May 20, 2025 • 39 mins
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▶️ Watch this episode on YouTube
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EPISODE DESCRIPTION
In this episode, Mike is joined by Royston Simon. Royston is a Mortgage Agent at Mortgage Outlet from Brampton, Ontario, who found his way into the industry through his first endeavour as a real estate investor. Once learning the power of real estate and homeownership first hand, he became the voice behind the Flyynancial Solution social media channels, with a focus on financial literacy, real estate investment, and practical tools for everyday Canadians. Roy has a knack for breaking down complex money matters into both digestible and reliable content that inspires action. Whether he's debunking financial myths, sharing credit hacks, or spotlighting real estate ownership journeys, his mission is simple, help people transform their mindset and master their money.
Royston is here to discuss:
→ The value of starting as a bank teller and why he became a mortgage agent, why he chose to join Mortgage Outlet, and the top things to look for when joining a brokerage.
→ How he generates leads and utilizes social media, how he works with referral partners, and the best practices for following-up and communication.
→ How the market has impacted his business, how comprehensive financial advice can beat rate, and his goals for the future.
Mortgage Outlet Website: www.mortgageoutlet.ca
Royston Simon's Instagram: @flyynancial.solutions
Royston Simon's TikTok: @flyynancial.solutions
Royston Simon's LinkedIn: @RoystonSimon
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CONNECT WITH MIKE
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👥 Mike Dias' Facebook: @Mike.Dias.9231
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CONNECT WITH DNA LENDING GROUP
🔗 DNA Lending Group Website: www.dnalendinggroup.com
📸 DNA Lending Group Instagram: @DNALendingGroup
📋 DNA Lending Group LinkedIn: @DNALendingGroup
👥 DNA Lending Group Facebook: @DNALendingGroup
⏰ DNA Lending Group TikTok: @DNALendingGroup
***
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:11):
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome toepisode number 10 of Old School
New World, The Life of anEntrepreneur.
I'm your host, Mike Diaz.
It's a privilege that we have a
fellow mortgage broker, Roy, joinus today.
And before we dive into thisdynamic conversation we're going
to have, Allow me the honor ofexplaining a little bit more about
Roy.
And I've written it down so I
(00:32):
don't mess it up because hedefinitely doesn't want to mess it
up.
And we've actually messed a lot of
things up.
But that's for another time for
another story.
So Roy, who is a passionate
mortgage broker and the voicebehind Financial Solution, an
empowering platform that makesmoney moves make sense with a
focus on financial literacy, realestate investment and practical
tools for everyday Canadians.
Roy breaks down complex money
(00:52):
matters into both digestible andreliable content that inspires
action.
Dating back to his days as a
monetized YouTuber, you heard meright, YouTuber, Roy's had a knack
for simplifying what otherwisefeels impossible and uplifting
those within his community.
Whether he's debunking financial
myths, sharing credit hacks, orspotlighting real estate ownership
(01:16):
journeys, his mission?is simple.
Help people transform theirmindset and master their money.
It's a great honor to have Roy ontoday's episode.
Welcome.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
You're very welcome.
Looking forward to it.
I've been looking forward to this
(01:36):
for quite a bit now.
I know that you're a well
-renowned individual yourself.
Well, thank you.
I mean, I love to be on thepodcast, so let's get it going.
let's get it going.
Yeah, for sure.
So before we dive in, I have asecret question that I ask all my
guests.
And that question is pretty
simple.
Roy, please tell myself and our
audience, what is your superpower?My superpower?
If I had to... say what my mainsuperpower is, if I had to choose
one, I think it's more so just myability to connect with people,
(02:00):
whether it's people my little age,maybe a little bit older, a little
bit younger, maybe drasticallyolder or younger, people that have
authentic and organic conversationwith them and connect on a deeper
level to make it feel comfortable,which is very pivotal, especially
in this industry.
I think that that's just been a
knack of mine throughout my entirelife, whether it be working at all
the different jobs that I'veworked over my lifespan, the type
(02:21):
of family that I grew up in.
It's just being able to adapt to
whatever individual I'm trying toconverse with and connect with.
It's pretty...
Easy for not just myself, but
others as well.
Yeah, you know, I love to hear
there are a couple of words inthere being authentic and organic.
You know, to have that as asuperpower, it really is because,
you know, it's sometimes toodifficult for some.
So thank you for sharing that.
It's great to know a little more
(02:42):
about you on that side.
And so before we get into our full
-fledged conversation, I want tolet people know, you know, energy
always wins.
And when he talks about making
connections and building rapportwith his clients and friends or
just people in general, and that'sbecause, you know, when you're
authentic, as he described,thrives, there's an energy, like
the energy here in this room, youcan tell you're feeling the energy
off this man, you can feel it.
(03:02):
It's important to remember that
energy always wins andcollaboration.
That comes from some of those goodconnections.
So how did I meet Roy and weconnected?
Of course, I have my greatmarketing team, Daniela, and she
was able to reach out to Roy, sendhim a DM.
So I slid into his DMs, I guess,if you want to say that.
We reached out and asked if youwant to be a guest and we liked
(03:22):
what we saw and what he was doingalready.
He was gracious enough to reachout.
And one of the things, because,you know, we're rebuilding our
podcast set and there's going tobe a new set that's coming up.
And I asked him, I said, oh, wecan do it virtually as well.
His preference and your answer.
to me was?
I'd rather do it in person.
rather do it in person.
If I have the opportunity to dosomething in person versus over
the phone or on Zoom, I willalways choose in person.
(03:42):
Yeah.
And it's funny, you know, he says,
you know, a few years younger thanme.
I know it doesn't look like that,but it's incredible how that still
is part of what he believes isimportant.
And so we'll talk a little bitabout that as well.
So today's podcast is really toreach out to younger people, help
them understand sort of where, youknow, Roy has come from, what he's
done, how he's built financialsolutions.
He's currently with the MortgageOutlet.
So we'll talk a little bit aboutthat and why he joined then.
(04:02):
But let's dive in first.
He was a banker.
So let me turn the table over.
Tell us a little bit about what
your bio does and tell us a littlebit about you as a person and how
you chose this career.
