For many years now, I’ve been getting these questions from friends and family asking me what it’s like being a Mortgage Broker. Today, I decided to write an article about my experience… which will most likely read like fiction because it seems too good to be true! But stick with me here, guys, because everything you’re going to read is 100% true. Also, don’t forget that becoming a second mortgage Toronto broker is achievable – if you have the right story to tell.
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What does being a Mortgage Broker mean?
A mortgage broker has many different titles, but they are agents who work for themselves and represent their clients. The ‘clients’ are called Lenders because they lend money to the Brokers to provide financing services for people who need it. For example, an average Joe would come up to me with $100k in his pocket and say that he needs a house worth at least $300k, which means he needs at least $200k in funding from somewhere else (i.e. banks or private lenders). I’m working for another company that already holds the $200k.
5:00 a.m. Wake up and go for a run.
6:30 a.m. Shower and get ready for the day.
8:00 a.m. Arrive at the office and attempt to catch up on some work that was not completed the day before as I usually go in very late and leave early as I work as my boss, meaning no 9-5 hours.
11:00 a.m. Get hungry so search for any new listings that came out since yesterday that I can call about later today or tomorrow morning when they are fresh in my prospect’s mind. Reach out to my prospect, who I recently became friends with from a networking event we attended together; he expresses interest but asks if his friend can also attend our meeting with him, which is not uncommon. I agree, and we set up a time for Friday to go over the mortgage options.
12:00 p.m. Search for new listings that just came on MLS continue reaching out to clients that recently contacted me about refinancing their existing mortgages and send out invoices to past clients who have outstanding balances due to them along with monthly statements if they prefer paperless billing. This usually takes up most of my day, but I try to get these things done before 5 PM to leave by 6 or 7 PM.
7:30 p.m. Finally leave the office after shutting down all my work-related programs, which take hours upon hours while trying not to forget any important meetings tomorrow morning with current prospects/clients.
8:00 p.m. Arrive home and cook dinner, eat while watching some TV before heading off to bed at around 9 PM if I’m lucky enough to get 8 hours of sleep in that night since it is very unlikely for me to get more than 6 or 7 during the week so my weekends are spent recovering from the periods of excessive fatigue I experienced throughout the workweek.
From this day’s schedule, you can see why most people cannot earn $300,000+ per year working as a mortgage broker unless they’re willing to put in over 40+ hours every single week with no vacations or breaks whatsoever, which seemed near impossible for me to find time for when having friends over for dinner, family events or even trying to date. It can be quite a lonely and depressing lifestyle at times, and I could not imagine doing this job for 10, 20 or 30 years like some people end up doing.
On top of all the hours put in each week, there are also the stress levels which are equally as bad if not worse than working long, stressful work weeks. There was so much pressure to produce results every month which is extremely difficult to do when you’re cold calling dozens of people on the phone who will either say yes/no/maybe while many other brokers are pitching them too, making it nearly impossible to get deals approved. On top of that, there’s usually a great deal of rejection and having your deals declined and taken away from you by clients and banks just made me feel even more powerless.
I believe that working in the mortgage industry has the potential to be a great career for many people however it is extremely difficult and near impossible to get to where you want unless you’re willing to work your ass off every single day while keeping up with all the changes going on within this industry. You need a lot of perseverance, and not everyone has what it takes, which I believe is why there are so many scams out there these days promising quick success by taking advantage of people who don’t know any better.