His team settled $500m in loans by giving hope to those who had been failed by their previous lender or broker
As a highly successful and award-winning banker, Oz Unal was happy with his chosen line of work. From 2012 to 2015, he was recognised as one of the country’s top 10 lenders.
It wasn’t until 2015 when he started toying with the idea of moving into the broker space, thanks to some prompting from his business partner Erol Balci, who convinced him that it was time for him to become his own boss.
Now Unal is the director of Imperative Finance and was named a 2018 MPA Young Gun.
Creates a niche
Unal was able to carve out a niche for himself in private lending. His team assists both clients and brokers with development finance, land banking, and short-term finance when no solutions can be found from mainstream lenders.
With almost a decade of banking and broking experience, Unal was able to settle over $500m –worth of home and investment loans since starting his business, and over $200m –worth of lodgement in private funding in the last two years alone.
“We haven’t missed a settlement to date,” Unal told MPA. “This is because I understand that clients have a deadline and they need solutions. I get over 10 calls every week from brokers seeking help in finding their client a solution within the residential, commercial, or private funding space.”
Apart from offering development finance solutions that can reach as high as $150m, Unal’s team also offers financial help to first home buyers and customers who are renovating their homes or are looking to purchase an investment property.
Takes conservative approach
Having been a banker in the past, Unal has plenty of experience helping clients with complex borrowing scenarios.
“We’ve been taught to take the conservative approach, which helps clients with their future commitments. There are lots of brokers with little to no industry experience, and this puts a lot of clients at risk of losing their deposit or going through a stressful experience,” Unal said.
Unal’s team gets at least two phone calls a month from customers seeking help with their loan because their broker didn’t prepare the application properly and it ended up being declined.
Work-life balance
One of Unal’s ex-manager’s once told him that if he wanted to be successful, he would have to work more than just 9-5.
Becoming a broker actually helped Unal find more time to enjoy the activities that his banking career had kept him from. Now he gets to spend more time with his family and his clients.
“Seeing your clients achieve their financial goals with your assistance becomes part of your daily task. As you build a good bond with them, their happiness also becomes your success,” he said.
