiations and discussions leading to the actual sale is a very important aspect of the process.

6

Legal agreements Often business owners are concerned that legal agreements will scare off the buyer, but this is very rarely the case.

Far more importantly, legal agreements need to be structured to protect you after the sale – particularly around the key issues of any warranties, assurances provided, and also any event or finance included as part of the sale terms.

Corporate advisors Business owners should not try to sell without the best advice. Well-represented businesses are generally taken far more seriously and are perceived to be far more valuable than those without representation.

A corporate advisor who has a reputation for selling good-quality businesses automatically positions your business in that category.

Importantly, post-exit, you also need assistance with asset protection, estate planning and ongoing investment planning. The change from business owner to self-funded retiree is substantial.

7

KEY OUTCOMES The correct implementation of the items outlined above will achieve two key outcomes: maximize the value of the business and successfully extract that value upon exit.

Craig West is the president of the Exit Planning Institute and a strategic accountant with over 20 years’ experience in advising business owners. His practice, Succession Plus, provides mentoring, advice and strategy for clients looking to prepare their business for a successful exit.

He is currently working on a PhD in Business Succession and Exit Planning.

FEBRUARY 2014 | 51

BUSINESS STRATEGY / RELATIONSHIPS

CLIEN RELATIONS HOW TO DRIVE SALES

52 | FEBRUARY 2014

NT HIPS There’s no getting around the fact that customers like to do business with people they actually like, and in today’s market, building effective client relationships is more vital than ever. Nikki Heald explains

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So you think you’re pretty savvy technically, right?

You know all your stuff and have spent years acquiring skills and experience. Additionally, you know your product inside out, back to front. You believe you are the technical guru. Unfortunately, you can’t seem to hit your sales targets and don’t understand what’s going wrong.

Welcome to the world of relationship marketing – a process whereby sales are increased via the relationships you have created with others. Technical is out; rapport is in.

At a time when competition for clients is intensifying and profits are shrinking, building effective alliances has never been more vital.

The reality is that business is not business – business is personal and people do business with people they like.

HUMAN NATURE Unfortunately though, not everyone we meet in business will instantly warm to us. Human nature is such that people can be indifferent, inconsistent and unpredictable. Diversities in personality, viewpoint and needs come into play, and rolling out a generic client relationship strategy simply won’t work.

Successful sales professionals realize their results are achieved due to a willingness to adapt to their prospect. They individualize their approach to client interactions and build unique connections. They research, ask questions and observe to gain insight.

They realize clients are not driven or motivated by the same things. Effective salespeople forgo taking shortcuts and recognize that outdated selling tips such as “always be closing” are no longer applicable.

All too often, opportunities are lost due to assumptions made or jumping in with the hard sell.

Today’s clients are seeking a business partner who assists them with the right solution and responds to their needs.

If we think about it, the very heart of the sales process should be underpinned by wanting success for our clients, rather than success for ourselves. The underlying goal should be to understand their challenges, create solutions and add value wherever possible. So, how do relationships influence the sales process?

Effective salespeople forgo taking shortcuts and recognize that outdated selling tips such as ‘always be closing’ no longer apply

FEBRUARY 2014 | 53

BUSINESS STRATEGY / RELATIONSHIPS

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

10 CLIENT RELATIONSHIP TIPS 1. Invest time, energy and commitment into getting to know your client: It won’t happen overnight.

2. Be determined to focus on your client: Remember, it’s about them, not you.

3. Adapt your communication style to suit: A one-size-fits-all approach won’t cut it.

THE STAGES OF ENGAGEMENT The cycle of sales can be attributed to various stages of engagement identified as follows.

Clients are most likely to buy from you when in the moderate and high trust zones – when rapport and credibility have been firmly established. However, time and patience must be observed in progressing through the initial stages. No one likes to be rushed into anything.

Each interaction you have with clients, no matter how small, contributes to solidifying and cementing the relationship. Making your clients feel valued and important is essential to a solid foundation and future business prospects. Let potential or prospective clients feel as though they have chosen you, rather than feeling sold to.

Think about how you and your team currently interact with clients in your business: • What tools do you presently have in place?

Is there room for improvement?

