March 5, 2024 • 38 mins
They say life's a journey, but Colin Mason's voyage from boiler maker to finance aficionado is one that could inspire even the staunchest of landlubbers. Anchoring our latest episode, Colin charts the waters of mortgage broking, navigating us through the myriad of choices with the expertise only 20 years at the helm can offer. With a trove of over 4,000 mortgage products, he's the lighthouse guiding clients to the shores of property ownership, all while balancing the compass of family life and community values.
In the crew of Mason Finance Group, every sailor has a role, and Colin's captaincy in assembling a team of specialists is nothing short of masterful. We hoist the sails on the topic of professional networking, revealing how building a formidable alliance across different industries can be a treasure for client outcomes. Colin's insight on the ebb and flow of borrowing capacities in a post-COVID world is your map to understanding the currents of the finance sea, proving invaluable for first-time navigators looking to dock in the harbor of homeownership.
As we coast into more personal waters, Colin shares the winds that fill his own sails—be it the joy of aiding clients to financial victories or the freedom found in piloting the skies. His journey is a testament to the philosophy that success is not just about the destination but also the adventures along the way. So, if you're craving a taste of hot curry or the zest of an espresso martini, join us on this voyage of finance, family, and flying, and be part of a conversation that's as much about heart as it is about numbers.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Amy Bennett (00:02):
Welcome to Beyond the Signb oard, where you get
the opportunity to learn allthere is to know about your real
estate journey fromprofessionals who are passionate
about property.
I'm Amy Bennett, your host, andI look forward to providing you
with education, inspiration anda behind the scenes look at the
world of real estate.
Well, good morning and welcometo .
Colin Mason (00:32):
Good morning Amy.
Amy Bennett (00:33):
Colin Mason from Mason Finance Group.
Colin Mason (00:36):
Welcome it's good to be here.
Amy Bennett (00:37):
It's so exciting.
I have to first up.
Thank you for the inspirationto get going with the podcast.
What?
Colin Mason (00:44):
a drama.
Amy Bennett (00:44):
It's exciting.
I've been venturing with thisfor quite a while now.
Colin Mason (00:48):
We have.
We set up, obviously, ourpodcast channel Interest Rates
with mates, so we've got 30 plus, I think, now episodes going
strong and, yeah, we've gotplenty more in the pipeline.
Amy Bennett (00:59):
Amazing.
We'll have a little chat aboutyour podcast later.
Colin is a really valued friendof our team here at McGraw.
We've personally known eachother for over seven years and
it's been really wonderful tohave you as a trusted partner
for our clients Also probablymost of our team as well Really
excited to share your journey inmortgage-breaking but getting
(01:21):
to know you as well.
So we'll chat about your teamof over 20 people, where you've
come from to get to where youare and a little bit of getting
to know you as well.
Colin Mason (01:31):
Looking forward to it Amazing.
Amy Bennett (01:33):
So let's get started with your career journey
.
I always love to learn whereyou have come from to get to
where you are now.
Colin Mason (01:40):
Yeah, I left school 1995 so a long, long time ago
and then sort of left school,got straight into an
apprenticeship as a boiler maker.
I did that for three years.
I'm not very good with hands-on, so I lasted three years and
then got into finance.
Amy Bennett (01:55):
Amazing.
Colin Mason (01:56):
So I've been in finance for the last 25, 30
years, roughly Started doing alot of insurance, so general
insurance and then groupinsurance, superannuation, a
whole range of different things.
Debt collection was thrown inthere as well.
So I then got intomortgage-breaking back in 2004,
(02:16):
moved to Queensland from Sydneyand then been in Queensland ever
since, worked as a mortgagebroker pretty much since then.
Amy Bennett (02:23):
So amazing.
So 20 year anniversary thisyear.
Colin Mason (02:26):
This year.
Yeah, about now actually.
Amy Bennett (02:29):
Incredible.
So before we go into that, tellus a little bit more about the
debt collecting.
I'm really interested in thatrole.
Colin Mason (02:36):
It's when you're young and you're resilient, you
can make any phone calls, so Ididn't sort of think too much of
it, but obviously we're makinga number of calls per day.
It was AGC back in the day,which was owned by Westpac, so
back on the Paramatta River, andyou'd make 100 plus calls a day
and it was obviously helpingpeople make the repayments on
their credit card facilities orpersonal loan facilities or
(03:01):
sending out the sheriff when itgot serious.
So it was a different type ofrole, but I think it gave me a
taste for finance and I thinkfor a lot of people that start
in a role as a debt collectionexpert, you know, that sort of
paves the way for them, I think,on this journey into finance,
because there's a lot ofchallenges in that role.
(03:21):
You know you're speaking todifferent clients with different
backgrounds, with variousfinancial struggles, I suppose,
and we're there to help them.
Amy Bennett (03:31):
So yeah, I think that's something that's really
evident now.
Getting to know you, is thateducation component and being of
service and helping.
So I guess you don't wantpeople to get to that stage.
Was there a passion for financein school?
Were you excelling in thosecomponents at school?
Colin Mason (03:48):
No, look, to be honest, I was never one to get
good grades in maths.
I was probably more gettinggood grades in science.
Amy Bennett (03:57):
to be honest with you, so I could have been a
scientist.
There you go.
Colin Mason (03:59):
Yeah, I think I was never a strong point, but I
always had a passion for helpingpeople and I didn't, you know
like.
I chose not to go to university.
I chose to do other things,like the apprenticeship.
You know, with the ball I'mmaking, I was sort of trying to
find my way as I left school,didn't really want to do, but I
knew I wanted to leave schooland start to make some money and
(04:20):
get out there in the real world, which is what I did.
So I had to support my mum anddad as well, which was great at
the time.
But no, look, I mean, I sort ofjust fell into finance, to be
honest with you.
But once I had a taste of thatdebt collection role and in
doing insurance for customersand then super-annuation as well
, but a financial planning inthe early 2000s I loved it and
(04:41):
now I can't see myself doinganything else, to be honest with
you.
Amy Bennett (04:43):
Well, we'll get to that a little bit later.
So you mentioned mum and dad.
I know you come from a reallyspecial family and it's so
wonderful, isn't it, to haveyour parents support and belief
in you.
Colin Mason (04:52):
Yeah, absolutely.
Mum and dad are great.
They've always supported me, asdoes my wife, bauer, and my
three kids.
But yeah, look it's.
I mean, finance is you knowit's a great industry.
There's plenty of variables infinance.
There's plenty of challenges,plenty of successes, as heaps of
things going on in financealways, so you're always
learning.
Amy Bennett (05:11):
No, two days are the same right.
Colin Mason (05:13):
No, every day is different.
Amy Bennett (05:14):
Yeah.
So look, what I'd love you todo is just to share with our
audience what is a mortgagebroker and what is your role.
Colin Mason (05:20):
Yeah.
So mortgage broker puts quitesimply without a good choice, so
customers would call a mortgagebroker to say they're having to
do the research themselves.
I mean, there's a lot ofinformation there on Google, on
the web platforms these days,but like to give you an idea on
our panel there's 4,000 products, so there's a lot of different
products.
If you're not accustomed tounderstanding what the features
(05:42):
are of different products orlender policies etc.
Or terms, then give a mortgagebroker a call.
We'll go through and we'll havea look at your situation, make
an assessment of how we can helpyou and then we basically pair
a bank or a few banks to yourscenario.
That's where our mortgagebroker is there to help you.
Amy Bennett (06:00):
Amazing, so I think that's a really important thing
to highlight.
So if a customer was to go totheir bank, how many products
would they have on offergenerally?
Colin Mason (06:09):
Oh look, I mean, if you said 10, 10 roughly, that
would be enough to cover, Ithink, all the different product
suites.
So, generally speaking, you'vegot variable rate products,
you've got fixed rate products,so, and then you've got other
line of credit.
You've got business loanproducts as well.
So depends on the bank.
But if you said 10 to 15products generally, you're going
(06:31):
to get choice around that.
But these days the industry isall about best interest duty, so
we need to, as a broker, alwaysact in the best interest of our
clients, and by doing thatwe're obviously comparing the
market, always ensuring thatwe're getting the best product
for our clients.
Amy Bennett (06:46):
Amazing.
I think it was reallyinteresting.
You mentioned there aboutGoogle and I think you're
correct.
We do have a lot of informationat our fingertips, but I think
definitely there is some youknow warning signs.
There isn't there as far assponsored posts or
incentivization.
I think that's probablysomething that you know.
I'd love to delve into a littlebit more, because you probably
(07:06):
come across that quite oftenwhere sometimes a shiny deal or,
you know, an incentivization, acashback, things like that may
not be the best choice for theclient.
Colin Mason (07:15):
No, we've always said that like I mean, there's
only a couple of years ago, thebanks were throwing refinance
cashbacks so cash to refinanceyour loan to them, but it wasn't
always in the customer's bestinterest, but yeah, it was all
about the money.
So you got to have a look atthe underlying facts and you
know what you're really gettingwhen you open up that present so
to speak so, and it's notalways about the product, it's
(07:35):
about other things within theproduct.
So some of the features, forexample, like you might be
looking for things like a fixedrate, but you might be looking
for interest only terms.
So there's all these differentvariables, you know, when we sit
down and discuss scenarios withthe customer.
But look, these days it's it'sno hidden secret the world's
going digital and it's easy forpeople to surf the net on their
(07:56):
phone or their tablets, etc.
So but I, you know, I stillthink there's that level of
human interaction that thatcustomers need and want and
that's where brokers areobviously there to have that.
That will hold thatrelationship.
And then we go through and we,we assess the different products
.
You know, assess differentlenders.
There's, I think, upwards of 80plus lenders in the Australia
(08:16):
market at the moment, bothdigital and both, you know, with
branches, for example.
So so there's plenty ofdifferent options out there, but
don't get caught with the wrongoption yeah, I really, really
think that's such a valued, sucha valued insight.
Amy Bennett (08:31):
Who do you think should use a mortgage broker?
Colin Mason (08:34):
everyone a trick question, trick question yeah so
no, I look, honestly, I thinkeveryone should use a mortgage
broker.
I think, look, I mean, you know, back in the day I used to deal
with one of the major banksreligiously and then, when I got
into mortgage broking in theearly 2000s, obviously then I
learnt myself that it's not allabout just having that one
relationship with the one bank,it's about comparing and I think
(08:55):
everyone should at least givethemselves the chance to compare
what they've got with themarket.