Good question.
Honestly, I feel like it's amixture of a couple of things that
led me to this.
current position.
I used to work at the bank andthat was long after going to
(04:23):
college for my businessadministration degree, which I
initially started out doingaccounting, just realizing really
early on that that's not what Iwanted to do for the next 40 years
of my life.
What I like to do is talk to
people.
And even though I'm good at
numbers, I'm good at math, I cando arithmetic really easily and
break down equations.
I like to converse with people and
connect and figure out solutions,like to solve problems, like to,
(04:44):
you know.
put together solutions and working
at the bank for just under threeyears as a teller, not as like an
FSR, not as like a mortgagespecialist, ironically enough.
I was just talking to people dayin, day out and solving their
problems.
That was the role that I wanted to
maintain because I had gottennumerous opportunities to get
promotions and whatnot.
But I didn't want to leave that
role because I like theresponsibilities of that role and
(05:05):
the tasks associated with thatrole.
Fast forward to the pandemic, lostmy job.
Obviously, banks were not reallyopen.
So I had to figure out a pivot.
And right before the pandemic, I
had actually closed my firstproperty, which would also led me
to getting my YouTube.
page, you know, as big as it got,
because I had documented prettymuch my entire journey of being a
(05:26):
first time home buyer and whatbeing at the bank and being a
first time home buyer and havingthat platform all did when you
kind of mix it all up and make onebig, whatever pie you want to make
it.
Everyone was just like, helped me
achieve the same thing because iwas sharing you know different
financial tips that i would giveto clients at the bank when they
(05:46):
had x y and z type of problems andthen i also shared people what i
was doing to achieve a membershipwhich i mean to many people in my
age bracket feels impossible atthat time how old were you when i
was 26 27 okay yeah about that ageand i bought a townhouse about it
an hour away from my house.
So I bought in Brantford.
I was living in Branton at thetime.
(06:08):
And like, again, it was just,people were just like in awe.
Cause it's like, everybody hasthis kind of goal in their mind.
And a lot of people write it off alot earlier than others.
And I was just very headstrong,very determined.
And I made it happen.
And a lot of people were just
like, I want to do this too.
Tell me how you did it.
(06:29):
And so that would have beencontext.
Yeah.
Context of the year is 2019.
of the year is 2019.
Correct.
I closed on 2019.
I had.
Purchased it in 2018, so I hadsigned on for a year prior.
Okay, so it was a constructiontownhouse.
Correct.
Yeah, it's funny, Noah, just to
add on here, a lot of peoplethink, oh, it's never a good time
to get into the market, or Ishould have gone in a year before,
or I should have gone in fiveyears before.
And here's an example of tellinghis story about how he got in, how
(06:51):
he sort of pivoted to mortgagebrokering, was because he made the
decision to purchase a property.
We always say in our business,
purchasing a home is an importantfinancial piece.
And couldn't be any more true,even for your career and
circumstance.
And I bring that up as a point
because I'm sure that there'syoung people out there, just like
Roy was, that might be thinkingabout what's going on.
Maybe they purchased a home andthey thought the experience was
not the best.
They could do better.
So I'm glad you're sharing thatpart of it for sure.
(07:14):
Of course.
course.
And I mean, even you highlightingthe experience part.
That was part of the reason whatled me to make this shift as well.
Obviously, signing on the dottedline to get a pre -construction
was a lot simpler back then.
You never get to get a pre
-approval.
You could just walk in somewhere
and say, hey, here's my deposit.
I want it.
And that's exactly what Iessentially did.
(07:34):
And realizing that I needed mymortgage a couple months prior to
closing, that process of trying toget my mortgage approval, not
knowing what to have done priorwas a whirlwind.
And I didn't have the support orthe guidance that I think I should
have had to make that wholetransaction a lot more.
comfortable and less stressful andless chaotic.
So after closing on that property,having my YouTube channel, having
as many people already reachingout to me for guidance and
support, it was a no brainer tokind of make that pivot into
becoming a mortgage agent justbecause.
(07:54):
I could then be for other peoplewho I wish I had for myself along
the way.
I love that.
love that.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And I think that that's why I'm
able to, again, connect withpeople so well is because it
doesn't take long for me to putmyself back in their shoes because
I was in their shoes not long ago.
Which is why I think a lot of my
(08:17):
client base is for some homebuyerswho could really lean on me for
that, you know, that expertise andthat, okay, well, what do I do
about my debts?What do I do about my income?
What do I do about my downpayment?
How do I save my down payment?What's the best way to do
everything so that when it comestime to buy my house, it is as.
seamless and amicable as possible.
That's kind of what I, you know,
pride myself on doing now to thisday.
(08:38):
I don't necessarily do YouTubeanymore just because it's more a
different style of content that'srequired for that platform.
really I want to sort of dig alittle bit deeper.
You said at the very beginningwhen you were a teller.
Yeah.
And we talked a little bit about
this off air, the value of being ateller because you get to talk to
thousands of people.
of people.
Yeah.
That's almost a skill.
almost a skill.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Right.
Like you might not be good at itat first.
Talk a little bit about that interms of the added value it
(08:59):
provided for you as you moveforward.
Yeah, being a teller was honestlyone of the most fun, but also most
influential aspects of my career.
Because as you guys probably
assume, you're talking to so manypeople on a daily basis, but not
just that it's quantity, but it'sthe variance.
And you're talking to people whohave problems as small as, oh, I
have a need for overdraft.
But then you're talking to people
who have a need as big.
as I need a certified check to buy
(09:19):
my house.
You know what I mean?
So you deal with so many differenttypes of instances and problems
and different types of debacles,and you are learning constantly.
Whereas if you're in a differentrole where you're doing, for
example, you know, credit cardsall day, you're only going to be
specializing in credit cards.
Whereas as a teller, I was dealing
with the entire possibility ofwhat you could be dealing with.
period when it comes to finances.
So now when I'm talking to
(09:40):
clients, I have so much knowledgeon different aspects of finance
period that then also funnels themback into real estate overall,
because your finances is the basisof what you're going to be able to
achieve.
Of course.
