The Property Market

Michael Calam — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:00:00 +0100

The Property bubble is collapsing. Property is going to skyrocket. The Brisbane market is dead. Brisbane is set for a boom.

Ok - I'm confused!

There are all of these talking heads trying to predict the market, each contradicting what the other is saying. It's the same with the future of broking - I've seen articles telling me that the mortgage broking industry in Australia is a dead duck and then others telling me that it's a wonderful time to be in the business.

W...

Full Service

Michael Calam — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 15:00:00 +0100

I'm seeing many brokers diversify into Insurance and other areas in an effort to prop up their income streams. I think that's a great idea, provided you don't spread yourself so thinly that your service gets diluted.

When a client sees a broker, they should be receiving more than just a product recommendation. You as a trained finance professional should be analysing the clients needs and the structure of the transaction, investigating the suitability of the transaction across the v...

Web Marketing

Michael Calam — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 03:23:45 +0100

As a broker mentor I'm continuously asked the question about who to use for creating websites for brokers.

I always ask in return "Why do you want a website?"

Most new brokers are convinced that a well made website will bring business to their door. With very rare exceptions I can tell you that it doesn't.

Pause for a second and think about what happens when a prospective borrower goes onto Google and starts looking for a broker or a home loan. First up will be the "...

6th of July 2011

Michael Calam — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 05:02:02 +0100

It's a glorious day here in Brisbane, the sun is shining and tonight the Maroons will win the State of Origin. That will make it 6 years in a row.

Of course NSW have kept up their side of the game by turning up to every game.

That's like broking at the moment, sometimes when times can be tough - it's important to just keep on turning up and staying in the game. It's all about stamina.

But, it's also important to review your business and look for ways to improve upon ...

Competition

Michael Calam — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 09:23:48 +0100

We're proud to announce that Ian Cook, one of our Queensland brokers has made it into the top finalists in St George Banks, BrokerIQ contest, a contest designed to highlight Australia's brightest brokers. Ian will be travelling to Sydney to compete as one of the 6 finalists after the first 2 preliminary rounds of the competition narrowed the field from the 1,000 brokers who competed. Well done Ian! http://www.sterlingpublishing.com.au/all-news/53-top-brokers-one-step-closer-to-10000-prize

Customer Solutions Process

Michael Calam — Wed, 25 May 2011 02:11:43 +0100

A mistake that I regularly see new (and experienced) brokers making, is to be so keen to get a sale that they start to offer pricing and solutions to the client - before they fully understand the client's needs.

I'll make it plain and simple - if a client only goes with you because of pricing - then they're not your client - they will always go with whoever offers them a better deal.

Don't offer clients solutions until you have taken the time to understand their needs and the ...

Servicing Calculators

Michael Calam — Tue, 24 May 2011 02:24:04 +0100

Sometimes it's challenging to get the most out of a servicing calculator. We've create a couple of quick tutorials to help you to get better servicing for your investor clients. View the first tutorial here and then the second in the series here.

Send us your feedback on tutorials you'd like to see us create at info@visionms.com.au

Youtube Tutorials

Michael Calam — Mon, 09 May 2011 15:00:00 +0100

As another tool to help our team we've started recording a number of short (less than 5 minute) tutorials on YouTube. We'll keep on adding to these over time and try to cover everything from the basics through to advanced topics in broking.

You can view an introductory video here.

A group of our brokers in South East Queensland recently took advantage of funding through the Department of Education and Training to work towards their Diploma in Financial Services (Mortgage Broki...

21st February 2011

Michael Calam — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 23:43:56 +0100

I have returned from holidays today to some positive developments.

First, the signage on our new office is now all complete, so we are officially up and running. There are some busy weeks ahead of us for promotional activities. (BTW, we're definitely looking for new brokers in the South East Queensland area as we're starting to get very busy!)

First, we're having a function this Friday afternoon for the local business people - celebrating the opening of the new office. We ha...

Our New Office

Michael Calam — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 04:54:08 +0100

We're now up and running in our new head office.

Of course, by that I mean that we have our desks and files. Signage, phones and internet won't be in place until the end of next week (sigh!) and so in meantime we're finishing the fitout and getting everything else in order.

Our new office is branded "Homeloans" as we have created it through our affiliation with the publicly listed mortgage manager Homeloans (formerly Homeloans Ltd). We're delighted with the location, as we'r...