• Could you try something different or learn new strategies to nurture alliances?

Perhaps it’s time to take a different approach targeted specifically at implementing and boosting client engagement.

4. Find out their interests and hobbies: Create a database to store the information you learn.

5. Say ‘thank you’ in a tangible way: You don’t have to go to great lengths or expense to do this.

6. Keep in touch regularly: Look for reasons to keep yourself at the forefront of their minds.

7. Generate ideas: Be creative with solutions and provide unique options.

8. Design a shared goal and ask for their opinion: Work together to construct a collaborative alliance.

9. Don’t sell on price: Focus on explaining your value and the outcomes you generate.

10. Finally, invest in ‘interpersonal skill’ staff training: Your employees should understand the importance of complementing their technical ability with connection ability.

BETTER AND BETTER

Nikki Heald is a corporate trainer, presenter, businesswoman, founder of Corptraining and co-author of Views On The Way To The Top.

54 | FEBRUARY 2014

The interesting thing about all relationships, including those in business, is that, once established, they have the potential to get better and better. The challenge is to ensure this occurs. Ongoing contact and maintenance should form part of your overall relationship management plan to ensure that clients feel a genuine, rather than token, connection with you.

See the 10 client relationship tips box above for some tips that may assist you in building better and more effective relationships.

Remember, once you have built solid relationships, those alliances instinctively want you to succeed and are more than happy to refer or recommend you to others.

Additionally, some clients are willing to pay more for a product or service if they feel they have a personal connection in place. The decision to focus your energy on a relationship with your client is an unlimited method for increasing sales and capturing new opportunities.

STRATEGY / FINANCE

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TAXING TIMES

An increasing number of real estate investors are managing their holdings under a corporation structure. Good move tax wise, writes lawyer Marshall Haughey.

And brokers can add value by knowing the key consequences associated with the change

A corporation is an extremely common vehicle through which to carry on business or hold investments. There are numerous advantages and disadvantages of holding real estate through a corporation, but as every investor’s financial status is different, it is ultimately up to the individual to decide what makes the most sense for their particular situation.

LEGAL ISSUES

Legally, a corporation is a person separate and distinct from its shareholders. Two important consequences flow from this legal fiction: 1. A corporation is able to own property 2. The shareholders of the corporation are not liable for the debts or other liabilities of the corporation.

Limited liability means that the client, as a shareholder, is isolated from the liability associated with the actions of the corporation. However, the benefits of limited shareholder liability are at least somewhat reduced where a private corporation is used to hold real estate investments. One practical reason is that lenders will still generally require you to be personally liable for any loans given to your corporation.

Most real estate investors will need a mortgage in order to purchase an investment property (a mortgage is usually advisable since financial leverage is what leads to superior returns on investment).

Downside: Lenders will still generally require clients be personally liable for any loans given to the corp.

FEBRUARY 2014 | 55

STRATEGY / FINANCE

SETTING-UP A new corporation will have no credit history, no financial statements, and little to no assets. Therefore, because banks like to reduce their risk as much as possible, they will require the client to sign the mortgage personally (or at least co-sign or guarantee the mortgage). Similarly, any unsecured lines of credit or other loans will require the client to be personally liable in the event of default on the loan.

This may no longer be the case once the business has become successful and has accumulated assets and a track record of cash flow to give the bank enough confidence to make loans without a personal guarantee.

Another way the client can be liable is if he personally commits a tort (a legal term that essentially means a wrongful act) when he is acting on behalf of the corporation as its employee or agent. Since many real estate investors manage their own properties, there is the potential to commit a tort. There are many different kinds of torts, the most common of which is the tort of negligence.

Dividends paid by CCPCs from passive income will be taxed even more unfavourably beginning in 2014 For example, if the investor is negligent and does not take proper care in carrying out repairs on the property and tenants or their guests are injured as a result, he may be personally liable notwithstanding that the property is owned and managed by the corporation. It is important to keep in mind that your client is liable for torts he commits whether he operates as a sole proprietor, through a corporation, or an alternative structure such as a limited partnership. In short, he should be aware that simply incorporating a corporation does not relieve him of personal liability for all actions undertaken on behalf of the corporation.