So that, I think from a skillsetperspective, being able to.
talk to people about so muchdifferent things, but also
different types of people.
I was helping, you know, elderly
people that were 80 years old anddidn't know how to work online.
(10:02):
I will say, you know, myexperiences as, you know, a
similar sort of introduction tothe banking world as a teller.
And I've talked about Nathanwanting to be a broker.
His mom and I both of you shouldprobably start the bank.
If you find that you're, for somereason, can't be empathetic, you
don't understand maybe people'sperspective because there's so
many different perspectives.
To Roy's point, you know, when
(10:23):
you're hearing people talking to asenior, we're talking about...
someone who's just entering themarket, you know, it almost forces
you to connect with them in thatway.
Maybe be empathetic with thesenior because you know, oh, you
know, they're going through atough time.
You know, seniors, God love them.
You know, they'd like to talk
about what's going on in their dayor with their kids or their
grandkids.
(10:44):
So I think that's an important
piece as well to keep in mind.
A hundred percent.
A hundred percent.
Let me ask you about sort of as
you progress through your journey,Let me ask you about sort of as
you progress through your journey,then of course you took your
mortgage agent.
course.
Correct.
I did it on Remick.
They have different options.
have different options.
Yeah, they're solid.
Yeah, they're solid.
They definitely got the job done.
I did the one week crash course
(11:04):
where it was like eight hours aday for five days straight.
Take the test afterward once youfeel comfortable.
And I think maybe collectivelyabout a month, maybe a month and a
half later.
License was all good to go.
And I chose my brokerage rightafter.
So mortgage outlet, you've beenthere since the beginning.
Correct.
So you've been a broker now.
Since 2021.
So next thing I can see for you is
a mortgage broker.
Hopefully even less.
Yeah, sir.
Whatever it is, I'm excited for
(11:25):
that.
Sort of the next chapter, as the
bankers would say, a little title,but this one is a meaningful,
something to aim for.
So when you joined them and you've
been with them four years, whatdrew you to them?
What helped you make thatdecision?
Maybe it was a friend that wasthere already.
Maybe it was.
You know, you looked at a couple
of other places.
What helps you make that decision?
Correct.
So you've been a broker now.
Since 2021.
So even less.
Yeah, sir.
Whatever it is, I'm I actually
didn't even vet any other places.
(11:45):
I kind of knew where I was going
to be going right from the jump.
And the main thing for me was just
basically having tutelage andguidance.
I know that there was a lot ofbrokerages that had better splits
or whatever the case was, but theydidn't have the support that I was
looking for.
I think the biggest thing when
you're going into, especially acareer shift like this, right,
where.
Your income and your success is
(12:06):
directly tied to how you perform.
You've got to make sure that
you're able to shadow and, youknow, be led by people who know
what they're doing and can alsohelp you understand what to do as
well.
So I prioritize that over anything
from a monetary standpoint, likewho would give me 80, 20 right off
the bat.
I want to know who is going to be
able to be there to assist me andshow me the ropes.
as often as I needed to be shown.
So that's what led me to mortgage
outlet.
And, you know, it's worked out
pretty well since.
Yeah, no, for sure.
You know, the great thing aboutthat, and we talked a little bit
(12:28):
about the stuff here, you know, hedidn't let money lead the charge
and make a decision.
You'll never catch money.
Money will always outrun you ifthat's what you're making your
priority.
So to his point, he focused on the
support piece, what he was goingto be able to do, how he was going
to be able to better his career.
Then.
You know, obviously the money isalways important.
Nobody wants to dismiss that we'rein this business to help and
(12:51):
serve, but we also have to, youknow, feed our families and
support our family and support thepeople we love.
So good on you for making thatfirst decision.
And so, you know, what would beyour top three things that you
would look for if you were to lookfor another brokerage again, or if
you're starting off new again,because you've had some
experience.
Support, I would imagine, is up
there.
A hundred percent.
A hundred percent.
That's still number one.
I wouldn't shy away from that atall.
(13:12):
What does that support look liketo you?
does that support look like toyou?
Or what did it look like to you?Or what does it still look like?
So routine and it's not just OK,like, for example, GDS, TDS and
all the literal terms to go onwith the mortgage application, but
more so how do you maneuverthrough the entire process?
Because in this industry, it's allabout experience and how you not
only experience for yourself, butmore so the experience for the
client.
So the consumer experience needs
(13:32):
to feel a certain way.
At the end of the day, that's what
we're in the business of is makingsure that.
the people that we're working forand on behalf of feel good about
what you've done for themthroughout the process and
knowing, you know, how to, youknow, have their first discovery
call and how to identify theinformation that you need to get
from them and what is going to beimportant and what solutions you
put together for them.
That is what I mean when it comes
(13:53):
to support and being able toopenly ask these questions and
openly, you know, attain theinformation of what it is that you
need to do going forward.
Make it a healthy exchange because
if you have questions and they'renot being fielded properly or
people don't have time to answerthem, then, you know, your
questions are pretty irrelevant.
Like the support is non -existent.
So making sure that it's going tobe a two -way street and that
it's.
met with someone who's just as
eager to help you on your journeyas you are to be on your journey
(14:16):
to begin with, I think is the mainfocal point of what support should
look like and how it should feel.
Secondly, I definitely think that,
you know, what your brokerage'sreputation is, is huge.
There's times where I say whatbrokerage I'm a part of and the
reception is met very warmly andI've seen other people say what
brokerage they're with and it'slike...
Question mark, question mark,question mark.
Like, what?Where are you?
I don't even know.
And that inherently makes them
want to trust you or not trust youif they can't even do a quick
(14:40):
Google search on what mortgagebrokerage you're with.
You want to have a little bit ofpresence.
You want to have a little bit ofpresence.
You know, I will say, you know, ofcourse, I'm founder of DNA Lending
Group.
But one of the things even before
I started the brokerage clientsand friends and people that we
help and serve, you know,sometimes.
forget about who the brand is orwho the brokerage is because
they're dealing with theindividuals.
Right.
I think it's important some
presences there.
(15:00):
A little bit, at least some.
Yeah, and making sure they'rearound and they can be, they're
non -existent.
