No. 4: Christine Xu

Christine Xu of Mortgage Architects in Markham, Ontario funded $120,034,969 in 2013 largely on the strength of residential deals.

Q&A WITH NO. 4 Christine Xu

CMP: Is there one single opportunity brokers are letting slip through their fingers?
Xu: I don’t think that I have any secret weapon that other brokers do not have. However, if I have to come up with one thing, I think I am probably more knowledgeable in terms of understanding different lenders' lending guidelines than average brokers. I love to read lenders’ guidelines and broker packages. Not only I am quite familiar with most of my preferred lenders’ lending criteria, I also remember details such as compounding frequencies, pre-payment limits, etc. So in front of clients, I am a true expert.

CMP: Which product was your best performer this year?
Xu: B-side equity lending.

CMP: If you use rate sites, do you feel you could have had those numbers not using a rate site?
Xu: I do not use rate sites.

CMP: What is the No. 1 marketing technique that you credit the most for building your business?
Xu: A large percentage of my business comes from repeat clients and referrals from past clients, even past non-clients. I have practiced my three business principals for years and referrals keep coming: be honest, be kind and be fair.

CMP: To what do you attribute your growing success?
Xu: I did better than last year. In fact, in the past 13 years as a mortgage agent/broker, my numbers have consistently increased every year. For me, there really is no shortcut for success but hard work, hard work and hard work.

FSCO license: M08000638