Happiest clients: Turning a life around entirely

Susie O'Sullivan, finance broker at Wells Partners in Baulkham Hills NSW, tells a story of how a client (let’s call her Kate) transformed her life after being recently divorced and with two young children, struggling with her ex-husband’s debt and trying to hold onto the family home.

First meeting
[Kate] was referred to me by her divorce lawyer. I noticed from the start that she was timid and very anxious about her situation. Her soon to be ex-husband had been declared bankrupt and she would have to not only refinance the home loan but also pay out his creditors and debt he had accumulated if she wanted to retain the family home for herself and two small children. She also had bank accounts at a number of banks, a personal loan and two credit cards.

At my first meeting, I took a holistic approach to her financial situation and told her that if nothing else, I would assist her to untangle her banking so that she was only dealing with one bank and on the best possible terms. She was a busy mum working full time and she needed to work smarter when it came to her time and money management. 

After my assessments to ensure that she qualified for the loan amount required, she decided to go ahead with a new home loan. She saw that it would give her family security despite a number of people telling her that her only option was to sell the house even though the thought of taking on the amount of debt on her own was frightening. I had told her from the beginning that I would be there to guide and help her along the way and not to feel as though she had to do it all on her own.

Above and beyond 
During the process of gathering information and applying for the home loan, I noticed a shift beginning to occur – from her new found independence she started to grow in confidence. When we met to sign her loan documents she told me that she had always had a strong interest in the fitness industry and whilst she was working as a Personal Assistant, she was doing it to pay the bills but wasn’t truly happy. We started to talk about her dream to work as a Personal Trainer and discussed a business plan she had been working on to grow her business so that she could eventually work full time in the fitness industry. 

Fast forward 2 years and she has left her job as a Personal Assistant and is a fitness instructor/personal trainer with her own social media presence! She is achieving not only her financial goals, but her personal goals too. I feel proud to know that I played a very small part in her transformation from timid, in debt and scared to a dynamic woman with a burgeoning career and powerful confidence.

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Moral of the story 
Together with the managing partner of our firm I have created a specialisation targeting Family Law referral partners. I have identified large numbers of females that, going through a divorce, were needing close financial assistance. A Finance Broker’s job is much more than assisting clients to refinance or buy a house but managing both the emotional and financial needs of these clients in order to gain their trust and assist them to financial independence. 


Susie O'Sullivan is a finance broker at Wells Partners with over 20 years experience in the finance industry. She specialises in clients involved in Family Law /Property Settlement matters who are in need of finance. 


In MPA’s happiest client short story series we show-case stand out ‘client success stories’ from brokers and discover what they learnt along the way. Leaving aside the details of the deal, we explore the human side of the story and how brokers really make an impact in people’s lives. If you have a client story you would like to share please email the editor.

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