I think that's very much the case.
Exactly, exactly.
But to your point, for sure, I
think that's, you know,reputation, you know, the banks as
an example.
reputational risk for the banks is
like right at the top.
You know, obviously want to make
sure people are recognized aspillars of the Economic Foundation
in Canada, you know, reports orstories.
(15:22):
Oh, the banks kicked me out of myhouse.
They make sure that the same thingwhen we're dealing with brokerages
that we're joining, you want tomake sure that they're reputable
and looking after clients theright way and things of that
nature for sure.
Yeah, and Agreed.
And then I would say maybeaccessibility.
What lenders do you have accessto?
I know not all brokerages arecreated equal from that
perspective of having access.
to X, Y, and Z type of lenders.
And obviously the more options youhave to provide to your client
base, the better.
So there's been times where I've
had clients who were comparing mewith another broker that they were
(15:43):
also conversing with.
And I just thought I had other
options that that other brokerdidn't have.
Okay.
That is a different figure at
times.
Yeah, for sure.
Options and being able to provideclients in those different
circumstances.
I think you may agree with this.
You don't need all the plethora ofprogress.
I agree.
You want to have a solid base of,
you know, going really old schoolRolodex of things.
If you've been on Rolodex for theyoung people, I'm sure you will.
(16:05):
Google it.
It's a small thing device.
But the options available areimportant.
I agree.
So let's dive in in terms of how
do you generate leads?Because that's always something
that people talk about.
Are you going to send me leads?
Yeah.
Tell me, you know, what led to
your success.
because you're a successful
mortgage agent.
So tell me what leads to some of
that success.
Yeah.
Even just to attest to what youwere saying, what you label your
(16:26):
value ads or your value props asis going to be dependent on
obviously what your strengths aretoo.
And if one of your strengths isnot lead generation for yourself,
then I do think that you shouldvalue lead generation from a
brokerage.
That's not really a concern of
mine particularly.
My main lead generation source is
social media.
Even just kind of going back to
the YouTube.
background.
They go hand in hand.
mine particularly.
go hand in hand.
I don't have any problem putting
(16:47):
myself out there and, you know,providing information that will
make people want to reach out tome to get the help that they're
looking for.
I think that there's, you know,
the old fashioned, you weretalking about Rolodex, the old
fashioned ways of, you know, coldcalling, for example, not really
my cup of tea.
And it's not because I can't do
it.
I just don't enjoy doing it.
And I think that your enthusiasm,we're talking about energy.
It's very easy to pick up ifsomeone is calling you out of
(17:09):
obligation or if they're callingyou because they truly want to.
And you have to think about howthe person is on the other end of
that phone call when you do that.
For example, I hate being cold
called myself.
I don't like when people call me
to clean my ducts.
I don't like when people come to
my door to ask me if they cancheck my attic for mold.
I'm not a fan of it.
I would rather seek out who I want
the information from.
(17:30):
And I think in 2025, in our
current day and age, the realityis a lot of us pick who we like
based off of who we're seeing andhow they appear to us off of first
impression.
So I put myself out there on
TikTok, Instagram, Facebook,whatever platform that there is.
And I put out the information.
If you like it, you like it.
If you don't like it, cool, keepscrolling.
And it's fared pretty well for me.
And I think the main aspect when
(17:50):
it comes to that is A, again,being authentic and organic.
And similar to the cold calling,people can tell, is this something
that's scripted?Is this something that is true and
organic?Does this person really know what
they're talking about?And granted, maybe you see one
video and you're like, okay,that's a cool video.
Don't know if he really knows whathe's talking about.
But it's also strengthened therepetition, just like with cold
calling, right?If you're putting out one video
(18:12):
and expecting a slew of beats tocome in, you're not really doing
it the right way.
You've got to do this day in and
day out and build a routine behindit, just like you would with cold
calling.
So that's kind of how I built my
business.
and Yeah.
The word about the routine and thepractice, you know, I have 30
steps of success that my audiencehas heard.
The first six ones, one of themis, hasn't been talked about yet,
(18:32):
but will, is practice.
Athletes, for example, they
practice 90 % of the time.
you know, and play 10%.
So when you're looking at thatkind of thing, so, you know, that
repetition going over and over issuper, super important.
And a way to create thatconfidence and maybe the authentic
way of delivering a message, youhave to look in the mirror and do
it over because it's important toget comfortable with being
uncomfortable.
So how do you do that?
(18:54):
Talk in front of the mirror and asif you were talking to someone.
I know that sounds kind of, youknow, outlandish or why do I do
that?But just as it's important, this
is back to sort of overall well-being and mental health.
Look in that mirror and maybepractice, if you don't do this, a
bit off topic.
Hey, Mike, I love you.
And you're talking to yourself, ofcourse.
But that practice and thatrepetition and just being reminded
(19:16):
that I think is so important.
Let me ask you your opinion on
referral sources, like referralpartners.
Do you have that in your network?A thousand percent.
How did you establish those?of course.
Same thing.
That's the beauty of it, I feel,
is that.
The same way that a client could
reach out to me because I saw avideo that aligns with them is the
exact same way that almost everysingle one of my referral partners
have reached out to me too.
They have clients that need to be
(19:37):
serviced.
And who do they want to trust with
that great of a responsibility?The person that they've seen
talking about a numerous amount ofthings that can also then solve
these problems for them and theirclients and provide the
exceptional service, right?So almost all of my referral
partners have pretty much comefrom contacting me first because
they saw a video that they like.
They want me to either elaborate
on it for them to then regurgitateto their client, or they just want
(20:00):
me to talk to their clientdirectly.
And now we create a partnershipfrom there onward.
All realtors, some realtors?Mainly realtors, a couple of
accountants here, more social andfinancial advisors too, lawyers as
well.
It's a mixed bag, but primarily
realtors.
Okay.
Talk to me a little bit about,because some people might be
wondering, reciprocal nature ofthe business.
So if reaching out to you andthey're sending you a client, do
they expect something in return?How is that relationship that
you've created with them?So I think the expectation is
(20:21):
different across the board, thinkthe expectation is different
across the board, but primarilythe expectation is just for me to
support that transaction orwhatever clients they send my way.
in a way that reflects one on themfor their business.