Notwithstanding the limitations outlined above, the corporation still offers a shareholder limited liability that is not available where the individual holds the investment property personally. Nevertheless, a similar level of protection from liability is available through alternative structures.

COUNTING THE LOSSES In the event that your client sustains losses on his 56 | FEBRUARY 2014

investment, he will be unable to use those losses to offset income earned outside the corporation.

This is not a concern where he holds multiple properties in a corporation and one of them sustains losses while the others are profitable. In that situation, your client can generally apply the losses from the one property to reduce the income received from the other profitable properties.

However, if he holds only one property in the corporation and it sustains losses, or he holds multiple properties and the losses from the one property exceed the profits from other properties, he cannot apply those losses against other sources of income such as employment income or income from other investments not held by the corporation.

INCOME TAX Income tax legislation distinguishes between active and passive income and taxes each type of income differently in the hands of certain corporations. For Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs), it is disadvantageous to earn passive investment income.

CCPCs are generally taxed at rates as high or higher than the highest individual tax rates on passive investment income.

The reason for this is that the Canadian government does not want individual investors to incorporate companies to hold their passive investments such as stocks, bonds and real estate to take advantage of corporate tax rates that are lower than tax rates for individuals.

Being able to defer income in this manner is what is called a deferral advantage (or deferral disadvantage) as it may leave more (or less) income in the corporation than if the individual held the investments personally.

What the Income Tax Act (ITA) essentially does for CCPCs that earn investment income is charge the standard corporate tax rate plus an additional refundable tax. This refundable tax is, as the name suggests, refunded to the corporation once the corporation pays out its earnings as dividends to its shareholders.

MONEY MATTERS As the table above demonstrates, in every province and territory (other than Ontario and Quebec), there is a deferral disadvantage to receiving passive income in the corporation rather than personally. So, for example, an Albertan real estate investor would have an additional $57 for every $1,000 of income to invest back in his business or pay off debt by receiving that rental income personally rather than through a CCPC.

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The next problem is that, at some point, your client may want to get the income out of the corporation and into his hands as the shareholder. When corporations pay out their earnings to shareholders, it is accomplished through paying dividends. Once dividends are paid, the refundable tax mentioned above is refunded to the corporation.

However, the shareholder will now have to pay tax on the dividend. What the government tries to do is create a system where the tax result will be the same whether the passive income is earned through a corporation and paid out as dividends to its shareholder or the individual earns the passive income directly.

This system is called integration.

Integration involves grossing up the dividends and deducting dividend tax credits so that, when the amount of tax paid by the individual on the dividends is added to the tax paid by the corporation, it will roughly equal the amount of tax the individual would have paid if they had earned the income personally.

Integration is nice in theory, but the reality is that it does not work out perfectly. The result is usually a larger tax bill by earning passive income through a CCPC. Due to some changes the federal government introduced in its 2013 budget, dividends paid by CCPCs from passive income will be taxed even more unfavourably beginning in 2014. By reducing the federal dividend tax credit, the amount of federal tax paid on these dividends will go up another 1.6 per cent. Also, provincial taxes on dividends are generally computed by reference to federal tax rates, which means there will be an increase in the provincial taxes owing as well.

For example, an Alberta resident who owns real estate investments in a CCPC will end up paying 42.5 per cent in corporate and personal taxes in 2014 after the rental income is paid out as dividends. This is an additional 3.5 per cent of tax than if the individual had held the real estate personally and paid the top combined marginal rate of 39 per cent.

Paying an additional 3.5 per cent in tax may not sound like much, but it will have a serious impact on the performance of your investment over the long run.

The additional tax paid would have a significant adverse affect on the performance of a client’s investment, even within the first five years. This table only considers the return on a $10,000 investment.

Where larger amounts are invested, the lost profit would be proportionately higher.

It is not difficult to see that there is the potential to miss out on hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars of profit over the long run simply by paying a few per cent more tax year after year. The additional tax cost of incorporation is a powerful incentive to find an alternative structure through which to hold a real estate portfolio.

In conclusion, the benefits of holding real estate through a corporation are considerably offset by the negative tax treatment associated with the structure.

However, there are alternative structures to incorporation, which will produce more favorable tax results while at the same time offering a number of other benefits to the real estate investor.

