Finding her feet

After joining the third party distribution channel four months ago, Loan Market broker Renee Ashelford says she feels as though she is finally starting to find her feet amongst the chaos.

“It might sound cliché when people say they really enjoy their jobs but the reality is, I love my job,” she says with a smile.

“It has been a rewarding challenge over the past several months and each day I feel as though I am becoming more and more confident that I can be a great broker.”

Ms Ashelford says the support she has received from her Loan Market mentor, Phil Rogers, has been second to none and has allowed her to achieve significant success within the first few months.

Since starting her career, the broker has settled seven loans and has a further six in the system, pending approval.

While Ms Ashelford admits her median loan size is not huge, given that she operates out of the small country town of Townsville, located on Queensland’s north-eastern coast, she is humbled by the fact she can help so many local residents achieve their dream of home ownership.

“Some of my customers have included families and local residents buying bigger properties for their young families – it’s such a great feeling knowing that I’m helping my local community move into the properties they want. Townsville isn’t a huge city and there’s a great sense of community here. I love that I’m helping build that,” she says.

The best job

In fact, Ms Ashelford loves it so much she admits the best part of her job is actually telling clients when their loan goes “unconditional”.

“They show so much appreciation for what has been done and a great sense of relief also. While I enjoy settlement day, my clients always seem to get more excited on unconditional day,” she says.

“As I become more familiar with lenders and products, I’m really starting to get a passion for this job – it’s the best feeling when your clients are satisfied.”

At present, Ms Ashelford says the lion’s share of her business is coming from her referral arrangements with the Ray White Munro Partners real estate office. However, she has also managed to generate some leads through her webpage and its presence on Google.

“The agents at the office have been fantastic in providing qualified leads from customers who are ready to buy,” she says.

“Just this past month [July], I submitted six applications for clients who had been referred to me through my referral arrangement with Ray White.

“The support and appreciation provided by Helen, Errol and Tracey the rest of the team at Ray White Munro Partners has been amazing. The customer service the Ray White office provides is absolutely incredible and, as such, I always ensure I do everything I can to make sure the great customer experience continues after the client is referred to me.

“Furthermore, the Loan Market marketing team has also been fantastic in helping me build my own webpage and generate leads from Google search results.”

A tough gig

But while Ms Ashelford has enjoyed some significant success already through her burgeoning partnerships with Ray White and her search engine optimised webpage, the new recruit admits the road to now hasn’t been plain sailing.

Ms Ashelford says broking is certainly no walk in the park and requires dedication, hard work and excellent time management.

As a new broker, she says the hardest part about her new job is undoubtedly the paperwork.

Keeping on top of file notes and compliance has, by her own admission, been incredibly difficult and overwhelming at times.
“Following up paperwork when you’re trying to lodge a deal is definitely one of the biggest challenges I face right now,” she says.

“At first, all the lender and product knowledge was a bit overwhelming, but I’ve put in many hours of research and time with my mentors to get across the basics.

“Right now, I’m focusing on tightening up my office processes and administrative work.

“My mentor and I have set up my calendar to block out times when I should be completing certain tasks on a daily basis.

“This routine is very important as it helps me run a more efficient office.

“My mentor, Phil [Rogers], said a proper administrative system has helped him complete administrative tasks in half the time. Phil is incredibly successful and respected in the industry, so I trust and listen to everything he says. He has really helped me take my career, and indeed my business, to the next level.”

At the end of the day, Ms Ashelford says she remains so pleased with her decision to move into mortgage broking. While some days are tougher than others, overall she loves her job and now she couldn’t imagine herself doing anything else.

“Mortgage broking is a career that has the potential to be financially rewarding and incredibly fulfilling. I am so humbled that I can help people achieve their financial goals,” she says.

“Of course, there are still daily challenges and stressful situations. I am very thankful I was able to go through the Loan Market Academy and then work under an experienced broker and mentor. Having the proper support has been so important in building my confidence, skills and knowledge. I think it would have been such a challenge to do this on my own. Having colleagues, mentors and BDMs around me who genuinely care about me and my business is motivating and the reason why I love what I’m doing.”