The door is open for a new generation of advisers
Named as the individual Broker of the Year at The Mortgage Introducer Awards, Michael Hayes is still only in his early 30s, with a long career ahead of him – and he wants to see more young people follow him into the profession.
Hayes (pictured), who joined his father’s Manchester-based business Neal Hayes Mortgages in his mid-20s, scooped the honour at the awards ceremony in London. He reflected on his career journey to date, following his win.
“When I started at 25, I thought 55-year-old people would think, ‘what does a 25-year-old know that I don't?’ and that might put younger people off,” Hayes told Mortgage Introducer. “But that wasn't the case at all. The minute you started talking, and people knew you're competent, there was none of that.
“At times, you feel it should be a younger person's industry and sometimes you feel like there's not enough of a spread of the younger generation coming through and becoming the next lot of brokers.”
From IT to mortgages…
After leaving university, Hayes did a brief stint as an IT manager, supporting clients such as Liverpool and Everton football clubs. He enjoyed the customer interaction but, realising IT wasn’t for him, he made the switch to mortgages and joined the family business. His initial fear that working together with his parents might damage their relationship proved unfounded. The business has grown over recent years to a team of nine.
“When I started doing the job, I’d go out with my dad,” Hayes recalled. “His conversations with his customers were 45 minutes about Man United's transfer window, 10 minutes about the mortgage and five minutes about their family, and that was it. He operates with his clients exactly the same way I do, where a lot of them, they've stopped being clients, they're just friends. So almost all of our business is face-to-face. I spend most of my evenings out seeing clients, which I know is getting rarer.
“You do build up that relationship with clients. They end up being very, very loyal and you know them intrinsically well. So I think that's the key to it, really getting to know your clients well, do a good job, and then they'll just they'll never want to leave you.”
Read more: Revealed: The Mortgage Introducer Awards 2024 winners
How has the mortgage market changed?
Hayes has seen change in the market, even in his relatively short time in the industry.
“You see a lot of different clients now,” he observed. “A lot of people don't fit into neat little boxes like maybe they did years ago. People's employment has become a lot more diverse, and a lot more people do contract work. Your average 25-year-old today is a lot more knowledgeable than they have ever been, which is a really good thing. When you sit with customers, you're not explaining what a mortgage is – they are much more clued up.”
Brokers, Hayes believes, don’t feel that they are competing against each other - there’s enough business.
“I didn't look around the room at The Mortgage Introducer Awards and think I've got to beat all these other people, because they'll steal my business,” he said. “There's enough customers to go around.”
Affordability is a big challenge in the market currently, acknowledges Hayes, with some low-earning first-time buyers struggling to get onto the property ladder. Housing supply has also suffered.
“I don't think there is an easy solution to it,” he said. “We're too far behind. I think for 25 years we've slept on it and it's hit us all at once, but really we've not built enough houses. That's been the problem.
“I do get where the government is coming from, trying to free up some homes from landlords for first-time buyers, but you are just literally passing the issue to renters because not everybody wants to buy a house, not everyone's in that position, and they're now going to find it difficult to rent if the landlords are selling homes. So it is really, really challenging, but the only way it can be solved is at government level.”
Hayes believes builders need to be offered incentives build properties. “It's the only way it can be resolved,” he said.
As a bone-fide award winner, what does he consider makes a good broker?
“You've got to really understand people,” Hayes declared, “people from different backgrounds. Preparation is everything. When you're going out to see these people take as much information as you possibly can, so it gives you a head start when you're talking to them. Don't be afraid to ask questions - no one expects you to have all of the answers all of the time. If you don't know something, that's absolutely fine. Just tell that person you'll come back to them.
“Some nights I don't get home until 10.30pm, 11pm. It's par for the course, but customers really appreciate it, and if you look after your customers well, you're absolutely on the right road.”
He added: “I always describe it as a bit like making a snowman. At the start, it's hard work and you're pushing a really small snowball. Some of the referrals aren't always coming in when you start, but over time, once you do a good enough job for enough people, your phone doesn't stop ringing.”
Hayes’ parents and wife were all on hand to see him win at The Mortgage Introducer Awards.
“It's absolutely brilliant for a small business like ours,” he enthused. “It means a lot, it really does, and I’ve already got new appointments off the back of it.”