Marshall Haughey is a tax associate with Bennett Jones LLP, specializing in general corporate tax practice.

FEBRUARY 2014 | 57  

FEATURE / FIRST-TIMERS

WHO IS THE FIRST-TIME

BUYER?

Hunter meet the hunted. CMHC is offering new insights into the makeup of first-time buyers – the target of so many brokers

58 | FEBRUARY 2014

Youth means many things to many people, but as far as brokers are concerned, youth should mean firsttime buyer. Here’s why.

Compared to other home purchasers, “property virgins” – as one cheeky Canadian reality show calls them – are undeniably young. In fact, almost two-thirds are younger than 35 and almost half are between 25 to 34 years of age, according to the latest CMHC data compare that to repeat buyers, where only 20 per cent are under 35 years of age.

Those first-time buyers have lower household incomes compared to other homebuyers. Nearly twothirds (65 per cent) rake in $90,000 or less annually.

That’s true for only 50 per cent of repeat buyers. It’s also worth noting that one-in-five of those newbies have incomes of less than $45 K. Still the future income potential is there, with 82 per cent of first-timers having post-secondary education – a higher ratio than that of repeat buyers.

All those variables aside, some brokers have traditionally found it hard to connect with this key demographic, although for just as long, brokers have found their greatest success with these buyers. Still, mapping where those future clients will emerge is key to continued growth.

According to CMHC, 23 per cent of first-time buyers were born outside of Canada, compared to 13 per cent of repeat buyers. Almost half (46 per cent) live in

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BROKERS OR BANKS?

BROKER OR BANK?

54%

of first-time buyers arrange mortgages with their banks

68%

of repeat buyers remain loyal to their bank

72%

of first-timers leave their banks for better interest rate

41%

of first-timers leave for better product terms and conditions

36%

of first-timers leave because they’ve been referred to another lender

45%

of first-time broker clients would use their broker to arrange their next mortgage

Ontario, and most tend to live in large urban centres, with 66 per cent living either in greater Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver, according to CMHC. For those foreign-born first-timers, brokers will likely have to prepare for more challenging files given larger family sizes, their need for larger homes and the resulting larger price tags.

“Buyers who are immigrants are more likely to have more than four people living in their home (34 per cent) than are first-time buyers born in Canada (15 per cent). The immigrant buyer is also more likely to have a university education, with 72 per cent holding a university degree or post-graduate studies. Among first-time buyers born in Canada, 42 per cent are university educated. But for brokers looking to seize the growing market of new immigrants, be warned: you may have to wait. First-Time Buyers who are immigrants tend to establish themselves before purchasing a home, living in Canada for a median time of nine years before buying.

THE FIRST-TIME BUYERS AND THE MORTGAGE BROKER When it comes to providing advice or guidance, first-time buyers may be better served by banks than brokers would like to admit, suggests CMHC data.

Brokers and lenders both provide advice about fixed versus variable rates to about 70 per cent of those clients and about 60 per cent to two-thirds of first-time buyers receive advice from lenders and brokers on how much mortgage they can afford or on specifics regarding their mortgage.

But the good news is that advice received from brokers is generally considered by first-time buyers to be more useful than advice provided by lenders.

RATED ADVICE AS “VERY USEFUL” BROKER USERS

LENDER USERS

69%

Specifics regarding terms and conditions of mortgage

61%

62%

Fixed or variable rates

51%

67%

Recommendations to accelerate mortgage payments

54%

59%

Long term mortgage/ financial strategies

46%

71%

Mortgage you could afford

60%

FEBRUARY 2014 | 59

LIFESTYLE / FAVOURITES

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

Favourite Vacation spots In honour of March break, we’ve put together a list of brokers’ favourite vacation spots. Although there is a wide range of preferred relaxation destinations, Jamaica tops the list.

CMP 7.3: Grant Brown, Verico Homeguad Funding Ltd., Newmarket, Ont. Favourite Vacation Spot: Hawaii

CMP 7.6: Max Afzalimehr, Syndicate Mortgages, Markham, Ont. Favourite Vacation Spot: Spain

CMP 7.4: Ingrid Wolf, Dominion Lending Centres Mortgage Village, Mississauga, Ont. Favourite Vacation Spot: Costa Rica

CMP 7.7: Mary Poburan, INVIS, Edmonton, Alta.

