Out-of-box solutions include private lending
The best part of being a broker is finding out-of-the box solutions to meet clients’ needs, particularly where they thought there was no solution in sight, says Sunshine Coast-based broker Sam Gardiner.
“Ultimately it’s helping our clients to achieve their financial goals,” Gardiner said.
Gardiner (pictured above), the group broker manager/senior mortgage broker at TSC Mortgage Brokers/Punters Finance Group, has been working as a broker since 2018 and servicing clients across Australia as well as expatriates who live overseas.
Lately Gardiner, an excellence awardee (finalist) in Pepper Money Broker of the Year – Specialist Lending at the 2023 Australian Mortgage Awards, has been kept busy thanks to an increase in the number of clients seeking to refinance their home and take up investment loans.
“We are assisting clients that fixed their interest rates during COVID and are now rolling on to a higher variable interest rate or simply looking for the best solution to meet our clients’ changing needs,” Gardiner said.
Looking for private lending solutions
“My focus in the business is assisting our investor and self-employed clients with out-of-the-box solutions in the private lending and non-conforming market segments,” Gardiner said.
“Our primary services include home and investment finance, debt consolidation funding, refinancing and equity release for wealth creation as well as property development funding, first home buyer finance and SME finance.”
Gardiner said his clients ranged from investors and self-employed people to first home buyers.
“[Many of] our clients are seeking properties yielding higher returns and are looking at non-standard security options such as rooming accommodation or NDIS properties,” Gardiner said.
Clients can access 40 banks and non-bank lenders
According to Gardiner, TSC Mortgage Brokers and Punters Finance has continued to go from strength to strength, and now offers clients access to more than 40 banks and non-bank lenders.
“In 2023 we helped over 200 clients achieve their dream of buying their first home, purchasing their next property or refinancing their current property,” Gardiner said.
“Due to my focus on the investor segment, we are facing challenges with investor returns being impacted by increasing costs, so we are now looking at alternate segments to grow the business.”
Gardiner said there was no doubt there had been plenty of challenges for brokers along the way with consistent interest rate rises, including the last one in November 2023, having a significantly impact on the lending environment.
“We have seen clients borrowing capacities heavily reduce as a direct result of these continual interest rate increases,” Gardiner said.
“I feel that clients are still experiencing side effects of the continual rate rises and that normality won’t return for some time unless we start to see some reduction in interest rates.”
When it came to giving advice to fellow brokers, Gardiner said it was important to adapt to the everchanging landscape.
“Evolve and modify practises and policies; implement systems to streamline processes and communicate with your clients and team,” Gardiner said. “Look to plan ahead and expect the unexpected.”
Despite how busy he is, Gardiner doesn’t believe being a successful broker necessarily means working long hours and making personal sacrifices.
“It is important to be approachable and responsive with open lines of communication,” Gardiner said. “Ensure the client is front of mind for everything that you do and tailor solutions to meet the clients’ needs and objectives. Ensure the client understands the ‘why’.”
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