2009 MPA/Westpac Top 100 Brokers: Where did your broker rank?

The results from the 2009 MPA/Westpac Top 100 Brokers rankings are in and its time to see whether your broker features in the spotlight!

The following list of brokers, produced by the Your Mortgage sister publication Mortgage Professional Australia (MPA), features the top 10 brokers from the many who battled through a financial year fraught with ongoing global economic challenges.

Topping the list at no. 1 was;
Wendy Higgins, from Mortgage Choice Glenelg East, South Australia, has 11 years of experience as a broker and wrote more than $123m worth of residential loans for the 2008/2009 financial year. She attributes her success to her passion for helping clients reach their home ownership dreams and property investment wealth creation goals.

"It's seeing existing clients again and again and seeing how excited they are about what they have achieved because of my initial encouragement and advice about property investment and loan structuring," Higgins says.

No. 2
Women dominated the top two ranking on this year's MPA/Westpac TOP 100 broker list. Linda Wei Jing Lin from DY Home Loans in Preston, Victoria settled: $116,460,698 worth of loans during the 2008/2009 financial year. She has been a broker for six years and says, "Following in the footsteps of Bill Ling, who is the top 6th broker and is also my brother, friend, leader, business partner and boss" has been the key to her success.

No 3
Jeremy Fisher from 1st Street in Rose Bay, New South Wales was the top male in this year's MPA/Westpac TOP 100 brokers list, settling $102,523,656 worth of loans in the 2008/2009 financial year. He has a substantial six years in the industry and attributed his success so far to his clients.

"I enjoy seeing my clients achieving their dreams with minimal stress throughout the entire process. I am driven by the continual client referrals that form the foundation of my brokerage," Fisher says.

He says the most important and challenging aspect of 2008/2009 was to keep his clients well informed of interest rate movements, "to ensure that they didn't over-commit themselves".

No. 4
Colin Lamb from Mortgage Solutions Australia in Doubleview, Western Australia has eight years of experience as a broker and managed to settle $100,316,862 worth of home loans over the 2008/2009 financial year.

Lamb says the most challenging part of the year was keeping his clients positive about the mortgage market. "With the GFC a lot of people put a hold on purchasing property, with some selling off to reduce debt and exposure. We spent a lot of time either restructuring existing debts or assisting with discharges."

However Lamb says being able to assist clients, whether they are first home buyers or complex investors, is what drives him to be a successful mortgage broker.

"Seeing their reaction when I advise them that their finance has been approved is priceless. The financial aspect is also a consideration but nothing beats clients' reactions," he says.

No. 5
Michael Searle from The Home Loan Centre in Canberra, ACT pushed through the global financial crisis to settle $93,456,612 worth of loans within the 2008/2009 financial year. Although he survived he hopes things will never get this bad again.

"The 08/09 period put enormous pressure on the lending channel and banks turnarounds went from bad to worse," says Searle.

No. 6
Bill Ling from DY Home Loans in Preston, Victoria is the brother and mentor of no. 2 MPA/Westpac TOP 100 place holder Linda Wei Jing Lin. Bill Ling has been a broker for 11 years and managed to settle $91,810,602 worth of loans in the 2008/2009 financial year. Like no 3. MPA/Westpac TOP 100 broker Jeremy Fisher, Ling says referrals from clients is what keeps his business alive and successful.

"I realise that referrals are the lifeblood of my business and I try to offer the best service to each of my customers. Thus, they can refer more and more business to me," he says.

Ling says the most positive part of the 2008/09 years was the government stimulus actions. "Increased first home owner grant and decreased mortgage interest rates significantly stimulated the Australian property market."

No. 7
Lisa Sanders from Loan Management Services on the Gold Coast, Queensland has been a broker for nine years and settled $90,451,169 worth of loans in the 2008/2009 financial year. Sanders says helping her clients fulfil their financial dreams to purchase their own home, or to buy an investment property drives her to be a successful mortgage broker.

"I love to focus on helping my clients to build a substantial portfolio that will provide them returns for years to come," says Sanders. "We also work with our clients on an ongoing basis to ensure they maximise their potential to reduce bad debt and consequently build wealth.

Sanders says her goal for 2009/2010 is to reach the no. 1 spot on the MPA TOP 100 brokers list.

"The best compliment we can receive is a referral from a client and with this, we're always advancing to provide first-class reliable service with fast turn-around times.  We will aim to fully utilise and maximise our database by adding value and continue to increase our events, marketing campaigns and product information to our client base," says Sanders.

No. 8
Broker Justin Doobov from Intelligent Finance in Bondi Junction, New South Wales recently won the 2009 Australian Mortgage Awards trophy for Best Customer Service in Australia. While the MPA/Westpac top 100 broker award is based on volume of business (Doobov wrote $88,833,519 worth of loans in the 2008/2009 financial year), the award of Australia's Best Customer Service provider shows that it's possible to write a lot of business, and still offer market-leading customer service at the same time.

"My clients place trust in us to provide not only a very competitive mortgage rate and a good structure but to project manage the whole process. We fully commit to assisting our clients and we'll will do whatever it takes to ensure that we exceed their expectations," Doobov says.

No. 9
Gerard Tiffen from Tiffen & Co/The Mortgage Detective in Kingston, ACT settled $88,133,908 worth of loans in the 2008/2009 financial year. He has 14 years of experience as a broker and puts his success down to those who he works with.

"The people I work with inspire me. My assistants Alison and Leisa keep me on track and are the best at what they do, and the fact I get great support from my friends and family keeps me driven," he says.

No.10
Scott Marshall from The Loan Arranger in Adelaide, South Australia has eight years experience as a broker. He settled $86,423,574 worth of loans in the 2008/2009 financial year and says "helping people get into their homes and the challenge of growing my business" drives him to be a successful broker.

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The 2009 MPA Top 100 list