Favourite Vacation Spot: The Mayan Riviera CMP 7.8: Allan Kates, Verico Northwood Mortgage Toronto, Ont. Favourite Vacation Spot: Montego Bay, Jamaica

CMP 7.5: Simon Lyn, Mortgage Intelligence, Mississauga, Ont. Favourite Vacation Spot: Barcelona, Spain CMP 7.9: Lucie Halle, Dominion Lending Centres The Mortgage Source, Ottawa, Ont. Favourite Vacation Spot: Hawaii CMP 7.10: Sharie Marie Francoeur, TMG The Mortgage Group Port Alberni, B.C Favourite Vacation Spot: Ko Phi Phi, Thailand

CMP 7.11: Afshin Nejaddehghan, Mortgage Central, Richmond Hill, Ont. Favourite Vacation Spot: The Bahamas (3 hours to Paradise) CMP 7.12: Valerie Brewer, TMG The Mortgage Group, Bedford, N.S. Favourite Vacation Spot: Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

CMP 8.4: Dodi Kozak, HLC Home Loans Canada, Calgary, Alberta Favourite Vacation Spot: Jamaica CMP 8.5: Murray Groen, Mortgage Brokers Ottawa.com, Orleans, Ontario Favourite Vacation Spot: A Tropical Beach CMP 8.6: Kevin Stefanson, TMG Castle Mortgage Group, Winnipeg, Man. Favourite Vacation Spot: Costa Rica CMP 8.7: Lori MacDonald, TMG The Mortgage Group Atlantic Charlottetown , PEI Favourite Vacation Spot: North Conway New Hampshire

60 | FEBRUARY 2014

CMP 8.8: Fiorella Fromager, Dominion Lending Downtown Financial, Vancouver, B.C. Favourite Vacation Spot: Mii Amo Resort in Sedona, Arizona

CMP 8.9: Shaun Serafini, DLC Mortgage Excellence, Lethbridge Alberta Favourite Vacation Spot: Jamaica

CMP 8.1: Cecilia Ramos, Verico Ultimate Mortgage and Finance Solutions, Toronto, Ont. Favourite Vacation Spot: Paris

CMP 8.2: Greg Domville, Dominion Lending Centres Plan B Mortgage Services, Vancouver, BC Favourite Vacation Spot: Kihei, Maui

CMP 8.3: Brian Nason, Mortgage Architects, Hamilton, Ont. Favourite Vacation Spot: Saas-Fee, Switzerland CMP 8.11: Deepak Bansal, Dominion Lending Centres in Mississauga, ON Favourite Vacation Spot: CMP 8.10: Stephanie Barritt, Jamaica Mortgage Architects Favourite Vacation Spot: Turks and Caicos

CMP 8.12: Janna Dawdy, Real Mortgage Associates Favourite Vacation Spot: (My) home CMP 9.1: Shamila Khan, Real Mortgage Associates Favourite Vacation Spot: Belize

MARKETING / MMA SPONSORSHIP

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News

InternatIonaL

90.6% BROKER LENDER & 52.1% u.s.

The number of Americans who bought previously occupied homes rose in October. But the National Association of Realtors says it overstated more than three million sales during and after the Great Recession, showing the housing market was weaker than previously thought.

The private trade group says sales rose four per cent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.42 million. That’s below the roughly six million homes a year that economists say are consistent with a healthy housing market. But it’s ahead of 2008’s revised sales, now considered the worst in 13 years.

The trade group revised its sales from 2007 to 2010 down 14 per cent, from more than 20.6 million to nearly 17.7 million.

Among tune the reasons for theElias lowerTheodorou figures, When thousands in to watch the Realtors group says: changes in the way the Census fight his way up the ranks on the Ultimate Fighter Bureau collects data, population shifts and some sales Nations: Canada vs. Australia, they’ll find a broker being counted twice. channel lender squarely hisgovernment corner.

