Mortgage Broker

CmB magazIne cmba-achc.ca spring 2018 | 21 cmB: tell me about your career. when and how did you get started in the mortgage industry? James shinners: I've been a mortgage broker for 14 years. Prior to that, I was a branch manager with Wells Fargo Financial Canada. My focus was in the automotive finance industry, but my branch began cross-selling mortgage products to our automotive clients. When the branch closed, I made the move to becoming a mortgage broker. My wife, Margaret, had worked for a mortgage broker in Vancouver prior to our marriage, and we both joined Mortgage Intelligence from 2004 to 2009. From there, it was an easy transition to start our independent brokerage firm, Mortgage Managers. And I must say, I wouldn't be able do any of this without Margaret's knowledge and support. cmB: what services do you provide at mortgage managers? Js: Like other mortgage brokers, we draw on our experience to recommend mortgage products that best fit our clients' needs. Where we may differ is that we employ a robust customer relationship management (CRM) system, specifically designed for mortgages. It allows us to manage, continually monitor and speak to our clients regarding their mortgage suitability. If mortgage rules change, or rates change, we contact our clients to discuss how that affects them. Hence the name Mortgage Managers – we're really managing our clients' mortgages, which includes an annual review at the very minimum. In addition, I am also a Certified Cash Flow Specialist (CCS), a designation provided by e Money Finder, which developed the Behavioral Cash Flow System. at enables me to speak to clients like a financial planner, but without pressuring them to purchase investment or insurance products. Generally, these are homeowners who have owned their home for a while and need help setting a cash-flow plan to improve their lifestyle and retirement goals. cmB: what do you like about working in the mortgage industry? Js: While it sounds a little clichéd, I love helping our clients meet their goal of buying a home – or improving their situation, in the case of a refinance. Aside from all the noise and distraction of mortgage rule changes, the core of our business is really helping our clients achieve their dream of home ownership. It's about getting the best mortgage for their unique situations. cmB: how have you and your business evolved over the years? Js: I started alone in a small office in our basement, and when my wife joined me, we evolved into taking over the entire basement and having clients meet us at our home office. A year or two later, an opportunity came along to get into a retail space. We initially shared it with a real estate agent, but three years ago, we took over the entire building. So we've expanded physically and we've also expanded our business acumen. For instance, we learned over the years that – as counter-intuitive as this sounds – the more you bend to accommodate clients, the less value you have in their eyes! In the early days, we'd meet a client anywhere at any time. But we found that those clients didn't close the mortgage with us. We took a step back to evaluate why that was happening. We realized you meet other professionals, like your doctor or lawyer, Monday to Friday, nine to five, at their office. So we decided to try that. To our surprise, when the clients came to our office during office hours, we started closing 95 per cent of the mortgages we were working on. It was a fundamental shi in thinking on our part. I've been doing this for 14 years and I've yet to understand the psychology behind that, but there is something to it. cmB: what do you feel are the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the canadian mortgage industry today? Js: Without a doubt, I'd say the government rule changes are very challenging for both brokers and our clients. e government is trying to slow down the markets in Vancouver and Toronto, but unfortunately the smaller markets in other provinces are getting hurt. People in Atlantic Canada are really feeling the brunt of that, especially when it comes to financing mortgages in more rural locations. We don't have as many lenders as other parts of the country, and for those institutions who do lend here, not all will lend in every area. Many prefer to stick to the major centres, which puts rural homeowners at a disadvantage. I had a case recently where a rural client wanted to refinance, but I didn't have any lenders who would do it, because of the changes that took place last year. Mortgage insurance is not available under the refinance rules, and no local broker lenders could help them. Had this client been in an urban centre, several lenders would have entertained the application. As far as opportunities go, the mortgage rule changes are causing consumers to shop around a bit more. at's where a mortgage broker can certainly shine, in terms of having a wider range of options for a client to choose from. A s the new president of CMBA-Atlantic, James Shinners believes his predecessor, Nicholas Hamblin, has le him with big shoes to fill. He also believes that meeting that challenge will require strength in numbers. at's why he and his newly elected board have identified member recruitment as the association's most important priority. "We have roughly 120 members in the region, and there are about 450 mortgage brokers in Atlantic Canada – so there is lots of opportunity to grow," Shinners told Canadian Mortgage Broker in a recent interview. With a new board of directors that includes representatives from all four Atlantic provinces, CMBA-Atlantic is focused on growing its ranks by increasing the value of membership. We caught up with Shinners shortly aer he officially took the helm of the regional association – and as we discovered, a lot of exciting work is already underway.

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