You know, in most cases, I meanif they see a mortgage broker,
in most cases I'd be, you know,highly surprised if they
couldn't walk away with a betteroption.
Amy Bennett (09:09):
So that would lead me to the thought that perhaps,
if somebody's already in theirmortgage journey, they could
still reach out and seek, youknow, I guess, a second opinion
of where they're at.
Yeah, always yeah excellent.
Colin Mason (09:21):
So you know like, even if you're halfway down, I
mean you might even have anapproval with your current bank
and think you know, what you'vegot approved is fantastic.
I think your friend says we'llgo and see a mortgage broker and
then we can say you know, wecan save you five, maybe 10
basis points, which is 0.05 to0.1% off, and depending on what
you're borrowing, that could bea thousand, two thousand dollars
a year back in your pocket,which is a holiday nearly.
(09:42):
So you know there's all thattype of stuff.
I mean, even last week therewas a customer one of the
brokers in my office saved themover fifty thousand dollars a
year.
They thought they were gettingthe best special from their bank
.
So again just a chat.
I've always said just a chatdoesn't cost anything.
I mean, we don't charge as amortgage broker anyhow, but you
know a five minute conversationand you can be walking away with
money back in your pocket yeah,and I'm happy to sort of share.
Amy Bennett (10:04):
That was a really great.
I guess an added bonus for youbeing a client of yours was, you
know, refinancing or even justyour team calling my lender on
my behalf, and I know we savedtwo thousand eight hundred
dollars annually, so reallygrateful for that.
Definitely a good holidayavailable.
Colin, you're really passionateabout your team, so two and a
(10:29):
half years ago you started MasonFinance Group.
You've already outgrown oneoffice.
I know this is one of yourfavorite topics to discuss, so
tell us about your team andtheir roles.
Colin Mason (10:40):
So it's not a hidden secret, I love my team.
So, look, yeah, we set up MasonFinance Group back in July 2021
, just with a few of us, andwe've now grown to a team of 23,
24, and we're always looking,you know, for great stuff.
So we've grown quite quitequickly.
We've got myself and we've gotJess and Todd as the owners of
(11:03):
the business, and then we've gotthree of the senior brokers and
then we've got admin.
So our and I suppose you knowme very well, Amy so we're very
process driven.
So we love the customers to justgo through that journey and be
really, really happy and getthis successful outcome that
we're sort of chasing.
So we do spend a lot of timewith clients on their journey.
(11:24):
We're not just a transactionalmortgage-broken office.
We're a relationship-basedmortgage-broken office.
So we build relationships withour customers.
It's not just the first meetingthat we have for the customer.
We do an application.
We might do two or threemeetings before we get to that
application, just helping thecustomers understand what their
goals, their objectives are,what their needs are, and then
how do we tailor that to aproduct and a lender that's
going to suit?
Amy Bennett (11:45):
Yeah, I think that's.
It's just an absolute, realpoint of difference with your
business is that level of care,the way you look after your
clients.
You know, I know that that'sreally important to you, but
equally your team, I think, alsotoo.
You know it's really important.
You're an amazing leader withinyour business.
You really empower your teammembers and I think that gives
(12:05):
you the ability to be able tostill.
You know, I love, I love thefact that you love being on the
phone and chatting to yourclients and really being that
face of the business.
But obviously there's a lot ofwork that happens behind the
scenes.
So your team are essentially,you know, assisting clients
throughout that process.
Colin Mason (12:22):
Yeah, look, I mean we with the six brokers, that
we've got the brokers.
And the way we design theprocess is the brokers will do
the advice piece of the process,so sitting down with a client,
going through the goals,objectives etc.
Recommending a product, andthen, once the broker has done
that part of the process, wehave a processing team where
they manage the client all theway through to approval.
(12:43):
And then we have a settlementteam as well that manage all the
settlements.
So so we do break the processup, and the reason why I've done
that is because, you know, wedon't proclaim to be experts in
everything.
Amy Bennett (12:54):
So I mean.
Colin Mason (12:54):
I'm not an expert in admin, for example, and some
of the settlement team wouldn'tbe experts as brokers.
So, like we've broken it up sothat the customer journey is a
success all the time.
So, and that's, you know, thereason why we've got all the
Google reviews etc.
Now we've got a lot of repeatcustomers and customers love
what we do.
So and they feel that they getthe choice and they get the sort
(13:14):
of service you know, comparedto what the banks might give
them at the branch level or, youknow, by phoning a bank in
Melbourne, for example.
So so now we've we've sort ofbuilt that process over the last
couple of years and we'rereally working hard to get that
better and better, but we're ina pretty good place at the
moment.
Amy Bennett (13:30):
Amazing and I think that's what 20 years experience
does is it shows you.
You know, it's a reallyinteresting thing in the
previous role of being in ourproperty management team and a
lot of people would always say,look, I just want that one
dedicated team member.
Well, of course, that teammember gets sick or needs to go
on holidays, and you're exactlyright, we're not an expert at
everything, so that's beensomething that you know.
(13:51):
You know, with my time atMcGraw, that we've, you know,
really made sure that you knowwe have dedicated team members.
You know one team member lovesdoing inspections, so that's her
sole role.
And it's incredible to havepeople in the lane that they
want to be in.
You've also had a lot of growthwithin your team as well.
You really love inspiring andempowering your team, which I
really admire.
Colin Mason (14:11):
Absolutely.
You know, a few of the teammembers that we've had are now
stepped up into other roles aswell.
So we've got one of theprocessing managers in there at
the moment about to become abroker.
We've got one of my, in fact,my son, my 18 year old son just
stepped up in another role aswell, which is a promotion for
him because he's been doing well.
So yeah, so, like I mean,there's always opportunity
(14:33):
within our business and becausewe're growing so quickly as well
, you know, over the next coupleof years we're looking for sort
of more growth opportunitiesand I think we'll get there.
So there's always opportunitiesin finance and I think I was
saying to you off the camerabefore that finance is all about
opportunities, you know, andthere's so many opportunities,
(14:53):
so many variables in the financeworld these days, and I think
we'll, you know, we'll look toimprove and expand on that.
Amy Bennett (15:01):
Amazing and you're very much personally and
professionally.
You love having that trustednetwork of professionals.
I know you know that we quiteoften are working with the same
other professionals in otherindustries and that's really
important to you as well.
Colin Mason (15:15):
Absolutely.
I mean, I've always said, yeah,you've got to have a good team
of people around you and you'vegot to make sure they're all
working in your best interest aswell.
You know you don't want to tellpeople where they're taking in
my opinion, taking a clip of theticket the whole way through
because no one or the consumer,you, the client, you know
doesn't win on the back of that.
So so I think you've got tohave a good team of people
around you that are all actingyour best interest, that
(15:37):
understand taxation matters,financial planning,
mortgage-broken property, realestate, for example.
So there's a heap of goodpeople that you can basically
throw around you and that's yourteam moving forward.
Amy Bennett (15:50):
Yeah, absolutely, and I think that's something
that if people are lacking oneof those components, you know
exactly like you say, you know,ask somebody that you do have in
that trusted sphere and thenyou can really expand your
network.
You know, just run through acouple of the, I guess, key
products that you have or keyquestions.
So I know you mentionedborrowing capacities are really
hot topic and something.
So we'll probably delve into adeeper episode in the future,
(16:13):
but just give us a taste of eachof these topics.
Colin Mason (16:16):
So borrowing capacity is probably the leading
question that we get asked atthe moment.
Browing capacities changedquite a lot over the last few
years with the interest ratehikes.
So at the moment, generallyspeaking, you can borrow around
five times what you growsalaries per year, and that's
before any debt.
So credit card debt, personalloans or even kids, for example,
affected in.
Before COVID that was abouteight to nine times.
(16:38):
So just give you an idea on howmuch it's changed.
Every lender is different.
Like I said, there's 60 pluslenders on our panel, so every
lender will be different.
But borrowing capacity would bea hot topic at the moment.
So, and against custom, thatmight go and speak to their bank
and think that they're gettingthe best outcome.
It might be that you can borrowanother $20,000 or $30,000
extra with another bank.
That might get you into a housethat they're looking to buy in
(17:02):
the market today.
Amy Bennett (17:03):
So yeah, amazing.
And look, even you've helped.
I know there's a few industriesnurses and everything like that
.
I've connected you withpotential clients and you've
been able to unlock some reallyspecial deals for them.
Colin Mason (17:16):
Yeah, absolutely so .
There are banks there that'lldo a 90% loan to value ratio for
nurses even teachers now aswell where there's no mortgage
insurance payments.
So mortgage insurances, justquickly, mortgage insurances
where you borrow more than 80%of the value of the home.
The banks will basically insureyour loan or reinsure it and
the mortgage insurer has chargedthe banker a premium for that,
(17:38):
which then they pass on to thecustomer.
So if we can avoid thatlender's mortgage insurance,
depending on the scenario, thecustomer might save $10,000 to
$20,000 of upfront fees.
So again, I mean, that's just aclassic example of having
choice when you come to amortgage broker.
If you're a nurse and you wentto one of the major banks, for
example, the chances are youwon't get those benefits.
So but there's other smallerlenders there that have those
(17:59):
benefits.
Amy Bennett (18:00):
Amazing.
Let's chat about fixed versevariable always a hot topic.
Colin Mason (18:04):
Yes, fixed verse variable.
So, and look, that questiongets asked probably once or
twice a week at the moment aswell.
So should I fix or should Iremain?
Amy Bennett (18:11):
on variable.
Colin Mason (18:12):
So, and look, it depends on the customer scenario
.
Look, there's no hidden secretsthat the RBA, hopefully, will
start to slash the cash ratethis year.
We don't know when exactly, butwe're sort of tipping the back
end of this year.
There might be one or two ratecuts.
Fixed rates have alreadystarted falling on the back of
those announcements as well.
So most customers at the momentare choosing to stay on
(18:34):
variable.
So, but again, a chat with us,a mortgage broker.
We can sit down and discussyour scenario and work out
what's best for you.
Amy Bennett (18:40):
Perfect.
So for those listening orwatching, we're recording in
February 2024.