Right.
Granted, I don't know why it is
this way, but you probably agreeas well.
I find that clients reach out torealtors first, even though they
should reach out to their mortgagebroker or agent first.
So a lot of the times the clientreaches out to the realtor first
(20:41):
and then they're like, well, Ican't do anything until you get a
preapproval.
Right.
Talk to Royston.
So it's not necessarily always
going to be a two way street whereit's like, OK, I got one client
from you.
I'm going to send one back.
It's not one for one.
But in the event that I do get a
client that has reached out to mefirst and doesn't have a realtor
and also it aligns with whatthey're trying to do.
Some realtors are investor based.
(21:01):
Some realtors are strictly good
for condos and they onlyspecialize in condos.
Some realtors are in Sudbury, forexample.
You know what I mean?Location plays a factor.
So if I find, you know, that italigns, I will send that client
back to.
who it makes the most sense for
right it is a two -way street it'sjust not a one -for -one two -way
street yeah and i think realtorrelationships they have with
(21:22):
whether it's mortgage brokers andi think realtor relationships they
have with whether it's mortgagebrokers You know, one thing I want
to like you, I want to be able toconnect with you.
So I think that's an importantpiece.
And then, you know, value ofcounsel and advice, you know, and
building beyond like, you know,I'll send you one if you send me
one.
I mean, a lot of time it's not
sustainable if that's all youexpect.
That's why my thoughts on having alot of realtors, I don't know if
you need that, might have two orthree that you really like.
(21:46):
You can talk to that.
Do you have a certain amount or do
you have a large amount?I mean, if you talk about like who
I've done business with, you talkabout like who I've done business
with, I've done.
business with, I want to say like
north of like 60 realtors.
But I definitely have a core maybe
10 that I do.
constant business with and then i
have a couple that come in for acouple maybe they go elsewhere for
others and that's totally finebecause again much like i'm saying
(22:07):
you know there's a particulartransaction that a realtor might
fit well with they might feel thatthere's a particular mortgage
broker that this client fits wellwith versus another so i'm not
going to be too much of a sticklerwhen it comes to something like
that but yeah i would say likeit's a wide range of who i've done
business with overall and will dobusiness with overall but then i
have a core base that i will dobusiness with on almost like On a
weekly basis, it's almosteverything I do for that.
Let me dive into what's been goingon in the market.
(22:29):
So, you know, you can share whatyou want with our audience with
respect.
So how was your year last year?
Do you feel the ups and downs?For sure.
And, you know, how are you findingthe first quarter of this year?
What are you seeing your clientstalking to you about?
What's keeping them up at night?Good question.
For sure.
Good question.
Honestly, every year has been anascension from the year prior, and
this year's been no different.
It's been incredibly busy, which
is always a good sign, especiallyin entrepreneurship.
If that's something that peoplewant to get in, If that's
(22:50):
something that people want to getin, or even they're in the
business, maybe they're stuck.
We're all going through the same,
right?We all have the same feelings
about, oh, am I going to really dowell this year?
Is it going to be like last year?But it's a process that's
important to keep in mind and makesure you're always doing what's in
the best interest of you.
Whatever it is, you're helping and
serving.
Of course, it is, you're helping
and serving.
Of course, 100%.
And I think the conversations area little bit different.
There's a lot of uncertainty.
There's a lot of anxiety, which I
mean, granted, there's always atleast a hint of anxiety, but I
(23:16):
think a little bit more so nowthan in years prior, just because
there's just so much turmoil.
We're also dealing with the tariff
situation and what's going tohappen with our government and
where's the market going in termsof interest rates.
And it's just, there's so manydifferent moving parts and people
want to be able to make moves orpeople want to be able to, you
know, figure out what they'renext.
step is going to be.
But in the midst of so much
uncertainty and so much gray area,they kind of lean on me for, like
(23:37):
you said, that advice.
And it's just a matter of me
making sure that I'm staying up todate, staying current and doing my
research so I can give tangibleand reasonable feedback back to
them, despite whatever theirsituation might entail.
But I'm also just seeing a lotmore action being taken more so
than last year.
I think a lot of people were
setting up.
Last year, granted, there was
still a significant amount ofactivity last year.
In addition to the activity, therewas a lot of people that were just
(23:59):
like, OK, let me position myselffor the next year when I think it
makes sense for me.
Right.
And I think that a lot of peopleare sensing that there's a window
right now.
And I think that a lot of people
are sensing that there's a windowright now.
And, you know, if I was looking totransact right now, I'd want to
take action before that windowcloses.
Right.
Because once there is that
semblance of, you know, stabilityand everyone's like, OK, the worst
is behind us.
then that's when prices will start
to increase.
And people don't want to be in
(24:21):
that predicament paying more thanthey had to had they taken action
sooner.
So a lot of people are looking to
just kind of get thatunderstanding right now.
What do I need to do to be in thebest position in three months, six
months, a year from now?Or what can I do right now?
Because I see a lot of opportunityand a lot of things that I like
right now, which I think there'san abundance of right now.
Do you have a best practice ofwhat you're doing with clients
that maybe you haven't talked tobefore?
(24:42):
you have a best practice of whatyou're doing with clients that
maybe you haven't talked tobefore?
communication that you're sendingto them.
And, you know, this is beingrecorded today, April 16th, but
the Bank of Canada held rates thesame.
Are you reaching out to clientsbefore, after, during, like,
what's your communication piecewith your client base?
Constant follow -up.
It can be meticulous, but it's
necessary.
I don't want to say it's cookie
cutter because it isn't.
And the reality is everyone's
follow -up should be differentbecause everyone's situation is
(25:03):
different.
I'm a big fan of, okay, if our
first conversation is today, yoursituation is A. You want to do B.
We're trying to get you from pointA to point B. Everyone's distance
from those two points isdifferent.
Maybe based off of where you arecurrently and where you want to
go, you require a monthly followup.
Right.
So I'll be following up with you
May 16th.
Right.
Maybe it's someone was like, OK,based off where you are today and
where you want to be, ideally,maybe there's a lot more work that
(25:24):
needs to be done.
