This tenure prepared the president and principal broker of Streetwise Mortgages for her trek to success
Dalia Barsoum, president and principal broker at Streetwise Mortgages, started in the mortgage industry in 2011, and has since penned the best-selling book Canadian Real Estate Investor Financing: 7 Secrets to Getting all the Money You Want.
Barsoum credited her long background in the banking sector for her success, with a 12-year stint in one of Canada’s largest banks.
“After the financial meltdown of 2008, I started exploring real estate as a vehicle to build wealth and have more control over our investments,” Barsoum said. “I acquired multiple properties and was fascinated by everything real estate.”
A natural inclination towards managing wealth, along with several life changes, also encouraged Barsoum towards the mortgage track.
“In 2011, I got pregnant in my second son and I also had a 3-year-old son at home,” Barsoum said. “Having a young family, coupled with my desire to have more control of my schedule, my love for real estate, and my finance background, is what drove my decision to pursue mortgage brokering and specialize in investment property financing.”
These experiences have given Barsoum the tools she needed to steer Streetwise Mortgages to its multiple industry awards over the years.
“I would like to think that I am good at helping clients plan and implement a financing road map to grow their income property portfolios,” Barsoum said. “Many clients start with us at one property, grow over time to over 10 properties, and are able through proper capital structuring to manage risk and generate lucrative returns/cash flow from property investing.”
For Barsoum, the mortgage space has so far been as fulfilling as it was stimulating.
“When I stepped into the mortgage industry, I envisioned owning a business where I can be of service to others and make a noticeable difference to their financial well-being through real estate investing. I expected it to be a challenging but very rewarding journey,” Barsoum said. “Despite the challenges, I love and enjoy what I do and have not looked back since I left the corporate world.”
And while Barsoum’s tenure in the industry also had its fair share of struggles, these were nothing that expert mentors were not able to solve.
“The most challenging period of my career was in 2016 when I transitioned from being a broker to owning my own brokerage. During that time, I also transitioned from on franchise network to another and had to deal with many operational changes while ensuring that client service and deal flow are not impacted,” Barsoum said. “I hired support right away despite the fact that there was not much time to train during this transition. I also reached out to some of the best and brightest in the industry to coach me and guide me through this transition, and that saved me a lot of time and helped me navigate through it more effectively. “