The Realtors consultedin with and “Ourhousing logo is proudly Elias ‘s promotional material private experts,on including the Federal Reserve, the Department Housing Urban Development, and that includesofthe bannerand displayed in the octagon,” the Mortgage Bankers Association, National Tribecca President Rejean Kaushalthe tells CMP. “But for Association of Home Builders, mortgage giants us, it’s not so much about the publicity butFannie about Mae and Freddie Mac and CoreLogic, a California-based supporting a Canadian athlete and the pleasure of data firm that first raised doubts about the annual seeing him succeed.” numbers earlier this year.

Still, with every punch, kick, knee and takedown CoreLogic has estimated that the Realtors group that Elias administers unlucky opponent, the overstated sales in 2010 to by an at least 15 per cent.

The changing numbers could affect how economists lender’s own notoriety increases along with the view the trade group’s data. It could also affect companies fighter’s. thatKaushal use the fi gures for and expansion plans. signed uphiring to sponsor the up-and-coming Sales are measured when buyers close on homes. talent last year, before he won a spot on the reality show But many deals are collapsing before that point. that melds feel said of Big Brother withone a night at One-third of the Realtors they had at least contract ringside. scuttled in October, up from 18 per cent in September.

“Canadians arebeing somecancelled of the biggest MMA fans so Contracts are for several reasons: Banks have declined mortgage applications; home the presence and exposure is a great way for institutional

inspectors have found problems; appraisals showed a home was worth less than the bid; a buyer lost a job before the closing.

More than two years after the recession officially ended, many people can’t qualify for loans or meet higher down payment requirements. Even those with excellent credit and stable jobs are holding off because they fear Percentage of that home prices will keep falling. Sales are also homeownership being hurt by a decline in first-time buyers, who costs, including are critical to reviving the housing market. mortgage payments, Sales have fallen in four of the five years utilities and property since the housing boom went bust in 2006. taxes that take up a Declining prices and record-low mortgage rates typical household’s haven’t been enough to boost sales. monthly pre-tax At the same time, home construction has income in Vancouver begun a gradual comeback and should add to the and Toronto, economy’s growth in 2011 for the first year since respectively (RBC the Great Recession began in 2007. Last month, Economics Housing builders broke ground on an annual rate of Trends and 685,000 homes, the government said recently.

Affordability Report) That was a 9.3 per cent jump from October and the fastest pace since April 2010.

Most economists say home prices will keep falling, by at least five per cent, through 2012.

Many forecasts don’t foresee a rebound in prices until at least 2013.

The high rate of foreclosures has made resold homes cheaper than new ones. The median price of a new home is roughly 30 per cent above the price of one that’s been occupied twiceto the more than just a sponsorship;before I want– Elias donormal the markup. Investors are taking advantage of the discounts. best and be the best he can be.”

The housing market The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) 23rd is struggling even as the broader economy has improved in instalment of its popular reality show is currently airing recent months. on Sportsnet 360 and Theodorou has already advanced The economy grew at an annual pace of two to the semi-finals after a grinding and per cent in dominating the July-September quarter. Many performance on the second episode that secured him better growth in the economists expect slightly October-December quarter. CMP a unanimous decision victory over his Australian

brands to get their name out there,” says Kaushal. “It’s

counterpart, Zein Saliba.

PACKS A PUNCH WITH UNIQUE MARKETING U.S. housing market worse than thought

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With many conventional advertising methods tapped out, broker channel players are coming up with increasingly creative ways to catch the public eye. And this player’s outof-the-box thinking KO’s all others.

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ANALYSIS

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AMP-LIFIED

CONCERNS

they bring to the consumer. Once we deal with that, we can deal with the mechanics of designations.

CMP: Brokers have long called for the AMP designation to be strictly theirs.

CAAMP has listened but they will also be establishing a separate designation for lenders, Realtors and other non-brokers now holding the certification. Do you feel brokers have a right to be concerned that these changes won’t go far enough in helping elevate consumer perception of brokers?

JB: Absolutely. There is already a broker-only designation in the industry (CPMB), but it still doesn’t address the main problem, which is consumer awareness of mortgage brokers and their value proposition. Multiple designations will only lead to mass confusion and waste more time and money, only to yield the same results: A whole lot of nothing.

Those leading CAAMP clearly don’t get the message that the industry continues to send them with waning AMP numbers. That should be speaking volumes to them.