Here's what you need to do between
now and then.
We're going to follow up in July.
And I'm setting my constantreminders to follow up with people
and I'm setting it on the call.
Like I'm not letting people, you
know, okay, you get back to me andyou let me know because the
reality is I want to make surethat people understand that I'm
just as invested as they are intheir journey.
And I think that's, again,speaking to how you're able to
connect with people and reallybuild those relationships.
It starts from the firstconversation because if people get
the sense of, okay, you know what,you're just doing this because you
(25:47):
have to.
You tell me to follow up when I'm
ready.
You don't really care.
Right.
And if they don't feel like you
care.
then they're going to find
somebody who does.
Right.
And that person might be me.
So let me ask you about your
follow -up.
let me ask you about your follow
-up.
So I agree.
Follow -up is super, superimportant.
You know, that's one of my 30steps is the follow -up piece.
Do you have CRM?Like what have you incorporated
into your business?Yeah, I use Zoho.
(26:08):
Blue Mortgage?Correct.
Okay.
Yeah.
Tom, shout out to you if you'relistening to the podcast.
Tom is supposed to be a guest.
So Tom is the founder of Blue
Mortgage.
Tom, founder of Blue Mortgage.
Ah, well, I need to get hiscontact information.
I think Blue's a great platform.
He's finding which platform works.
Yeah.
I have no problems with it, and
it's just a matter of doing thefine tweaking and specifications
to make it cater to how you likeyour things to be set up.
(26:29):
But my follow -up is based off ofCRM and Google Calendar.
It really is that simple.
And just making sure that you're
taking notes, making sure that youknow exactly what was talked about
on day one, so that when youfollow up on day 30 or day 60, you
know what it was talked about.
putting down what was the advice
given so that you know what tofollow up on in X amount of time.
(26:51):
You know, Yeah.
Royston, you said your friends
call you Roy, right?But you said you called yourself
Royston.
Now I'm among the feds.
I'll answer to both.
But what do your best friend call
you?right?
Right.
Okay, right, okay.
I just want to make sure.
Should I be my best friend?
No, yeah, no, excuse me, excuseme.
All kidding aside, it's music tomy ears with respect to these
notes, right?So I'm a big journaler.
Like if you ever look at my CRM,and I've had a couple, but, you
(27:11):
know, I've been with Blue for thelast 18 months or so.
But because of how I created thatplatform, so I want to share a
little bit about this.
no, All You look back at my notes,
I have them as old as 2013starting.
It's all dated and it's almostdate stamps.
all dated and it's almost datestamps.
And to your point, compliance inour business, of course, as you
all know, is important and itneeds to be adhered to.
(27:32):
If somebody, a compliance officeror audit of your file is being
picked up, And you shouldn't haveto describe what you did with this
file.
The compliance or audit person
should be able to read.
everything that's happened with
that file and that's the importantpart of the note so you know music
to my ears i love hearing itbecause it gives me belief and
faith to be honest that you knowbecause you're from a different
generation than i am right youknow 15 years removed from where i
(27:53):
am where you are currently and tohear that you know makes me feel
good about it you know that's whythere's that 80 20 world 80
percent of business done by 20 ofthe people because i think there
are practices and processes righti think there are practices and
processes that are important to bein play to continue your success.
So good for you for doing that.
Thank you.
Super impressed and just happy tohear it.
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
That means a lot.
And I think that that's a direct
(28:14):
testament to, again, whatbrokerage you choose and what
tutelage you're getting becauseit's ingrained in me.
Yeah.
Yeah, I know for sure.
We were talking a little bit aboutthe marketing demographic and not
the uncertainty.
So of course, like I said, the
Bank Canada as of April 16th heldweights.
Do you have any forecasting?Are you in the postcasting
prediction game?I am not.
Yeah, it's like some of yourmentors, perhaps, or the leaders
at Margella, have they sharedsomething they believe might be
(28:35):
happening in the markets?Again, nobody knows.
I share my sense on the market andprovide as much counsel and advice
as I can from the data that'sbeing produced, bond yields and
the curves on the yields andtreasuries in the U .S.
But is there any, like, what'syour thoughts?
I mean, I am not.
Yeah, it's like some I the mean,
my personal thoughts are that,like, I don't think we're at the
bottom just yet.
in terms of rates and what's going
to be happening with the Bank ofCanada, but I don't think that
(28:57):
we're far off from it.
And the reason behind that is
just, I don't believe in thenotion, and I've said this from
prior to the rates being decreasedover the past, what, eight, nine
months.
We don't want to repeat what we
just experienced, right?So by bringing rates all the way
down to the high ones and lowtwos, I don't think that there's
any benefit in it.
And those are not going to be
around for a long time.
Exactly.
And the norm prior to those ultralow rates, was around that three
(29:17):
-ish, you know, mid threes, lowthrees.
So let me peel back on you a bitmore.
let me peel back on you a bitmore.
So from 2002 to about 2007, beforethe financial crisis, rates,
believe it or not, were like fiveand a half, 6%.
Yeah.
Okay.
But property values were lowerthan what they were.
Financial crisis hit, ratesdropped, rates were low in the...
You know, 299 range to 3 .5 rangefor a long while.
(29:39):
Then you had BMO who came out witha 199 rate.
And then I think HFD, you know, 0.99 % from 2010 to 2019 or
thereabouts.
Before COVID, here's the
interesting part.
than Rates were already getting to
the 3 .8 to 4 .2 range.
People were really nervous about
that.
And then, of course, COVID, they
dipped and then they went thisway.
But to your point, normalization,maybe low threes.
To low fours, I think is whereit's going to go.
(29:59):
And I think that's where we areright now.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's in a lot of cases, depending
on the products and depending onthe transactions.
There's three buckets, as wetalked about with rates, that
people get sort of slotted into.
So that they have one rate for
everyone just doesn't exist.
Exactly.
But it's interesting about howit's going to sort of normalize.
And I think that's healthy for theeconomy.
Agreed.
Here's something I've also said
before.
Clients are typically only
careable rate.
