From football coaching to mortgaging advising

Mortgage Lab’s Angela Wallbank on her most memorable client so far

From football coaching to mortgaging advising
Mortgage Lab broker Angela Wallbank discusses her most memorable client experience and what she’d do if she was the Prime Minister for a day.

Q: Who or what has inspired you to become a mortgage broker?
A:
I have always been fascinated by the property industry and with a background in coaching, becoming a mortgage adviser has allowed me to bring the two together.

Q: What is the best part of being a broker?
A:
Helping people buy and live in a home in the most affordable way possible.

Q: What’s the hardest, most challenging part?
A:
Breaking down preconceived notions of using an adviser versus going to the bank.

Q: What has been the secret to your professional success?
A:
I believe my coaching background plays a role. I try to understand what a client wants to achieve and what resource is available to work with to get a solution.

Q: Tell us briefly about your company and its role in the mortgage industry. What makes it different from other companies?
A:
We don't play in other areas, and have good networks to make the experience a good one for our clients.

Q: What was your most memorable client experience?
A:
Helping a young couple into their first home. It was a new build in Auckland and they were eligible for the home start grant and used their KiwiSaver for the deposit. It was as if all the pieces of the puzzle came together.

Q: You previously worked with Auckland Football Federation for a number of years. What have you learned from that experience and how do these lessons help you now?
A:
Previous roles at Auckland Football helped me cement some of the foundation work that I did in previous corporate roles and in the coaching space. I have coached players and staff. That level of interaction carries on now that I am an adviser. I'm just in a different industry, and I'm a people’s person.

Q: How would you sum up brokers?
A:
Solution finders. Guiders.

Q: What do you see as the biggest opportunity for brokers in 2018?
A:
Helping clients understand what is available to them when trying to buy or refinance a home. Educating clients is critical in order for them to make informed decisions when it comes to home finance.

Q: What do you think of RBNZ’s LVR changes?
A:
The changes will make it easier for first home buyers to purchase homes and the change to investor criteria is sufficient to reflect the slowdown in the Auckland market.

Q: Outside the broking business, what else do you enjoy doing?
A:
Being curious. I read, I like to spend time at home with my family and I take as many opportunities as possible to travel to Rarotonga – I’m in Rarotonga right now answering these questions.

Q: If you were the Prime Minister for a day, what would you do?
A:
I think I would concentrate on the education space. I know there are schools without enough teachers. I would seek to understand why and put in interim measures in place until the problem was solved.

Q: If you could have dinner with any three people, who would you invite and why?
A:
Tony Robbins – inspirational. Gandhi – humility. Michelle Obama – strong female leader.

Q: Complete this sentence: If I wasn’t in mortgage broking, I would be…
A:
Learning to fly a helicopter.


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