So who knows where interestrates will be when you're
listening?
Colin Mason (18:48):
Yes.
Amy Bennett (18:49):
Let's chat about primary place of residence verse
investment properties.
So obviously different ratesfor those two scenarios.
Colin Mason (18:58):
Yeah, there is, and again it comes down to all
those different lenders and whatthey're offering.
But generally speaking, you'llyou'll be charged a slightly
higher rate of interest whenyou're buying an investment
compared to buying a home thatyou're living in.
There's, obviously, taxbenefits that come with
investment properties.
So in terms of borrowingcapacity what we mentioned a
second ago we can have adifferent outcome for investment
loans compared to an owneroccupied loan.
Again, obviously, discussionwith a mortgage broker.
(19:20):
We can go through your personalscenario and work out what you
can borrow for bothcircumstances or both different
scenarios around buying a homeor buying an investment, I
suppose just on the back of that.
I mean first home buyers at themoment that are limited with
their borrowing capacity.
Some of them are even lookingat buying an investment property
now to help them get into themarket with rental income,
obviously on that investment,helping them borrow a little bit
more.
Amy Bennett (19:40):
Amazing.
Colin Mason (19:41):
So we're doing a little bit of those
conversations at the moment aswell.
So, and again, it comes down tochoice.
So, but yeah.
Amy Bennett (19:48):
Let's talk about first home buyers, really
passion of mine and also yours.
I know that your team hosts alot of seminars and that's, you
know, definitely something thatyou're really keen to expand on.
We did.
Colin Mason (20:00):
We did a seminar last night actually.
Oh, there we go, yes.
So, like we love first homebuyers and just putting a smile
on their face and really helpingthem with their journey through
that sort of process of buyingreal estate for the first time.
So first home buyers generallyborrow with a 5% deposit.
There's plenty of differentschemes available to at the
moment.
So government schemes that areavailable for first home buyers,
(20:21):
that they meet certaineligibility, where you don't
have to pay the lender'smortgage insurance, so you're
getting a government grant.
For example, there's $30,000 asa government grant Now if you
build brand new, for example, sothere's benefits there to help
first home buyers into themarket.
So if you're I mean if you'relistening to your first home buy
, definitely give us a callbecause we're doing more
(20:41):
seminars for first home buyers,and we do go through a lot of
that stuff.
Amy Bennett (20:44):
And I think as well with first home buyers.
You know, one of the things Iwas really educated from your
team was super saver schemes andthings like that.
So rather than a first homebuyer, you know doing all of
that work themselves, you knowsaving a deposit.
When would you encourage themto come to one of your seminars?
Colin Mason (21:01):
That's a good question.
So and we said this last nightto the first home buyers that
were there is that you knowwe're not a transactional
mortgage broker.
So we want to build arelationship, like I said before
.
So make an appointment, comeand have a chat with us.
We don't charge at all.
We'll sit down and we'll startyour journey today, and it might
be 12 months, it might even betwo years, before you actually
end up in a position to be ableto buy something with a deposit,
etc.
But we want to build thatscenario with you.
(21:23):
So, if you're thinking ofgetting into the market or
understanding a little bit moreabout how to get into the market
with finance, book a meetingwith us, sit down with us or one
of our brokers and we'll gothrough the whole journey with
you.
Amy Bennett (21:35):
Amazing.
And first home buyers.
I know a lot of the parentscome along as well, which is
really great and I know thatthat's, you know, something,
like I said, that's reallyimportant to your team and what
a feeling to be able to helpsomebody you know to put that
sold sticker up and you know, aswe always say, you know it
really is.
You know such a special processand and that's the whole reason
for this podcast is really toshare all of the behind the
(21:57):
scenes beyond the signboard.
You know that gets to that soldsticker.
So you know that that's amomentous journey for a first
home buyer.
I know personally you helped usin our first home journey which
I always joke because it waskind of an impossible scenario
and you made it possible.
So you know we'll be forevergrateful for that.
(22:19):
But you know I'm sure you'redoing that countless times a
week.
Colin Mason (22:22):
Always trying to find solutions.
Amy Bennett (22:24):
So and again that's the.
Colin Mason (22:25):
The joys of what we do as a mortgage broker is
finding choice and and trying tounravel the customer scenarios
to try and find a bank that'sgoing to be tailored to their
needs.
Amy Bennett (22:34):
So I think that's that science coming back out.
Isn't it Finding the formula toget to people?
Colin Mason (22:39):
Absolutely yeah, so I don't know what formula there
is, but you know we'll make itas we go.
But no, look it's.
I don't know.
I just love finance.
I mean, I love finding thesolution.
We love challenges.
You know, challenges aren'taren't scary to us.
Amy Bennett (22:52):
It's amazing, yeah that's really exciting, I'm sure
, for the audience.
Bridging finance is also justone more little thing I just
wanted to.
I know we could talk for hoursabout that on its own.
It's something that I've done alot of research, you know,
really specializing indownsizing and helping people
with transitional process intheir real estate journey.
So just give us a little tasteof what it is and then I think
(23:15):
we'll take that offline foranother podcast in the future
100%.
Colin Mason (23:19):
So bridging finance is a product that allows
customers to buy something else,so buy another real estate
asset before they've actuallysold what they've got.
So it allows them to movewithout having to do a subject
to sale, etc.
So there's a few good productson the market at the moment, One
in particular if a customer islooking to downsize, for example
, they can get bridging financeto buy the next property.
(23:42):
They'll settle on the nextproperty, move into it and then
they can sell their propertywithin six months.
They don't need to be working,they don't need to show income,
nothing like that, as long asthere's no what they call end
debt.
So end debt being that onceyou've sold the existing house,
you don't have any requirementfor a mortgage at all on the new
house that you just bought.
So it's an easy process.
You can normally getconditionally approved in a
couple of days and it allows, asI said, allows people to
(24:05):
downsize and move into the nextreal estate asset with not a lot
of documents at all.
Amy Bennett (24:10):
Amazing.
Colin Mason (24:11):
So that's one part of it.
And then there's anotherbridging finance product, where
you do require a mortgage at theend, and then there's other
products on the market for that,which I won't go into a little
detail today.
But we'll do that offline.
Amy Bennett (24:22):
We can Look I can't help myself, though, just
putting my real estate hat on, Iguess and to give our audience
a bit of a taste.
So some key things for that,which is why I'm very pro people
doing that is generally peopledon't know do I sell first, do I
buy first?
And it is a really it's ourbasic human need.
If we went back to Maslow'shierarchy of basic human needs,
(24:45):
shelter is that core principleand that's something that I'm
really aware of in my role.
So that fear of being homelessobviously we've been through
quite a significant housingcrisis, so I think that's a
really great thing that it'sreally able to unlock.
Colin Mason (25:00):
Absolutely.
Look, I mean bridging finance.
It's, I mean, if you'rethinking about, I suppose,
making that next step in yourjourney.
People have felt in the pastthat they were sort of back into
a corner.
You know, I mean I want to buysomething, but bridging finance
costs so much money which I meanthere's a myth that it does.
And, look, it depends on theadvice piece.
(25:22):
To be honest with you, like alot of banks would get that part
wrong, to be honest with you,in terms of the way they set
their sort of product up.
But there are banks I mean onthe market at the moment or in
the market at the moment thatoffer the bridging product.
It doesn't cost a lot of moneyand in fact, if you work it out,
if you sold your property to goand rent and then to buy
something, it's actually cheaperto pay the bridging finance
(25:43):
fees in most cases anyhow tomake that bridge to the next
property.
Amy Bennett (25:47):
So there is a real misconception.
I think that's probablysomething that you know.
We both, you know, get usfeedback quite often and we're,
you know, both obviously workingtogether to overcome that.
It also allows the prospectivebuyer to be in a much stronger
position when presenting anoffer as well.
So that's just something Iwanted to highlight.
So I know your team'sphenomenal.
(26:08):
You know I've referredcountless people to your team to
have that conversation, just sothat they're in a stronger
position when they, you know,put forward an offer 100%.
Colin Mason (26:17):
look, I mean we've done just a bridging finance
loan for an 86-year-old, forexample, downsizing, so on an
age pension, so again, didn'tneed to be working, didn't need
to show that she could servicethe bridging finance debt.
So for your audience that'slistening, that wants to
downsize and is thinking ofselling but wanting to buy
something before they sell,absolutely give us a call.
(26:37):
Or give you a call and you knowwe can have a chat.
But for a lot of customersbridging finance is like a swear
word.
You know they don't even want tomention, they don't even want
to go there.
But the clients that we areengaging, that we are talking to
about bridging finance, when weactually break it all down for
them, there's a sigh of reliefnearly.
Amy Bennett (26:54):
Again, it's education, and I think it's had
a few different new names andeverything like that, hasn't it?
But look, I think that's youknow, the evolution of products
that are available.
So I thought it was reallyimportant that we mentioned to
that, I guess, speaking of mythsand misconceptions, what's one
major one with your industry?
Colin Mason (27:10):
Probably the biggest question or the biggest
myth would be brokers charge afee for service, which we don't
or we shouldn't do anyhow.
I mean, I doubt there's brokersout there that do charge a fee
for service, but no, look, weshouldn't be charging you any
fees for our service.
The banks will basically pay usan upfront commission, which is
like a referral fee, which wereceive only once the loan
(27:30):
settles.
So the brokers don't charge andthey shouldn't charge, and they
should give you all the time ofthe day to sit down with you
and understand your needs andobjectives and then acting your
best interest.
So if they're not doing that,then call the next mortgage
broker.
Amy Bennett (27:43):
Yeah, perfect, Sounds like a good hook to give
your team a call.
I think you're exactly right,though you know when I do, you
know refer people to you, knowseek for the information, they
definitely do think there's acost associated, so that's a
really good thing for us tobreak down.
We probably already have a feelfor it.
Well, what do you love aboutyour role?
Just helping people.
Colin Mason (28:03):
I absolutely love it.
You know, when we getchallenges and we do get a lot
of challenges in terms ofscenarios from customers, but
just seeing the smile on theirface, that's the biggest joy for
me and also my team.
In fact, we even have a bell inthe office that we ring, you
know, when we get the approvalon some hard deals so, and the
whole team gets around it.
(28:24):
So that's what we love doing,you know.
I mean just to see customerscome in.