And I think that's where we are
(30:21):
right now.
yeah, Because there's a lack of
value or there's an absence ofvalue.
Now, what I mean by an absence ofvalue, whether it's the value
you're providing, whether it's thevalue of the product, people only
will choose rate or focus on ratebecause there is an absence.
of value.
And I think that's super
important.
I agree.
You're being mindful of that.
(30:41):
And that's good just for our young
listeners.
Those are, again, maybe just
starting out.
Somebody that's, you know, in
their 20s and they're trying toengage, you know, how they're
going to navigate the industry.
If I could make a recommendation,
it would definitely be make sureyou focus on meaningful, valuable
conversations.
I agree.
You know, because a lot of thethings that people want to focus
on is just rate and do yourself adisservice.
I agree.
And you're not doing any kind of
service to the client.
And even if they started, I think
(31:01):
it's our responsibility to helpthem steer away from the rate.
I do understand the implication.
do understand the implication.
You know, over the past, I think,two years, the most common rate
obsession.
There was like some specialty
products where like you can get anultra low rate compared to all of
the lenders for six months.
And then after that six months,
you're getting an inflated ratefor the remaining however many
years.
And or you're paying a very hefty
(31:24):
penalty to leave that lender.
I have not put a single one of my
clients in this product, but I'vehad a numerous amount of people
who got put in that product byother brokers have reached out to
me afterward because they're like,well, how did I not know?
And I'm like, well, you know,first of all, the onus is on
whoever your representative wasthat told you about this.
(31:45):
in the first place because this isnot something that is just known
by the general public.
Someone brought this to you and
they didn't educate you on thefull extent of this product.
And now you're in a position whereyou regret taking it.
The six, well, let's call it ahalf a percent discount that you
may have gotten.
It wasn't worth it in the long run
(32:07):
because now you're facing apercent higher than what you
should have access to for anextended amount of time.
or a large penalty out of pocketthat needs to be paid.
And again, having the larger focuson not just rate, because not to
say that rate isn't important, buton all the other aspects and all
the other implications of what itis that you're actually signing up
for versus what else is out there.
Right.
years.
And And the other thing to be
mindful of, a client who's goingto save, let's say, $5 ,000 over a
(32:30):
five -year period, if they're notbeing told or talked about the
value of another product thatcould save them.
$20 ,000, it's not the rate you'regetting and the difference that is
going to prevent you from save oninterest or pay more interest.
It's how it's going to all workout in the long run.
In terms of saving money, I had asituation where someone's closing
on a pre -construction, as youknow, that's going to cause stir
for appraisal.
And there was a difference of, I
(32:53):
think, maybe 0 .2 % on theinterest rate.
One lender was requiring thatappraisal, and the one that had
the slightly higher interest ratewas not.
And we were not confident inproperty appraising, which would
have then cost that client a wholelarge lump sum down payment
because that would have been areduced mortgage amount overall.
So that is a huge example of notglorifying or over obsessing over
interest rate when you have tolook at all the other value adds,
(33:17):
especially when looking at thingslike path of least resistance.
Yes, yes.
I can't stress enough how
important it is to provideclients, even our partners, our
friends with counsel.
and advice.
The industry no longer shouldaccept order takers and paper
pushers.
It just shouldn't, you know, but
there's a lot because they don'tget to support.
They don't have the confidence.
They don't have the understanding
chasing money.
Remember, money always outruns
you.
(33:37):
So those are things, you know, the
industry needs as a whole,mortgage broker industry, the real
estate industry, the financialadvisor industry.
Everyone, especially duringuncertain times like Roy and I are
chatting about, they need counseland advice, not paper pushers and
order takers.
So in closing, let me leave you
with the last word, Roy.
Where do you see yourself in one,
three, five years?I'm not asking you to go into
detail, but you've been in thebusiness four years now.
(34:00):
You've had some great successbuilt on the strategies, the
processes, the follow -ups.
Where do you see yourself?
Doing and how the industry mightchange a bit as we close out our
episode.
Good question.
Honestly speaking, I'm a verylofty goal setter.
So, I mean, last year I was thenumber six overall producer at my
brokerage.
Nice.
This year I'm going to do cracktop five.
And then in the next.
Three and five up in the same
bracket.
A goal of mine, I want to create
(34:20):
like a lending.
I don't want to be necessarily a
private lender, but I do want toget more into the realm of lending
just because there are a lot ofsituations where, especially with
first time home buyers, thatthere's just a hurdle that's hard
to clear for them, especially withthe market trending in the way
that it's trending.
And I want to find a way to
creatively help people get intothe market, whether that be, you
know, for a short term.
(34:40):
push up just to kind of help
people get in and then they cankind of find their footing
afterward.
But that's kind of one of my
missions is just to kind of helpfor some homebuyers specifically,
because I know how difficult itcan be.
I have those conversations on aregular basis and I feel the pain
and the disdain and I kind of wantto just find a way to help out in
some way.
And I think that if I can find.
you know, a niche type of first-time homebuyer mortgage solution,
(35:02):
be the pioneer of it.
I think that'd be really impactful
and helpful.
Yeah.
And then, you know, Yeah.
And then, you know, I super
respect that a great deal.
It's hard, It's hard, but I'm
trying.
Yeah, no, but listen, you know,
Yeah, no, but listen, you know,it's funny, you know, I say it all
the time, you know, the future iscreated in the present.
So the fact that you're thinkingabout it brings some action to
(35:23):
play is respectable.
I admire that.
It just speaks to who you are as aperson.
We appreciate having you on ourepisode.
Hopefully we'll have another one.
Yeah, of course.
When you get that studio set up.
Yes.
Yeah, of course.
When you get that studio set up.
Yes.
Yes, thank you.
Let's not let up all the secrets.
Yes.
Yes, thank you.
Let's not let up all the secrets.
(35:45):
If our audience wanted to get ahold of you, what's the best way
of them connecting with you?It won't be hard to find me.
It won't be hard to find me.
You can open up your Instagram.
You can open up your TikTok.
Type in Financial Solutions.
That's F -L -Y -Y -N -A -N -C -I-A -L dot solutions.
(36:07):
And I am only a click away.
