Former restaurant manager recounts how he fell into the industry
Before becoming a mortgage advisor, Chris Heyes (pictured), of Cheshire-based When The Bank Says No, worked for several restaurants, holding managerial roles for over 10 years. That was until a chat over coffee helped change the course of his career.
In this Mortgage Introducer feature, Heyes recounts how he – like many other brokers that we have featured previously – fell into the industry.
Getting into the industry
After more than a decade working in the hospitality sector, Heyes felt it was time to look for something different.
“I wanted to make not only a career change, but a lifestyle change as well,” he said. “I did not know what direction I wanted my career to go to at that point.”
One day, he went for a coffee with one of the regular customers in the venue he was working at. That customer turned out to be an owner of a local mortgage brokerage.
“I was impressed with his ambition and the business he was building,” Heyes recalled. “I quickly made the decision to join his firm and begin my career as mortgage broker.
“The timing couldn’t have been better as I started around a month before the first lockdown in 2020 – a time when the hospitality industry went into its toughest period this century and the mortgage industry was booming.”
Motivations to continue as a broker
Heyes said his career to date had been about looking after people and exceeding their expectations.
“It is something I have always had a great deal of pleasure in doing, and my role as a mortgage broker is no different,” he continued.
“Whether it is helping somebody reduce their monthly outgoings, purchase their first home or even their dream forever home, I find the journey extremely rewarding knowing that I have made a difference to my clients.”
Looking to the future
After three years in his first job as mortgage and protection advisor, Heyes decided it was time to look for his next role to progress his career and broaden his knowledge of the mortgage world.
“I joined Alder Rose Mortgage Services and When The Bank Says No in March 2023, which has given me the platform to aim for – and hopefully achieve – the role of sales director,” he said.
Currently a specialist mortgage advisor at the firm, Heyes stated that he wanted to help take the business to the next level as it navigated one of the most testing times in the industry.
“Yes, the increase in interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis have made our roles much harder, but this has also led to greater rewards and the knowledge of knowing we have made a difference to our clients,” he pointed out.
“This is what keeps me and the business driving forward to achieve our goals.”
Are you a mortgage broker who also has a story to tell? Leave a comment in the discussion box at the bottom of the page, and you might get your story featured here too.
