For this professional, the mortgage space was a natural extension of her previous work
A decade and a half in a client-facing industry has proved to be substantial preparation for Yvonne Choi of YC Mortgages (pictured).
“Previously, I spent over 17 years in client service, which provided me the professional experience that is so crucial in my current role: building relationships,” Choi told Canadian Mortgage Professional.
For Choi, the mortgage space was a natural extension of her previous work.
“I transitioned into the mortgage industry because I want to help more people achieve home ownership,” she said. “This is my chosen career because the opportunities are endless. I’m helping families create wealth through real estate.”
Choi’s background has given her particular advantages when helping out first-time homebuyers and clients who are looking to purchase their first investment properties.
“Some specific things that help me optimize my way of adding value to my clients is building out custom proposals to help clients decide what the best solution is for them,” she elaborated. “I use Loom in my business a lot and it’s a great way to communicate with clients through video.”
This approach has allowed Choi to provide tailored guidance for her clients.
“The current interest rate environment and high inflation has been challenging as a lot of households are waiting on the sidelines until rates come back down,” she said. “Despite all of this, there are people out there who still qualify and there are still transactions happening in the market. I’m just continuing to plant the seeds. I know that the work that I am putting in today will be seen months down the line.”
Congratulations to all the Excellence Awardees of The Community Trust Award for Alternative Broker Specialist of the Year award at the 2023 Canadian Mortgage Awards!
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) April 19, 2023
Full list: https://t.co/It9h0yjvVc#MortgageAwardsCA pic.twitter.com/HrEDMfUNHS
As an Excellence Awardee at the 2023 edition of the Canadian Mortgage Awards, Choi said that she is most proud of being able to consistently increase her volume on a year-over-year basis.
“This job is tough, and the percentage of new agents who don’t stick it out after one year is very high,” she said. “I’m lucky to be at a brokerage that has a great culture of collaboration where everyone is openly sharing ideas with each other to help each other grow.”
For Choi, the most important lesson she has learned in her career so far is that a broker will inevitably encounter rejection, even “thousands of times a day.”
“Your mindset is one of the most important things that can impact your business,” she said. “Having a really good routine and scheduling time blocks for certain tasks help keep me on track.”
Closely collaborating with like-minded individuals can also pave the road for further success.
“Having an accountability partner is great because they are going through the same struggles that you are, and [they] may be able to give you advice on what has worked and what didn’t work for them,” she said.
“It can be very lonely as a self-employed individual, but if you have people you can lean on for support and advice, it makes the world of a difference.”
