Mortgage brokers are constantly in a state of motion throughout the day, putting deals together and serving the public’s needs in the finance sector. There’s been an unfair stigma associated with finance brokers in relation to the 2008 housing crisis in the United States. Unfortunately, these type of brokers who look to push loans first no matter the outcome, do exist. The good thing for the industry is, these brokers are a rare exception and not the rule. The clampdown on the industry after 2008 has seen to that and the focus is towards ethical practices within the mortgage brokerage industry. As previously mentioned, mortgage brokers are in motion at all times. How much motion you ask? Let’s take a look at a day in the life of a home loan broker from daybreak to sunset.
6:00 AM
John wakes up and rubs the sleep away from his eyes as his wife Jessie is already downstairs making coffee and starting breakfast. As John is taking a shower, he’s going through his mental rolodex of clients and financial institutions to call when he arrives at the office. His thoughts are halted momentarily as he concentrates on his fog-free mirror to give himself a quick shave. A few minutes later, John is out of the shower and putting on his freshly-starched slacks and shirt.
7:00 AM
Jessie wakes their children Shelley & Del to get them started on getting ready for school. John settles in to a hot cup of Joe as he slowly nibbles on his bacon & eggs. John quickly scans through Yahoo Finance on his laptop to get a cursory glance at the latest rates and the prime rate. This information is always good to have when putting mortgages together as you can never have too much information.
7:45 AM
Del & Shelley, having already showered and dressed, head off out the door to the bus stop after hugs and kisses from Jessie & John. Del drew a picture of his Dad in front of a desk as only a precocious six-year old could. John smiles at the picture and tucks it into his briefcase as he’ll display it prominently on his office wall.
8:00 AM
John gets his tie quickly straightened out by Jessie, who gives him a kiss to send him off to the 30-minute journey on the motorway to the office. As he traverses, John quickly remembers that he has a lunch meeting with a home loan client at 12:30 to go over his paperwork for a $500,000 home purchase. The home sits in an affluent area of town and the client’s credit score of 743 is a good score, but finding a lender could prove somewhat problematic.
8:35 AM
John gets to the office and settles in with another cup of coffee, there will be plenty of cups consumed on this day as he has a full schedule of clients and calls to make.
8:50 AM
Ten minutes before the brokerage opens, John has placed his sixth call so far, chatting with a lender in VIctoria about a client’s loan status. The lender wants to grant the loan on 10% terms and John specifically mentioned to the client that he was fairly certain that he would find a loan lower than 10%. The lender goes back and forth with John, discussing terms and options to get through this impasse. John agrees to take a 10% reduction on his commission from the lender for this loan and in turn, the lender agrees to lower the rate to 9% for this client.
The lender emails the final paperwork over to John in PDF format and John quickly prints out all the forms. He smiles, knowing that his client will be pleased with the rate as he assembles the paperwork in order to staple together. John calls the client with the happy news and sets an appointment to have the client arrive tomorrow to look over and sign the final paperwork.
9:00 AM
The office is abuzz with electricity as John’s fellow brokers leap into action, answering ringing phones, looking up the latest rates online, and printing off paperwork. Clients walk in and wait to meet with brokers to consult about their homeownership needs. The firm is a bastion of activity as John meets with a new client looking to garner a loan for a small house in the suburbs.
1:00 PM
John finishes up with his 12:30 lunch client over a small meal …