Vine Group broker stresses the value of a broad set of experiences
For Kim Nguyen of Vine Group, the best foundation of a mortgage professional’s long-term success is still extensive experience in the financial services space.
In her capacity as mortgage associate and Alberta regional team lead, Nguyen brings with her more than 13 years of industry experience.
“I started off at TD Canada Trust as a financial advisor and then moved into the mobile mortgage specialist role,” Nguyen told Canadian Mortgage Professional recently. “In 2016, I transitioned into a mortgage broker [position].
“I was always in the financial industry and knew this was always the path for me at a young age as I loved dealing with numbers,” she added. “When working at TD, I found as an advisor I had a true passion for lending versus the investing side. While on this path, I also started to invest in real estate, so I grew a natural passion for that and it just went hand in hand with mortgages.”
This broad-ranging background coupled with a laser-sharp focus has helped Nguyen zero in on what her clients truly need.
“I am very heavily involved in many mastermind groups for investors and I attend a majority of real estate conferences to keep my knowledge sharp,” she said. “I can see things from a financing viewpoint and also a consumer which allows me to merge together both items and make it easy for clients to digest and understand.”
Nguyen’s drive would yield significant dividends for her, particularly in recent years.
“My highlights would be achieving top 5% in Canada wide mortgage brokers within TMACC for the past five years in a row,” she said. “Prior to that I was top 10%. At TD, I was continually recognized in the top quartile for five years in a row.”
However, a robust background can only go so far, as it’s still incumbent upon the mortgage professional to continuously adapt to the realities of the market.
“I would say the most challenging period would be the last few years due to the ever-changing lending landscape,” Nguyen said. “There are so many complexities to files these days and it really keeps you on your toes.”
For Kim Nguyen, a Calgary-based regional team lead and mortgage associate with Vine Group, the city’s robust housing market partly reflects growing interest in Alberta real estate from out-of-province buyers.https://t.co/OP6pSLrfnv
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) May 9, 2022
This is where the value of collaboration comes into play.
“What I have continually done to work my way through it is to stay on top of trends, be in touch with lenders and underwriters on a constant basis, and learn the policies as they come and learn to adjust and adapt,” Nguyen said. “In today’s market, every file can be a challenge.”
In her time in the industry, Nguyen said that the most important lesson so far is that there is no file too complicated, nor too small, to work on.
“When working on a file, I always look at things from a holistic approach versus a transactional one,” she said. “You need to understand your clients’ needs and wants to ensure we match them up with the proper advice/solutions.
“If you take care of your clients, your clients will take care of you. Advice will always supersede transactional brokers, especially in a turbulent market that we’ve had in the past 10 years.”