Business during disaster

Michael Calam — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 07:55:27 +0100

It's been a terrible start to the year for many people. Brisbane and surrounding areas has been flooded in the worst weather event since the 1974 floods. Many have lost everything and some have lost their lives.

While I personally have not been affected, many I know have. The knock on effects of such an event have been unbelievable with not only homes lost, but businesses submerged under floodwaters and their employees being told that they may not be back at work for weeks or month...

Preparing for the year

Michael Calam — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 21:41:03 +0100

Our new Beenleigh office, branded as Homeloans is opening next Monday and so we're flat out preparing for that. There's all the usual rigmarole of ordering phone systems, internet, furniture, marketing material so it's very busy here.

I'm quite excited as this will give our Brokers in South East Queensland a base of operations, and we're setting up a number of desks in the office so that our brokers can work from there on a casual or full time basis. Historically, I've found that br...

Credit Representative

Michael Calam — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:59:17 +0100

Now that the 1st of January 2011 has passed, all Australian brokers must be either a holder of a credit licence, or an authorised representative of a credit licence holder.

This has changed the nature of the relationship between "aggregators" and individuals somewhat, as now one of the most important relationships in the industry is that between the licence holder and the credit representative. As a licence holder, ASIC has requirements that you will review and audit the activities o...

2011

Michael Calam — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:12:27 +0100

2011 is here, finally!

This month we are opening our new shopfront in Beenleigh, branded through our new agreement as "Homeloans". For those of you who aren't familiar with them, Homeloans is a publicly listed mortgage management company. We have entered into a branding partnership with them to offer Homeloans products through our newly branded "Homeloans" business. Our members can still choose to operate under their own trading names or our other brand, Vision Mortgage Solutions.<...

Joining the Team

Michael Calam — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:23:37 +0100

Great news for our members, we're now having regular skype video-conferences. Make sure that you're registered with Skype and you are welcome to join our next online get together. The next video-conference will be held on Tuesday the 7th of September at 4pm (EST). Email info@visionms.com.au to register for this session.

In the meantime, view the latest VMS production at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnsrFHJ8kxc&feature=youtube_gdata

Our Proposal

Michael Calam — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:17:14 +0100

Licencing and other requirements have meant that we've had to change our proposition for our members. We are now offering the following package to brokers who join Vision Mortgage Solutions (www.visionms.com.au)

1. Credit Representative status under our licence.
2. COSL coverage under our membership.
3. Free Software
4. Support and Training
5. Assistance with Lead Generation

Our package costs $950 for the first year and then $440 per year thereafter...

Keeping up with it all

Michael Calam — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:00:00 +0100

Wow, the world of broking is fast paced at the moment. Between licencing, KYC, lender policies there is a lot to keep up with. That is why it is vital for you to regularly take the time out to work on your business.

It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day of working in your business. Attending accrediation and training days, following up on lender requirements, customer time. But are you taking the time to evaluate HOW you are doing business? It seems like a simple thi...

Australian Credit Licence

Michael Calam — Wed, 19 May 2010 00:48:24 +0100

With the advent of the Australian Credit Licence requirement for Australian Brokers, it is important for all brokers to register their intent to operate under and Australian Credit Licence.

The process is quite simple and does not commit the broker to a particular path. It simply enables the broker to express an interest in operating under the new licencing scheme. However, if you haven't registered before the 1st of July, then the process for registration after that point is muc...

Keeping up with the Pace

Michael Calam — Mon, 17 May 2010 23:55:19 +0100

Mortgage Broking has become a fast paced industry, with many changes occuring at the moment as the new licencing regime comes into play. As brokers it's vitally important to keep up to date with the latest changes etc.

While there is a wide range of publications and websites to provide the latest updates etc. one of the most overlooked but (in my humble opinion) most valuable tools is networking with other brokers. Over the years that we have been mentoring new brokers we have se...

Happy Easter

Michael Calam — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 00:28:51 +0100

I hope that you all had a safe and happy easter break.

Tuesday morning after the break and it's certainly all go here. Vision Mortgage Solutions has just registered with ASIC for the new Australian Credit Licence, which will become mandatory for brokers to have soon.

We have made the decision within Vision that we will allow the brokers in our team to operate under our licence. This will save our team members from having to hold their own ACL. If you have any question...

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