You know shoulders slump.
You know they've been to threeor four other brokers or banks
and they're just not getting theright answer, and then we get
it over the line for them.
That's the stuff that we thrive.
Amy Bennett (28:38):
And that's something that's happening
regularly for you, isn't it?
You know, like you said withthe challenge, you know when
someone gets a no, that's youknow, that's your.
You know, I guess that's whenyour superhero powers come out
and really looking at alloptions.
So I think that's a really goodmessage for people to
understand that no doesn't meanno.
There's just another option topursue 100% agree with that.
Colin Mason (28:57):
I think don't exhaust.
You know two or three optionsand I think you can't get the
fourth option done because we'veseen many clients over the
years me doing this job, whereyou know they've been trying,
trying, trying for months andthen come and see us and then
we'll get it done.
Amy Bennett (29:11):
Yeah, amazing.
So obviously finance has been ajourney 20 years amazing.
What would you do if youweren't in finance?
Colin Mason (29:20):
Look, airline pilot , yeah.
So I mean, you know, obviouslyI've got my, my private pilot's
license and I also teach peoplehow to fly in my spare time.
So just love, love aviation,love, love flying.
My dad used to be a pilot whenhe was younger just a private
pilot and I sort of had thepassion for it, I think ever
since I was, I think, two yearsof age, sitting in his cockpit
(29:41):
up in the air with him flying inNew South Wales somewhere.
I can't even think of where itwas now, but I think ever since
then I had a passion for it.
So, and then when I had thechance to do it about six or
seven years ago, I did mylicense and then did some
instructing and, yeah, love it.
Amy Bennett (29:55):
Amazing.
Well, I have been in the planewith you.
You have.
We took a scenic route and wesurvived.
We had a bit of hesitationthere.
We took a scenic route aroundthe Glasshouse Mountains, which
was really magic.
That's where I grew up.
Let me have a quick littleexample of flying the plane of
which wasn't my forte, so Iwon't be following in your
(30:17):
footsteps.
But yeah, it's amazing we havesuch a beautiful coastline here
you mentioned you just took aquick trip up on.
Colin Mason (30:23):
Hervey Bay On Sunday.
So a good mate of mine's got aplane and we went up to Hervey
Bay through Sunshine Coast onSunday morning, which is the
nicest day we've had for a longtime, with all the rain
obviously backing away for alittle while.
Hopefully had coffee up thereand then returned.
Hey, what a Sunday yeah it's agreat way to start the day.
Amy Bennett (30:42):
So Hervey Bay's a beautiful place.
I'd love to know you enjoyholidays, as do I.
What's your dream holidaydestination?
Colin Mason (30:51):
I would say winter in Canada.
Amy Bennett (30:53):
Yes.
Colin Mason (30:54):
So Vancouver, canada, and then summer in
Europe, so Rome, great Colin.
Amy Bennett (31:00):
Beautiful, that's a year covered.
Absolutely, you just had alovely family holiday over
Christmas.
Colin Mason (31:06):
We did.
We went to Whistler for a whiteChristmas and didn't snow apart
from Christmas Day, which wasperfectly fine because that's
what we wanted.
But the kids got a chance tosnow and say that I wasn't very
good at it, but yeah, we had agreat time.
And then we went down to SanDiego and into America as well
with the kids, so now had agreat time.
Amy Bennett (31:23):
Beautiful, so cherishing those moments.
The boys are all obviouslygrowing up very fast.
Colin Mason (31:28):
They are taller than me and you met them yes.
Amy Bennett (31:31):
Not the easiest thing to get everybody all
together for a family holiday,but I'm sure that that was lots
of fun for everyone.
Colin Mason (31:38):
It was.
We had a great time, so it wasgood to take three to four weeks
off.
Amy Bennett (31:41):
Yeah, it looked really well deserved.
I think that's probably a shiftin your mindset, if you don't
mind me saying to really balanceout and have that time.
Both you and I, we really lovewhat we do.
We're very passionate.
I'd say we're married to ourjobs.
Colin Mason (31:57):
We are.
Amy Bennett (31:58):
Yes, we both have very understanding spouses
Speaking of, and I kind ofprobably know the answer to this
question but what was the mostamazing day of your life?
Colin Mason (32:10):
I look definitely meeting Bianca and marrying my
wife Bianca, and then obviouslythe three kids that we've got,
Absolutely, and I'd probablysuggest, if I can add a third
one, setting up Mason FinanceGroup.
That was a you know, we sort ofI'm not an ironing whether we
should do it, whether weshouldn't do it, and we did it
(32:31):
and you know, two and a halfyears later we've got a big team
that we absolutely love and agreat future.
Amy Bennett (32:37):
Yeah, so five best days of your life.
We five yeah, so I think look,you and I the same every day.
Every day that you wake up,breathe things, a beautiful day.
Just a quick little segue whenyou started Mason Finance Group
with Jess.
We want to just delve into thata little bit.
It's a really special story andyour history together.
Colin Mason (32:56):
Yeah, Look, it's.
Look, I took a break out offinance, as you know, and, to be
honest with you, I was going toprobably go on and do more of
the flowing and try and maybeget into the airlines, et cetera
.
So, but obviously change yourheart.
Just after that and and Jess isa good friend of mine I was
only with a business coachingand and Jess and I sort of sat
(33:16):
down and discussed maybe doinglike a finance business, getting
into mortgage-broken, which wedid and when we agreed to do it,
I said to Jess let's just startat my house in the garage,
We'll start and see how it goes.
And then, as soon as we sort ofannounced that we were doing it
, then the calendar startedfilling up and then all of a
sudden we needed an office andthen we needed more team members
and then all of a sudden weneed more office space and it's
(33:37):
just sort of yeah, sort of gonefrom there, but it's been a
great journey.
Amy Bennett (33:43):
Amazing.
Well, you are a very humbleperson, but it is all very well
deserved.
I would also probably add thatthere's probably a bit of peer
pressure in that time off.
I'm sure your phone didn't stopringing that time.
Colin Mason (33:54):
No well, I mean I didn't have the phone, yeah, but
some we found you other waysSocial media, you know stuff
like that.
So it's yeah, no, look, it'sbeen.
I look the support I'vereceived over the years and I've
always said, if you do a, ifyou do the right thing by people
, generally good things come.
So I've always tried to lookafter my customers in the best
possible way and always beenvery humble, like you know, and
(34:15):
it's not about the awards andthe accolades and the
recognition.
It's about me just helpingpeople, and it's the same for my
team as well.
My team is very well-centeredaround that.
They just want to help peopleand that's what we're all about.
Amy Bennett (34:27):
Look, you've got a beautiful culture within the
team.
Charity and communitycontributions really important
as well.
I know that you're always thefirst to put your hand up and
support A lot of local SunshineCoast-based organizations.
I know that the team you knowdoesn't hesitate to, you know,
get the sausages or frying at anauction.
Colin Mason (34:45):
Absolutely.
Amy Bennett (34:46):
Yeah, we do lots of great things together.
I know your team will alwayssupport it.
Our Sunset Sneak Peaks with afree education session or
ability for people to crunch thenumbers at open homes so that's
really valued.
Colin Mason (34:59):
Absolutely yeah, and I always have a good getting
involved wherever we can.
Amy Bennett (35:02):
So yeah, all right.
Well, a couple of finalquestions.
What would be your favoritefood and drink, favorite meal?
Colin Mason (35:09):
Favorite meal?
Definitely a good hot curry.
Amy Bennett (35:12):
Yes.
Colin Mason (35:12):
Love that.
Proper hot, proper hot, indianhot as we say, and favorite
drink would be espresso martiniNice.
I love a good espresso martini.
Amy Bennett (35:23):
I like it.
Curry of choice.
Colin Mason (35:26):
Curry of choice would be chicken Lahori.
Oh nice, that's my favorite too.
Amy Bennett (35:32):
Yeah, hard to get.
So I do know where is yourfavorite Indian from.
Colin Mason (35:37):
So Rangoli.
in Buderim.
Sunshine Coast, yeah, so I've been going there
for years.
Amy Bennett (35:42):
So we just spoke about it.
Offline.
We love curry bowl, so the sameowners and the chicken Lahori.
There is amazing.
Our favorite as well espressomartini.
Yes, that's a favorite of myhusband, who wakes up early and
often needs that to keep himawake at night.
Colin Mason (35:59):
Definitely good espresso martini.
We've got some good friends ofours that make a mean espresso
martini Good.
We're going there on Saturdaynight, I think.
Amy Bennett (36:05):
Okay, perfect, so no sleeping Saturday night.
Colin Mason (36:08):
No sleeping.
Amy Bennett (36:08):
Sunday.
And the final question is whatis your favorite quote or saying
?
Colin Mason (36:14):
Favorite quote would be success is not the
sorry, happiness is not the keyto success.
Sorry, success is not the keyto happiness.
Happiness is the key to success.
If you love what you're doing,you're always going to be
successful.
Yes, always lived by that.
Yes, and my mum once gave me asignboard saying don't get so
busy making a living that youforget to make a life which is
super important to me.
(36:35):
So that's probably one of thereasons why I took a break, to
be honest with you, out offinance, burning the candles at
both ends and just reallygetting myself into a point
where you know, I think when youget down the tools a little bit
and you've actually you're noteverything coming at you at a
million miles an hour you canactually think seriously about
what your future looks like.
Amy Bennett (36:54):
Yeah, I think that's really important for a
lot of people.
I think you probably also.
It was a reignited passion forthe industry as well.
But I hope also you felt thatyou know the loss to the
industry, so that's beensomething that we're absolutely
delighted that you're back.
So that brings us to the end.
Can you believe already?
I know we could talk for hours,but I have no doubt we have
(37:14):
emails and phone calls piling up.
So, colin, I would love ouraudience to know how they can
find you and the team.
Colin Mason (37:22):
Yeah, so the best way to get in touch with us
would be either my mobile number, so 043707407, or they can call
the office on 5210099 and makea meeting with a broker.
Perfect, generally speaking,you can get in within a couple
of days with our brokers,depending on who you want to see
.
Amy Bennett (37:40):
Awesome, and following on all the social
channels, I know your team doesa great job.
I know we always talk aboutthat.
Obviously, that's a passion ofmine.
So, mr Colin Mason, thank youso much for your time.
