Rateshop Mortgages primed for success

There are a few reasons why Rateshop is different to many other mortgage shops out there. Firstly, the company was built on transparency. When you visit the Rateshop website, potential borrowers can find approachable information on personal finance in Canada, as well as compare rates for several different financial services, including credit cards, insurance, and of course, mortgages. On top of that, creating an environment that enables every Rateshop employee to excel at their job was a top priority from the very start.

“We understand the importance of investing in our team,” said Ali Zaid, principle broker at Rateshop. “If there’s a good training regime in place, a solid infrastructure, and we provide them with the right tools and efficient technology, then they are prepared for anything.”

Rateshop was recently honoured as a 2020 CMP Top Independent Brokerage. They built the brokerage by taking the best, most efficient parts of all mortgage business models and combined it for a unique arrangement that just works. The structure was founded on the importance of investing in their people, and success just seemed to follow.

“The independence lets us invest in full-time underwriting support to deliver efficiency and accuracy. It allows us to continuously grow our teams’ knowledge and keeps us focused on customer experience,” said Michael Squeo, business development manager at Rateshop. The model enables agents to spend more time on working closely with clients, while a salaried underwriting team is always available and prepared to answer any questions in real time. It also means that each member of the team has time to really develop their strengths and focus their attention on what they are best at. Because of this regimented process, Rateshop prides themselves on having quicker turnaround times compared to their competitors.

“There’s a misnomer in the industry that you have to be a jack of all trades,” said Zaid. “That doesn’t always work best. We are all good at certain aspects of the trade: that might be customer service, sales, or underwriting. When you find it, lean in.”

In the mortgage industry, it’s often a lack of exposure and experience that makes it hard for agents to really break the barrier into a successful career. Zaid says working with an underwriting team helps take care of the details while the agent is still building their skill and confidence. Technology also plays a big role in bringing sales and underwriting together and making sure everything is being done cohesively. Rateshop made huge tech investments last year so their agents could be supported by a robust online platform that helps guide the consumer through every step of the process, from the application all the way to closing.

“We saw a 53% jump in agent transfers [to our brokerage], which validated that we were doing something different, and we were doing it right,” Squeo told CMP.

With the timelines and true impact of the COVID-19 still not particularly clear, Rateshop is taking the wait-and-see approach before projecting their goals for this year. Right now, Squeo says they are still busy doing deals as the team was able to transition to working primarily online and over the phone.

“Like everyone else, we are strained because of the coronavirus, but our ability to compensate with a variety of products and services gives us an advantage,” added Zaid. “Customers are looking for options, flexibility, benchmark stress testing, as well as the alternative lending solutions that are available and we've formulated a process to identify which direction we need to take for each client.”

At Rateshop, 2020 is about making sure that customers are well taken care of, and feel comfortable and safe, even during times of uncertainty. Vendors are scaling back, appraisals are being affected and decline ratios have gone up, but Squeo says their team is being very proactive with weekly training sessions, keeping tabs on the economic pulse and keeping the lines open with lenders.

“Our agents know they need to ensure that the customer is going to be in a positive place with their deals. That confidence stems from our relationship with agents, customers and constant communication and education.”