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Matthew Sullivan
Having a referral-based partnership with a mortgage broker is all about servicing the home buyer and not about securing more money, several industry figures have claimed.
“From my perspective it has always been about synergy,” RealWay Property Consultants principal Andrew Reibelt told Real Estate Business.
Mr Reibelt established a referral partnership with a local Queensland based financial consultant nearly a decade ago, and has not once received any direct referral fees from this relationship.
Rather, Mr Reibelt said the relationship was based on servicing the home buyer to the fullest extent and broadening the agency’s network within the local market.
“To me it was important to connect with the right people, so I formed a partnership with an experienced financial consultant who had more than 21 years of industry knowledge," he said.
"This gave me peace of mind that clients were going to be well catered for.”
Mr Reibelt's comments came at the same time the latest Real Estate Business straw poll revealed that just over half (52.8 per cent) of respondents said they had a referral-based partnership with a mortgage broker.
Luke Fahy, principal of Professionals Armidale in NSW, said assisting home buyers secure finance is all about building agent credibility and extending their service offering.
“A lot of agents will shy away from touching on finance, but this is really short sighted,” Mr Fahy told Real Estate Business.
“If you look at this as a career, five to ten years down the track these home buyers are going to sell that home, and if they know firsthand how you deal with a buyer, guess who they are going to sell through.”
But in order to maintain the credibility, Mr Fahy believes agents should steer clear of any financial agreement with the local mortgage broker.
“I never actually refer just one person, I always refer multiple options and I think this is another secret to it,” he said.
“I think you have got to recommend different companies and different people, to show home buyers that you not interested in the financial gain.
“I don’t have a formal relationship where I get cut on a home loan deal, because if you are really credible you won’t care about the $500 you might get from the loan.
“That tarnishes the relationship that you have built with a buyer because obviously the home buyer has to approve that you are getting funds out of the home loan, and that will ruin the honesty that you have taken the time to build.”
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