Thanks for having me.
I absolutely love and adore you, both personally and
professionally.
Colin Mason (37:57):
Thanks, Amy.
Amy Bennett (37:57):
So grateful for all you've done for my family and,
most importantly, my clientsAlways welcome All right.
Thanks, colin.
Colin Mason (38:03):
Bye, Dr Amos.
Amy Bennett (38:05):
Thank you for listening to this episode of
Beyond the Signboard.
We trust you enjoyed it as muchas we enjoyed making it for you
.
If there are any topics youwant covered in the future, make
sure you reach out and let usknow.
Also, feedback and suggestionsare appreciated almost as much
as like shares and downloads.
Welcome to Beyond the Signb oard, where you get
the opportunity to learn allthere is to know about your real
estate journey fromprofessionals who are passionate
about property.
I'm Amy Bennett, your host, andI look forward to providing you
with education, inspiration anda behind the scenes look at the
world of real estate.
Well, good morning and welcometo .
Colin Mason (00:32):
Good morning Amy.
Amy Bennett (00:33):
Colin Mason from Mason Finance Group.
Colin Mason (00:36):
Welcome it's good to be here.
Amy Bennett (00:37):
It's so exciting.
I have to first up.
Thank you for the inspirationto get going with the podcast.
What?
Colin Mason (00:44):
a drama.
Amy Bennett (00:44):
It's exciting.
I've been venturing with thisfor quite a while now.
Colin Mason (00:48):
We have.
We set up, obviously, ourpodcast channel Interest Rates
with mates, so we've got 30 plus, I think, now episodes going
strong and, yeah, we've gotplenty more in the pipeline.
Amy Bennett (00:59):
Amazing.
We'll have a little chat aboutyour podcast later.
Colin is a really valued friendof our team here at McGraw.
We've personally known eachother for over seven years and
it's been really wonderful tohave you as a trusted partner
for our clients Also probablymost of our team as well Really
excited to share your journey inmortgage-breaking but getting
(01:21):
to know you as well.
So we'll chat about your teamof over 20 people, where you've
come from to get to where youare and a little bit of getting
to know you as well.
Colin Mason (01:31):
Looking forward to it Amazing.
Amy Bennett (01:33):
So let's get started with your career journey
.
I always love to learn whereyou have come from to get to
where you are now.
Colin Mason (01:40):
Yeah, I left school 1995 so a long, long time ago
and then sort of left school,got straight into an
apprenticeship as a boiler maker.
I did that for three years.
I'm not very good with hands-on, so I lasted three years and
then got into finance.
Amy Bennett (01:55):
Amazing.
Colin Mason (01:56):
So I've been in finance for the last 25, 30
years, roughly Started doing alot of insurance, so general
insurance and then groupinsurance, superannuation, a
whole range of different things.
Debt collection was thrown inthere as well.
So I then got intomortgage-breaking back in 2004,
(02:16):
moved to Queensland from Sydneyand then been in Queensland ever
since, worked as a mortgagebroker pretty much since then.
Amy Bennett (02:23):
So amazing.
So 20 year anniversary thisyear.
Colin Mason (02:26):
This year.
Yeah, about now actually.
Amy Bennett (02:29):
Incredible.
So before we go into that, tellus a little bit more about the
debt collecting.
I'm really interested in thatrole.
Colin Mason (02:36):
It's when you're young and you're resilient, you
can make any phone calls, so Ididn't sort of think too much of
it, but obviously we're makinga number of calls per day.
It was AGC back in the day,which was owned by Westpac, so
back on the Paramatta River, andyou'd make 100 plus calls a day
and it was obviously helpingpeople make the repayments on
their credit card facilities orpersonal loan facilities or
(03:01):
sending out the sheriff when itgot serious.
So it was a different type ofrole, but I think it gave me a
taste for finance and I thinkfor a lot of people that start
in a role as a debt collectionexpert, you know, that sort of
paves the way for them, I think,on this journey into finance,
because there's a lot ofchallenges in that role.
(03:21):
You know you're speaking todifferent clients with different
backgrounds, with variousfinancial struggles, I suppose,
and we're there to help them.
Amy Bennett (03:31):
So yeah, I think that's something that's really
evident now.
Getting to know you, is thateducation component and being of
service and helping.
So I guess you don't wantpeople to get to that stage.
Was there a passion for financein school?
Were you excelling in thosecomponents at school?
Colin Mason (03:48):
No, look, to be honest, I was never one to get
good grades in maths.
I was probably more gettinggood grades in science.
Amy Bennett (03:57):
to be honest with you, so I could have been a
scientist.
There you go.
Colin Mason (03:59):
Yeah, I think I was never a strong point, but I
always had a passion for helpingpeople and I didn't, you know
like.
I chose not to go to university.
I chose to do other things,like the apprenticeship.
You know, with the ball I'mmaking, I was sort of trying to
find my way as I left school,didn't really want to do, but I
knew I wanted to leave schooland start to make some money and
(04:20):
get out there in the real world, which is what I did.
So I had to support my mum anddad as well, which was great at
the time.
But no, look, I mean, I sort ofjust fell into finance, to be
honest with you.
But once I had a taste of thatdebt collection role and in
doing insurance for customersand then super-annuation as well
, but a financial planning inthe early 2000s I loved it and
(04:41):
now I can't see myself doinganything else, to be honest with
you.
Amy Bennett (04:43):
Well, we'll get to that a little bit later.
So you mentioned mum and dad.
I know you come from a reallyspecial family and it's so
wonderful, isn't it, to haveyour parents support and belief
in you.
Colin Mason (04:52):
Yeah, absolutely.
Mum and dad are great.
They've always supported me, asdoes my wife, bauer, and my
three kids.
But yeah, look it's.
I mean, finance is you knowit's a great industry.
There's plenty of variables infinance.
There's plenty of challenges,plenty of successes, as heaps of
things going on in financealways, so you're always
learning.
Amy Bennett (05:11):
No, two days are the same right.
Colin Mason (05:13):
No, every day is different.
Amy Bennett (05:14):
Yeah.
So look, what I'd love you todo is just to share with our
audience what is a mortgagebroker and what is your role.
Colin Mason (05:20):
Yeah.
So mortgage broker puts quitesimply without a good choice, so
customers would call a mortgagebroker to say they're having to
do the research themselves.
I mean, there's a lot ofinformation there on Google, on
the web platforms these days,but like to give you an idea on
our panel there's 4,000 products, so there's a lot of different
products.
If you're not accustomed tounderstanding what the features
(05:42):
are of different products orlender policies etc.
Or terms, then give a mortgagebroker a call.
We'll go through and we'll havea look at your situation, make
an assessment of how we can helpyou and then we basically pair
a bank or a few banks to yourscenario.
That's where our mortgagebroker is there to help you.
Amy Bennett (06:00):
Amazing, so I think that's a really important thing
to highlight.
So if a customer was to go totheir bank, how many products
would they have on offergenerally?
Colin Mason (06:09):
Oh look, I mean, if you said 10, 10 roughly, that
would be enough to cover, Ithink, all the different product
suites.
So, generally speaking, you'vegot variable rate products,
you've got fixed rate products,so, and then you've got other
line of credit.
You've got business loanproducts as well.
So depends on the bank.
But if you said 10 to 15products generally, you're going
(06:31):
to get choice around that.
But these days the industry isall about best interest duty, so
we need to, as a broker, alwaysact in the best interest of our
clients, and by doing thatwe're obviously comparing the
market, always ensuring thatwe're getting the best product
for our clients.
Amy Bennett (06:46):
Amazing.
I think it was reallyinteresting.
You mentioned there aboutGoogle and I think you're
correct.
We do have a lot of informationat our fingertips, but I think
definitely there is some youknow warning signs.
There isn't there as far assponsored posts or
incentivization.
I think that's probablysomething that you know.
I'd love to delve into a littlebit more, because you probably
(07:06):
come across that quite oftenwhere sometimes a shiny deal or,
you know, an incentivization, acashback, things like that may
not be the best choice for theclient.
Colin Mason (07:15):
No, we've always said that like I mean, there's
only a couple of years ago, thebanks were throwing refinance
cashbacks so cash to refinanceyour loan to them, but it wasn't
always in the customer's bestinterest, but yeah, it was all
about the money.
So you got to have a look atthe underlying facts and you
know what you're really gettingwhen you open up that present so
to speak so, and it's notalways about the product, it's
(07:35):
about other things within theproduct.
So some of the features, forexample, like you might be
looking for things like a fixedrate, but you might be looking
for interest only terms.
So there's all these differentvariables, you know, when we sit
down and discuss scenarios withthe customer.
But look, these days it's it'sno hidden secret the world's
going digital and it's easy forpeople to surf the net on their
(07:56):
phone or their tablets, etc.
So but I, you know, I stillthink there's that level of
human interaction that thatcustomers need and want and
that's where brokers areobviously there to have that.
That will hold thatrelationship.
And then we go through and we,we assess the different products
.
You know, assess differentlenders.
There's, I think, upwards of 80plus lenders in the Australia
(08:16):
market at the moment, bothdigital and both, you know, with
branches, for example.
So so there's plenty ofdifferent options out there, but
don't get caught with the wrongoption yeah, I really, really
think that's such a valued, sucha valued insight.
Amy Bennett (08:31):
Who do you think should use a mortgage broker?
Colin Mason (08:34):
everyone a trick question, trick question yeah so
no, I look, honestly, I thinkeveryone should use a mortgage
broker.
I think, look, I mean, you know, back in the day I used to deal
with one of the major banksreligiously and then, when I got
into mortgage broking in theearly 2000s, obviously then I
learnt myself that it's not allabout just having that one
relationship with the one bank,it's about comparing and I think
(08:55):
everyone should at least givethemselves the chance to compare
what they've got with themarket.
You know, in most cases, I meanif they see a mortgage broker,
in most cases I'd be, you know,highly surprised if they
couldn't walk away with a betteroption.
Amy Bennett (09:09):
So that would lead me to the thought that perhaps,
if somebody's already in theirmortgage journey, they could
still reach out and seek, youknow, I guess, a second opinion
of where they're at.
Yeah, always yeah excellent.
Colin Mason (09:21):
So you know like, even if you're halfway down, I
mean you might even have anapproval with your current bank
and think you know, what you'vegot approved is fantastic.