For the first time in a decade, the Accredited Mortgage Professional designation is undergoing some major changes meant to strengthen the brand. But will they? John Bargis, VP of Mortgage Edge and former CAAMP chair, weighs in In a move designed to build clout and better distinguish brokers from other Accredited Mortgage Professionals, CAAMP is set to overhaul the country’s chief designation. The changes, which officially take effect on July 1, include written examinations and the creation of a sister certification for lenders and others – one that paves the way for a broker-exclusive AMP. Details are forthcoming, says CAAMP, but industry veterans are already sharing their initial thoughts and, indeed, concerns.

CMP: Do you think the changes put forth by CAAMP effectively address broker concerns?

John Bargis: The biggest issue is that the AMP really doesn’t mean a whole lot to the consumer public because, as far as I’m concerned, we’re putting the cart before the horse. They are not doing an effective job on a national level of creating awareness about what a mortgage broker really does and the value 62 | FEBRUARY 2014

CMP: What’s the best way of educating the public about the role of brokers?

JB: The entire industry needs to come together on this. There isn’t one particular group that’s going to effectively send that message to the consumer public.

You’ve got to get the larger brokerage houses to set aside the fact that it’s not just about them; it’s about the industry and the associations. The associations have to stop bending to the pressure that’s exerted on them by these nationals and concentrate on what’s best for the entire industry. This is where the regional associations do a much better job as it relates to regulatory representation for brokers and not lenders or other associate members.

CMP: CAAMP is now requiring potential AMPs to pass a written exam. Do you think this will be sufficient in weeding out “bad” brokers?

JB: I think it’s a good thing, but if CAAMP is under the impression that this is going to prevent bad brokers from remaining in the industry, they’re quite delusional about that. This is about passing an exam.

If you have a certain level of knowledge of what the industry is all about, but you don’t really practice it, you can still pass the exam. This will do absolutely nothing to separate good from bad.

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SERVICE / DIRECTORY

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Banks

V.W.R Capital Corp www.vwrcapital.com Ph: 1 866 907 5407 Page 9

CFF Bank www.cffbank.ca Toll free: 1-866-601-7632 Page 35 HomEquity Bank www.homequitybank.ca Ph: 1 866 522 2447 Page 21 Non-Bank Lenders

Insurance

Broker Networks

Technology & Software

Centum Financial Group Inc. www.centum.ca Ph: 1 604 257 3940 Page 5

MCAP www.mcap.com/brokers Page 29

Dominion Lending Centres www.DominionLending.ca Ph: 1 888 806 8080 Page 13

Tribecca Finance Corporation www.tribecca.ca Ph: 416 225 6900 Page 42

64 | FEBRUARY 2014

ROMSPEN Investment Corporation www.romspen.com Ph: 1 800 494 0389 Page 1

Axiom Mortgage Partners axiommortgagepartners.ca Ph: 1 866 504 0516 Page 7

Home Trust www.hometrust.ca Ph: 1 877 903 2133 Page 23

Radius Financial www.radiusfinancial.ca Ph: 1 877 369 6398 Inside Front Cover

VERICO www.verico.ca Ph: 1 866 983 7426 Outsert

Commercial Lenders

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

Atrium Mortgage Investment Corporation www.atriummic.com Ph: 416 867 1053 Page 33

Peoples Trust www.peoplestrust.com Ph: 1 800 663 0324 Page 22

速

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Home Loans Canada www.hlcmortgages.com Ph: 1 866 452 1821 Page 3

Mortgage Architects www.mortgagearchitects.ca Ph: 1 877 802 9100 Page 15 RMAI Financial Group www.rmaifinancial.com Ph: 1 866 955 7624 Page 31

Real Estate

Marlborough Stirling Canada Appraisal Institute of Canada www.morweb.ca www.AICanada.ca 1 877 2022 Ph:Ph: 613 234626 6533 PageBack 2 cover Inside Canadian National Association of Real Estate Appraisers

www.cnarea.ca Ph: 1 888 399 3366 Page 25 Services

Score-Up www.score-up.ca Ph: 416 479 9585 Page 11

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FEBRUARY 2014 | 66