I think your friend says we'llgo and see a mortgage broker and
then we can say you know, wecan save you five, maybe 10
basis points, which is 0.05 to0.1% off, and depending on what
you're borrowing, that could bea thousand, two thousand dollars
a year back in your pocket,which is a holiday nearly.
(09:42):
So you know there's all thattype of stuff.
I mean, even last week therewas a customer one of the
brokers in my office saved themover fifty thousand dollars a
year.
They thought they were gettingthe best special from their bank
.
So again just a chat.
I've always said just a chatdoesn't cost anything.
I mean, we don't charge as amortgage broker anyhow, but you
know a five minute conversationand you can be walking away with
money back in your pocket yeah,and I'm happy to sort of share.
Amy Bennett (10:04):
That was a really great.
I guess an added bonus for youbeing a client of yours was, you
know, refinancing or even justyour team calling my lender on
my behalf, and I know we savedtwo thousand eight hundred
dollars annually, so reallygrateful for that.
Definitely a good holidayavailable.
Colin, you're really passionateabout your team, so two and a
(10:29):
half years ago you started MasonFinance Group.
You've already outgrown oneoffice.
I know this is one of yourfavorite topics to discuss, so
tell us about your team andtheir roles.
Colin Mason (10:40):
So it's not a hidden secret, I love my team.
So, look, yeah, we set up MasonFinance Group back in July 2021
, just with a few of us, andwe've now grown to a team of 23,
24, and we're always looking,you know, for great stuff.
So we've grown quite quitequickly.
We've got myself and we've gotJess and Todd as the owners of
(11:03):
the business, and then we've gotthree of the senior brokers and
then we've got admin.
So our and I suppose you knowme very well, Amy so we're very
process driven.
So we love the customers to justgo through that journey and be
really, really happy and getthis successful outcome that
we're sort of chasing.
So we do spend a lot of timewith clients on their journey.
(11:24):
We're not just a transactionalmortgage-broken office.
We're a relationship-basedmortgage-broken office.
So we build relationships withour customers.
It's not just the first meetingthat we have for the customer.
We do an application.
We might do two or threemeetings before we get to that
application, just helping thecustomers understand what their
goals, their objectives are,what their needs are, and then
how do we tailor that to aproduct and a lender that's
going to suit?
Amy Bennett (11:45):
Yeah, I think that's.
It's just an absolute, realpoint of difference with your
business is that level of care,the way you look after your
clients.
You know, I know that that'sreally important to you, but
equally your team, I think, alsotoo.
You know it's really important.
You're an amazing leader withinyour business.
You really empower your teammembers and I think that gives
(12:05):
you the ability to be able tostill.
You know, I love, I love thefact that you love being on the
phone and chatting to yourclients and really being that
face of the business.
But obviously there's a lot ofwork that happens behind the
scenes.
So your team are essentially,you know, assisting clients
throughout that process.
Colin Mason (12:22):
Yeah, look, I mean we with the six brokers, that
we've got the brokers.
And the way we design theprocess is the brokers will do
the advice piece of the process,so sitting down with a client,
going through the goals,objectives etc.
Recommending a product, andthen, once the broker has done
that part of the process, wehave a processing team where
they manage the client all theway through to approval.
(12:43):
And then we have a settlementteam as well that manage all the
settlements.
So so we do break the processup, and the reason why I've done
that is because, you know, wedon't proclaim to be experts in
everything.
Amy Bennett (12:54):
So I mean.
Colin Mason (12:54):
I'm not an expert in admin, for example, and some
of the settlement team wouldn'tbe experts as brokers.
So, like we've broken it up sothat the customer journey is a
success all the time.
So, and that's, you know, thereason why we've got all the
Google reviews etc.
Now we've got a lot of repeatcustomers and customers love
what we do.
So and they feel that they getthe choice and they get the sort
(13:14):
of service you know, comparedto what the banks might give
them at the branch level or, youknow, by phoning a bank in
Melbourne, for example.
So so now we've we've sort ofbuilt that process over the last
couple of years and we'rereally working hard to get that
better and better, but we're ina pretty good place at the
moment.
Amy Bennett (13:30):
Amazing and I think that's what 20 years experience
does is it shows you.
You know, it's a reallyinteresting thing in the
previous role of being in ourproperty management team and a
lot of people would always say,look, I just want that one
dedicated team member.
Well, of course, that teammember gets sick or needs to go
on holidays, and you're exactlyright, we're not an expert at
everything, so that's beensomething that you know.
(13:51):
You know, with my time atMcGraw, that we've, you know,
really made sure that you knowwe have dedicated team members.
You know one team member lovesdoing inspections, so that's her
sole role.
And it's incredible to havepeople in the lane that they
want to be in.
You've also had a lot of growthwithin your team as well.
You really love inspiring andempowering your team, which I
really admire.
Colin Mason (14:11):
Absolutely.
You know, a few of the teammembers that we've had are now
stepped up into other roles aswell.
So we've got one of theprocessing managers in there at
the moment about to become abroker.
We've got one of my, in fact,my son, my 18 year old son just
stepped up in another role aswell, which is a promotion for
him because he's been doing well.
So yeah, so, like I mean,there's always opportunity
(14:33):
within our business and becausewe're growing so quickly as well
, you know, over the next coupleof years we're looking for sort
of more growth opportunitiesand I think we'll get there.
So there's always opportunitiesin finance and I think I was
saying to you off the camerabefore that finance is all about
opportunities, you know, andthere's so many opportunities,
(14:53):
so many variables in the financeworld these days, and I think
we'll, you know, we'll look toimprove and expand on that.
Amy Bennett (15:01):
Amazing and you're very much personally and
professionally.
You love having that trustednetwork of professionals.
I know you know that we quiteoften are working with the same
other professionals in otherindustries and that's really
important to you as well.
Colin Mason (15:15):
Absolutely.
I mean, I've always said, yeah,you've got to have a good team
of people around you and you'vegot to make sure they're all
working in your best interest aswell.
You know you don't want to tellpeople where they're taking in
my opinion, taking a clip of theticket the whole way through
because no one or the consumer,you, the client, you know
doesn't win on the back of that.
So so I think you've got tohave a good team of people
around you that are all actingyour best interest, that
(15:37):
understand taxation matters,financial planning,
mortgage-broken property, realestate, for example.
So there's a heap of goodpeople that you can basically
throw around you and that's yourteam moving forward.
Amy Bennett (15:50):
Yeah, absolutely, and I think that's something
that if people are lacking oneof those components, you know
exactly like you say, you know,ask somebody that you do have in
that trusted sphere and thenyou can really expand your
network.
You know, just run through acouple of the, I guess, key
products that you have or keyquestions.
So I know you mentionedborrowing capacities are really
hot topic and something.
So we'll probably delve into adeeper episode in the future,
(16:13):
but just give us a taste of eachof these topics.
Colin Mason (16:16):
So borrowing capacity is probably the leading
question that we get asked atthe moment.
Browing capacities changedquite a lot over the last few
years with the interest ratehikes.
So at the moment, generallyspeaking, you can borrow around
five times what you growsalaries per year, and that's
before any debt.
So credit card debt, personalloans or even kids, for example,
affected in.
Before COVID that was abouteight to nine times.
(16:38):
So just give you an idea on howmuch it's changed.
Every lender is different.
Like I said, there's 60 pluslenders on our panel, so every
lender will be different.
But borrowing capacity would bea hot topic at the moment.
So, and against custom, thatmight go and speak to their bank
and think that they're gettingthe best outcome.
It might be that you can borrowanother $20,000 or $30,000
extra with another bank.
That might get you into a housethat they're looking to buy in
(17:02):
the market today.
Amy Bennett (17:03):
So yeah, amazing.
And look, even you've helped.
I know there's a few industriesnurses and everything like that
.
I've connected you withpotential clients and you've
been able to unlock some reallyspecial deals for them.
Colin Mason (17:16):
Yeah, absolutely so .
There are banks there that'lldo a 90% loan to value ratio for
nurses even teachers now aswell where there's no mortgage
insurance payments.
So mortgage insurances, justquickly, mortgage insurances
where you borrow more than 80%of the value of the home.
The banks will basically insureyour loan or reinsure it and
the mortgage insurer has chargedthe banker a premium for that,
(17:38):
which then they pass on to thecustomer.
So if we can avoid thatlender's mortgage insurance,
depending on the scenario, thecustomer might save $10,000 to
$20,000 of upfront fees.
So again, I mean, that's just aclassic example of having
choice when you come to amortgage broker.
If you're a nurse and you wentto one of the major banks, for
example, the chances are youwon't get those benefits.
So but there's other smallerlenders there that have those
(17:59):
benefits.
Amy Bennett (18:00):
Amazing.
Let's chat about fixed versevariable always a hot topic.
Colin Mason (18:04):
Yes, fixed verse variable.
So, and look, that questiongets asked probably once or
twice a week at the moment aswell.
So should I fix or should Iremain?
Amy Bennett (18:11):
on variable.
Colin Mason (18:12):
So, and look, it depends on the customer scenario
.
Look, there's no hidden secretsthat the RBA, hopefully, will
start to slash the cash ratethis year.
We don't know when exactly, butwe're sort of tipping the back
end of this year.
There might be one or two ratecuts.
Fixed rates have alreadystarted falling on the back of
those announcements as well.
So most customers at the momentare choosing to stay on
(18:34):
variable.
So, but again, a chat with us,a mortgage broker.
We can sit down and discussyour scenario and work out
what's best for you.
Amy Bennett (18:40):
Perfect.
So for those listening orwatching, we're recording in
February 2024.
So who knows where interestrates will be when you're
listening?
Colin Mason (18:48):
Yes.
Amy Bennett (18:49):
Let's chat about primary place of residence verse
investment properties.
So obviously different ratesfor those two scenarios.
Colin Mason (18:58):
Yeah, there is, and again it comes down to all
those different lenders and whatthey're offering.
But generally speaking, you'llyou'll be charged a slightly
higher rate of interest whenyou're buying an investment
compared to buying a home thatyou're living in.
There's, obviously, taxbenefits that come with
investment properties.
So in terms of borrowingcapacity what we mentioned a
second ago we can have adifferent outcome for investment
loans compared to an owneroccupied loan.
Again, obviously, discussionwith a mortgage broker.
(19:20):
We can go through your personalscenario and work out what you
can borrow for bothcircumstances or both different
scenarios around buying a homeor buying an investment, I
suppose just on the back of that.
I mean first home buyers at themoment that are limited with
their borrowing capacity.
Some of them are even lookingat buying an investment property
now to help them get into themarket with rental income,
obviously on that investment,helping them borrow a little bit
more.
Amy Bennett (19:40):
Amazing.
Colin Mason (19:41):
So we're doing a little bit of those
conversations at the moment aswell.
So, and again, it comes down tochoice.
So, but yeah.
Amy Bennett (19:48):
Let's talk about first home buyers, really
passion of mine and also yours.
I know that your team hosts alot of seminars and that's, you
know, definitely something thatyou're really keen to expand on.
We did.
Colin Mason (20:00):
We did a seminar last night actually.
Oh, there we go, yes.
So, like we love first homebuyers and just putting a smile
on their face and really helpingthem with their journey through
that sort of process of buyingreal estate for the first time.
So first home buyers generallyborrow with a 5% deposit.
There's plenty of differentschemes available to at the
moment.
So government schemes that areavailable for first home buyers,
(20:21):
that they meet certaineligibility, where you don't
have to pay the lender'smortgage insurance, so you're
getting a government grant.
For example, there's $30,000 asa government grant Now if you
build brand new, for example, sothere's benefits there to help
first home buyers into themarket.
So if you're I mean if you'relistening to your first home buy
, definitely give us a callbecause we're doing more
(20:41):
seminars for first home buyers,and we do go through a lot of
that stuff.
Amy Bennett (20:44):
And I think as well with first home buyers.
You know, one of the things Iwas really educated from your
team was super saver schemes andthings like that.
So rather than a first homebuyer, you know doing all of
that work themselves, you knowsaving a deposit.
When would you encourage themto come to one of your seminars?
Colin Mason (21:01):
That's a good question.
So and we said this last nightto the first home buyers that
were there is that you knowwe're not a transactional
mortgage broker.
So we want to build arelationship, like I said before
.
So make an appointment, comeand have a chat with us.
We don't charge at all.
We'll sit down and we'll startyour journey today, and it might
be 12 months, it might even betwo years, before you actually
end up in a position to be ableto buy something with a deposit,
etc.
But we want to build thatscenario with you.
(21:23):
So, if you're thinking ofgetting into the market or
understanding a little bit moreabout how to get into the market
with finance, book a meetingwith us, sit down with us or one
of our brokers and we'll gothrough the whole journey with
you.
Amy Bennett (21:35):
Amazing.
And first home buyers.
I know a lot of the parentscome along as well, which is
really great and I know thatthat's, you know, something,
like I said, that's reallyimportant to your team and what
a feeling to be able to helpsomebody you know to put that
sold sticker up and you know, aswe always say, you know it
really is.
You know such a special processand and that's the whole reason
for this podcast is really toshare all of the behind the
(21:57):
scenes beyond the signboard.
You know that gets to that soldsticker.
So you know that that's amomentous journey for a first
home buyer.
I know personally you helped usin our first home journey which
I always joke because it waskind of an impossible scenario
and you made it possible.
So you know we'll be forevergrateful for that.
(22:19):
But you know I'm sure you'redoing that countless times a
week.
Colin Mason (22:22):
Always trying to find solutions.
Amy Bennett (22:24):
So and again that's the.
Colin Mason (22:25):
The joys of what we do as a mortgage broker is
finding choice and and trying tounravel the customer scenarios
to try and find a bank that'sgoing to be tailored to their
needs.
Amy Bennett (22:34):
So I think that's that science coming back out.
Isn't it Finding the formula toget to people?
Colin Mason (22:39):
Absolutely yeah, so I don't know what formula there
is, but you know we'll make itas we go.
But no, look it's.
I don't know.
I just love finance.
I mean, I love finding thesolution.
We love challenges.
You know, challenges aren'taren't scary to us.
Amy Bennett (22:52):
It's amazing, yeah that's really exciting, I'm sure
, for the audience.
Bridging finance is also justone more little thing I just
wanted to.
I know we could talk for hoursabout that on its own.
It's something that I've done alot of research, you know,
really specializing indownsizing and helping people
with transitional process intheir real estate journey.
So just give us a little tasteof what it is and then I think
(23:15):
we'll take that offline foranother podcast in the future
100%.
Colin Mason (23:19):
So bridging finance is a product that allows
customers to buy something else,so buy another real estate
asset before they've actuallysold what they've got.
So it allows them to movewithout having to do a subject
to sale, etc.
So there's a few good productson the market at the moment, One
in particular if a customer islooking to downsize, for example
, they can get bridging financeto buy the next property.
(23:42):
They'll settle on the nextproperty, move into it and then
they can sell their propertywithin six months.
They don't need to be working,they don't need to show income,
nothing like that, as long asthere's no what they call end
debt.
So end debt being that onceyou've sold the existing house,
you don't have any requirementfor a mortgage at all on the new
house that you just bought.
So it's an easy process.
You can normally getconditionally approved in a
couple of days and it allows, asI said, allows people to
(24:05):
downsize and move into the nextreal estate asset with not a lot
of documents at all.
Amy Bennett (24:10):
Amazing.
Colin Mason (24:11):
So that's one part of it.
And then there's anotherbridging finance product, where
you do require a mortgage at theend, and then there's other
products on the market for that,which I won't go into a little
detail today.
But we'll do that offline.
Amy Bennett (24:22):
We can Look I can't help myself, though, just
putting my real estate hat on, Iguess and to give our audience
a bit of a taste.
So some key things for that,which is why I'm very pro people
doing that is generally peopledon't know do I sell first, do I
buy first?
And it is a really it's ourbasic human need.
If we went back to Maslow'shierarchy of basic human needs,
(24:45):
shelter is that core principleand that's something that I'm
really aware of in my role.
So that fear of being homelessobviously we've been through
quite a significant housingcrisis, so I think that's a
really great thing that it'sreally able to unlock.
Colin Mason (25:00):
Absolutely.
Look, I mean bridging finance.
It's, I mean, if you'rethinking about, I suppose,
making that next step in yourjourney.
People have felt in the pastthat they were sort of back into
a corner.
You know, I mean I want to buysomething, but bridging finance
costs so much money which I meanthere's a myth that it does.
And, look, it depends on theadvice piece.
(25:22):
To be honest with you, like alot of banks would get that part
wrong, to be honest with you,in terms of the way they set
their sort of product up.
But there are banks I mean onthe market at the moment or in
the market at the moment thatoffer the bridging product.
It doesn't cost a lot of moneyand in fact, if you work it out,
if you sold your property to goand rent and then to buy
something, it's actually cheaperto pay the bridging finance
(25:43):
fees in most cases anyhow tomake that bridge to the next
property.
Amy Bennett (25:47):
So there is a real misconception.
I think that's probablysomething that you know.
We both, you know, get usfeedback quite often and we're,
you know, both obviously workingtogether to overcome that.
It also allows the prospectivebuyer to be in a much stronger
position when presenting anoffer as well.
So that's just something Iwanted to highlight.
So I know your team'sphenomenal.
(26:08):
You know I've referredcountless people to your team to
have that conversation, just sothat they're in a stronger
position when they, you know,put forward an offer 100%.
Colin Mason (26:17):
look, I mean we've done just a bridging finance
loan for an 86-year-old, forexample, downsizing, so on an
age pension, so again, didn'tneed to be working, didn't need
to show that she could servicethe bridging finance debt.
So for your audience that'slistening, that wants to
downsize and is thinking ofselling but wanting to buy
something before they sell,absolutely give us a call.
(26:37):
Or give you a call and you knowwe can have a chat.
But for a lot of customersbridging finance is like a swear
word.
You know they don't even want tomention, they don't even want
to go there.
But the clients that we areengaging, that we are talking to
about bridging finance, when weactually break it all down for
them, there's a sigh of reliefnearly.
Amy Bennett (26:54):
Again, it's education, and I think it's had
a few different new names andeverything like that, hasn't it?
But look, I think that's youknow, the evolution of products
that are available.
So I thought it was reallyimportant that we mentioned to
that, I guess, speaking of mythsand misconceptions, what's one
major one with your industry?
Colin Mason (27:10):
Probably the biggest question or the biggest
myth would be brokers charge afee for service, which we don't
or we shouldn't do anyhow.
I mean, I doubt there's brokersout there that do charge a fee
for service, but no, look, weshouldn't be charging you any
fees for our service.
The banks will basically pay usan upfront commission, which is
like a referral fee, which wereceive only once the loan
(27:30):
settles.
So the brokers don't charge andthey shouldn't charge, and they
should give you all the time ofthe day to sit down with you
and understand your needs andobjectives and then acting your
best interest.
So if they're not doing that,then call the next mortgage
broker.
Amy Bennett (27:43):
Yeah, perfect, Sounds like a good hook to give
your team a call.
I think you're exactly right,though you know when I do, you
know refer people to you, knowseek for the information, they
definitely do think there's acost associated, so that's a
really good thing for us tobreak down.
We probably already have a feelfor it.
Well, what do you love aboutyour role?
Just helping people.
Colin Mason (28:03):
I absolutely love it.
You know, when we getchallenges and we do get a lot
of challenges in terms ofscenarios from customers, but
just seeing the smile on theirface, that's the biggest joy for
me and also my team.
In fact, we even have a bell inthe office that we ring, you
know, when we get the approvalon some hard deals so, and the
whole team gets around it.
(28:24):
So that's what we love doing,you know.
I mean just to see customerscome in.
You know shoulders slump.
You know they've been to threeor four other brokers or banks
and they're just not getting theright answer, and then we get
it over the line for them.
That's the stuff that we thrive.
Amy Bennett (28:38):
And that's something that's happening
regularly for you, isn't it?
You know, like you said withthe challenge, you know when
someone gets a no, that's youknow, that's your.
You know, I guess that's whenyour superhero powers come out
and really looking at alloptions.
So I think that's a really goodmessage for people to
understand that no doesn't meanno.
There's just another option topursue 100% agree with that.
Colin Mason (28:57):
I think don't exhaust.
You know two or three optionsand I think you can't get the
fourth option done because we'veseen many clients over the
years me doing this job, whereyou know they've been trying,
trying, trying for months andthen come and see us and then
we'll get it done.
Amy Bennett (29:11):
Yeah, amazing.
So obviously finance has been ajourney 20 years amazing.
What would you do if youweren't in finance?
Colin Mason (29:20):
Look, airline pilot , yeah.
So I mean, you know, obviouslyI've got my, my private pilot's
license and I also teach peoplehow to fly in my spare time.
So just love, love aviation,love, love flying.
My dad used to be a pilot whenhe was younger just a private
pilot and I sort of had thepassion for it, I think ever
since I was, I think, two yearsof age, sitting in his cockpit
(29:41):
up in the air with him flying inNew South Wales somewhere.
I can't even think of where itwas now, but I think ever since
then I had a passion for it.
So, and then when I had thechance to do it about six or
seven years ago, I did mylicense and then did some
instructing and, yeah, love it.
Amy Bennett (29:55):
Amazing.
Well, I have been in the planewith you.
You have.
We took a scenic route and wesurvived.
We had a bit of hesitationthere.
We took a scenic route aroundthe Glasshouse Mountains, which
was really magic.
That's where I grew up.
Let me have a quick littleexample of flying the plane of
which wasn't my forte, so Iwon't be following in your
(30:17):
footsteps.
But yeah, it's amazing we havesuch a beautiful coastline here
you mentioned you just took aquick trip up on.
Colin Mason (30:23):
Hervey Bay On Sunday.
So a good mate of mine's got aplane and we went up to Hervey
Bay through Sunshine Coast onSunday morning, which is the
nicest day we've had for a longtime, with all the rain
obviously backing away for alittle while.
Hopefully had coffee up thereand then returned.
Hey, what a Sunday yeah it's agreat way to start the day.
Amy Bennett (30:42):
So Hervey Bay's a beautiful place.
I'd love to know you enjoyholidays, as do I.
What's your dream holidaydestination?
Colin Mason (30:51):
I would say winter in Canada.
Amy Bennett (30:53):
Yes.
Colin Mason (30:54):
So Vancouver, canada, and then summer in
Europe, so Rome, great Colin.
Amy Bennett (31:00):
Beautiful, that's a year covered.
Absolutely, you just had alovely family holiday over
Christmas.
Colin Mason (31:06):
We did.
We went to Whistler for a whiteChristmas and didn't snow apart
from Christmas Day, which wasperfectly fine because that's
what we wanted.
But the kids got a chance tosnow and say that I wasn't very
good at it, but yeah, we had agreat time.
And then we went down to SanDiego and into America as well
with the kids, so now had agreat time.
Amy Bennett (31:23):
Beautiful, so cherishing those moments.
The boys are all obviouslygrowing up very fast.
Colin Mason (31:28):
They are taller than me and you met them yes.
Amy Bennett (31:31):
Not the easiest thing to get everybody all
together for a family holiday,but I'm sure that that was lots
of fun for everyone.
Colin Mason (31:38):
It was.
We had a great time, so it wasgood to take three to four weeks
off.
Amy Bennett (31:41):
Yeah, it looked really well deserved.
I think that's probably a shiftin your mindset, if you don't
mind me saying to really balanceout and have that time.
Both you and I, we really lovewhat we do.
We're very passionate.
I'd say we're married to ourjobs.
Colin Mason (31:57):
We are.
Amy Bennett (31:58):
Yes, we both have very understanding spouses
Speaking of, and I kind ofprobably know the answer to this
question but what was the mostamazing day of your life?
Colin Mason (32:10):
I look definitely meeting Bianca and marrying my
wife Bianca, and then obviouslythe three kids that we've got,
Absolutely, and I'd probablysuggest, if I can add a third
one, setting up Mason FinanceGroup.
That was a you know, we sort ofI'm not an ironing whether we
should do it, whether weshouldn't do it, and we did it
(32:31):
and you know, two and a halfyears later we've got a big team
that we absolutely love and agreat future.
Amy Bennett (32:37):
Yeah, so five best days of your life.
We five yeah, so I think look,you and I the same every day.
Every day that you wake up,breathe things, a beautiful day.
Just a quick little segue whenyou started Mason Finance Group
with Jess.
We want to just delve into thata little bit.
It's a really special story andyour history together.
Colin Mason (32:56):
Yeah, Look, it's.
Look, I took a break out offinance, as you know, and, to be
honest with you, I was going toprobably go on and do more of
the flowing and try and maybeget into the airlines, et cetera
.
So, but obviously change yourheart.
Just after that and and Jess isa good friend of mine I was
only with a business coachingand and Jess and I sort of sat
(33:16):
down and discussed maybe doinglike a finance business, getting
into mortgage-broken, which wedid and when we agreed to do it,
I said to Jess let's just startat my house in the garage,
We'll start and see how it goes.
And then, as soon as we sort ofannounced that we were doing it
, then the calendar startedfilling up and then all of a
sudden we needed an office andthen we needed more team members
and then all of a sudden weneed more office space and it's
(33:37):
just sort of yeah, sort of gonefrom there, but it's been a
great journey.
Amy Bennett (33:43):
Amazing.
Well, you are a very humbleperson, but it is all very well
deserved.
I would also probably add thatthere's probably a bit of peer
pressure in that time off.
I'm sure your phone didn't stopringing that time.
Colin Mason (33:54):
No well, I mean I didn't have the phone, yeah, but
some we found you other waysSocial media, you know stuff
like that.
So it's yeah, no, look, it'sbeen.
I look the support I'vereceived over the years and I've
always said, if you do a, ifyou do the right thing by people
, generally good things come.
So I've always tried to lookafter my customers in the best
possible way and always beenvery humble, like you know, and
(34:15):
it's not about the awards andthe accolades and the
recognition.
It's about me just helpingpeople, and it's the same for my
team as well.
My team is very well-centeredaround that.
They just want to help peopleand that's what we're all about.
Amy Bennett (34:27):
Look, you've got a beautiful culture within the
team.
Charity and communitycontributions really important
as well.
I know that you're always thefirst to put your hand up and
support A lot of local SunshineCoast-based organizations.
I know that the team you knowdoesn't hesitate to, you know,
get the sausages or frying at anauction.
Colin Mason (34:45):
Absolutely.
Amy Bennett (34:46):
Yeah, we do lots of great things together.
I know your team will alwayssupport it.
Our Sunset Sneak Peaks with afree education session or
ability for people to crunch thenumbers at open homes so that's
really valued.
Colin Mason (34:59):
Absolutely yeah, and I always have a good getting
involved wherever we can.
Amy Bennett (35:02):
So yeah, all right.
Well, a couple of finalquestions.
What would be your favoritefood and drink, favorite meal?
Colin Mason (35:09):
Favorite meal?
Definitely a good hot curry.
Amy Bennett (35:12):
Yes.
Colin Mason (35:12):
Love that.
Proper hot, proper hot, indianhot as we say, and favorite
drink would be espresso martiniNice.
I love a good espresso martini.
Amy Bennett (35:23):
I like it.
Curry of choice.
Colin Mason (35:26):
Curry of choice would be chicken Lahori.
Oh nice, that's my favorite too.
Amy Bennett (35:32):
Yeah, hard to get.
So I do know where is yourfavorite Indian from.
Colin Mason (35:37):
So Rangoli.
in Buderim.
Sunshine Coast, yeah, so I've been going there
for years.
Amy Bennett (35:42):
So we just spoke about it.
Offline.
We love curry bowl, so the sameowners and the chicken Lahori.
There is amazing.
Our favorite as well espressomartini.
Yes, that's a favorite of myhusband, who wakes up early and
often needs that to keep himawake at night.
Colin Mason (35:59):
Definitely good espresso martini.
We've got some good friends ofours that make a mean espresso
martini Good.
We're going there on Saturdaynight, I think.
Amy Bennett (36:05):
Okay, perfect, so no sleeping Saturday night.
Colin Mason (36:08):
No sleeping.
Amy Bennett (36:08):
Sunday.
And the final question is whatis your favorite quote or saying
?
Colin Mason (36:14):
Favorite quote would be success is not the
sorry, happiness is not the keyto success.
Sorry, success is not the keyto happiness.
Happiness is the key to success.
If you love what you're doing,you're always going to be
successful.
Yes, always lived by that.
Yes, and my mum once gave me asignboard saying don't get so
busy making a living that youforget to make a life which is
super important to me.
(36:35):
So that's probably one of thereasons why I took a break, to
be honest with you, out offinance, burning the candles at
both ends and just reallygetting myself into a point
where you know, I think when youget down the tools a little bit
and you've actually you're noteverything coming at you at a
million miles an hour you canactually think seriously about
what your future looks like.
Amy Bennett (36:54):
Yeah, I think that's really important for a
lot of people.
I think you probably also.
It was a reignited passion forthe industry as well.
But I hope also you felt thatyou know the loss to the
industry, so that's beensomething that we're absolutely
delighted that you're back.
So that brings us to the end.
Can you believe already?
I know we could talk for hours,but I have no doubt we have
(37:14):
emails and phone calls piling up.
So, colin, I would love ouraudience to know how they can
find you and the team.
Colin Mason (37:22):
Yeah, so the best way to get in touch with us
would be either my mobile number, so 043707407, or they can call
the office on 5210099 and makea meeting with a broker.
Perfect, generally speaking,you can get in within a couple
of days with our brokers,depending on who you want to see
.
Amy Bennett (37:40):
Awesome, and following on all the social
channels, I know your team doesa great job.
I know we always talk aboutthat.
Obviously, that's a passion ofmine.
So, mr Colin Mason, thank youso much for your time.
Thanks for having me.
I absolutely love and adore you, both personally and
professionally.
Colin Mason (37:57):
Thanks, Amy.
Amy Bennett (37:57):
So grateful for all you've done for my family and,
most importantly, my clientsAlways welcome All right.
Thanks, colin.
Colin Mason (38:03):
Bye, Dr Amos.
Amy Bennett (38:05):
Thank you for listening to this episode of
Beyond the Signboard.
We trust you enjoyed it as muchas we enjoyed making it for you
.
If there are any topics youwant covered in the future, make
sure you reach out and let usknow.
Also, feedback and suggestionsare appreciated almost as much
as like shares and downloads.
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