Amazing.
And I will say this in closing.
I will say this in closing.
I may have said this once before.
Of course, podcasting is something
that I really love and I'mpassionate about to share and help
young entrepreneurs.
Don't forget to subscribe and
(36:28):
like.
We love the support so we can
continue to grow this.
The more subscribership we have,
the more opportunity we'll havefor more people to hear the
messages that we're delivering.
And again, Roy, thank you so much.
I truly appreciate you andappreciate the opportunity to go
over everything we talked abouttoday.
So thank you.
truly Thank you as well.
Thank you, guys.
Enjoy.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome toepisode number 10 of Old School
New World, The Life of anEntrepreneur.
I'm your host, Mike Diaz.
It's a privilege that we have a
fellow mortgage broker, Roy, joinus today.
And before we dive into thisdynamic conversation we're going
to have, Allow me the honor ofexplaining a little bit more about
Roy.
And I've written it down so I
(00:32):
don't mess it up because hedefinitely doesn't want to mess it
up.
And we've actually messed a lot of
things up.
But that's for another time for
another story.
So Roy, who is a passionate
mortgage broker and the voicebehind Financial Solution, an
empowering platform that makesmoney moves make sense with a
focus on financial literacy, realestate investment and practical
tools for everyday Canadians.
Roy breaks down complex money
(00:52):
matters into both digestible andreliable content that inspires
action.
Dating back to his days as a
monetized YouTuber, you heard meright, YouTuber, Roy's had a knack
for simplifying what otherwisefeels impossible and uplifting
those within his community.
Whether he's debunking financial
myths, sharing credit hacks, orspotlighting real estate ownership
(01:16):
journeys, his mission?is simple.
Help people transform theirmindset and master their money.
It's a great honor to have Roy ontoday's episode.
Welcome.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
You're very welcome.
Looking forward to it.
I've been looking forward to this
(01:36):
for quite a bit now.
I know that you're a well
-renowned individual yourself.
Well, thank you.
I mean, I love to be on thepodcast, so let's get it going.
let's get it going.
Yeah, for sure.
So before we dive in, I have asecret question that I ask all my
guests.
And that question is pretty
simple.
Roy, please tell myself and our
audience, what is your superpower?My superpower?
If I had to... say what my mainsuperpower is, if I had to choose
one, I think it's more so just myability to connect with people,
(02:00):
whether it's people my little age,maybe a little bit older, a little
bit younger, maybe drasticallyolder or younger, people that have
authentic and organic conversationwith them and connect on a deeper
level to make it feel comfortable,which is very pivotal, especially
in this industry.
I think that that's just been a
knack of mine throughout my entirelife, whether it be working at all
the different jobs that I'veworked over my lifespan, the type
(02:21):
of family that I grew up in.
It's just being able to adapt to
whatever individual I'm trying toconverse with and connect with.
It's pretty...
Easy for not just myself, but
others as well.
Yeah, you know, I love to hear
there are a couple of words inthere being authentic and organic.
You know, to have that as asuperpower, it really is because,
you know, it's sometimes toodifficult for some.
So thank you for sharing that.
It's great to know a little more
(02:42):
about you on that side.
And so before we get into our full
-fledged conversation, I want tolet people know, you know, energy
always wins.
And when he talks about making
connections and building rapportwith his clients and friends or
just people in general, and that'sbecause, you know, when you're
authentic, as he described,thrives, there's an energy, like
the energy here in this room, youcan tell you're feeling the energy
off this man, you can feel it.
(03:02):
It's important to remember that
energy always wins andcollaboration.
That comes from some of those goodconnections.
So how did I meet Roy and weconnected?
Of course, I have my greatmarketing team, Daniela, and she
was able to reach out to Roy, sendhim a DM.
So I slid into his DMs, I guess,if you want to say that.
We reached out and asked if youwant to be a guest and we liked
(03:22):
what we saw and what he was doingalready.
He was gracious enough to reachout.
And one of the things, because,you know, we're rebuilding our
podcast set and there's going tobe a new set that's coming up.
And I asked him, I said, oh, wecan do it virtually as well.
His preference and your answer.
to me was?
I'd rather do it in person.
rather do it in person.
If I have the opportunity to dosomething in person versus over
the phone or on Zoom, I willalways choose in person.
(03:42):
Yeah.
And it's funny, you know, he says,
you know, a few years younger thanme.
I know it doesn't look like that,but it's incredible how that still
is part of what he believes isimportant.
And so we'll talk a little bitabout that as well.
So today's podcast is really toreach out to younger people, help
them understand sort of where, youknow, Roy has come from, what he's
done, how he's built financialsolutions.
He's currently with the MortgageOutlet.
So we'll talk a little bit aboutthat and why he joined then.
(04:02):
But let's dive in first.
He was a banker.
So let me turn the table over.
Tell us a little bit about what
your bio does and tell us a littlebit about you as a person and how
you chose this career.
Good question.
Honestly, I feel like it's amixture of a couple of things that
led me to this.
current position.
I used to work at the bank andthat was long after going to
(04:23):
college for my businessadministration degree, which I
initially started out doingaccounting, just realizing really
early on that that's not what Iwanted to do for the next 40 years
of my life.
What I like to do is talk to
people.
And even though I'm good at
numbers, I'm good at math, I cando arithmetic really easily and
break down equations.
I like to converse with people and
connect and figure out solutions,like to solve problems, like to,
(04:44):
you know.
put together solutions and working
at the bank for just under threeyears as a teller, not as like an
FSR, not as like a mortgagespecialist, ironically enough.
I was just talking to people dayin, day out and solving their
problems.
That was the role that I wanted to
maintain because I had gottennumerous opportunities to get
promotions and whatnot.
But I didn't want to leave that
role because I like theresponsibilities of that role and
(05:05):
the tasks associated with thatrole.
Fast forward to the pandemic, lostmy job.
Obviously, banks were not reallyopen.
So I had to figure out a pivot.
And right before the pandemic, I
had actually closed my firstproperty, which would also led me
to getting my YouTube.
page, you know, as big as it got,
because I had documented prettymuch my entire journey of being a
(05:26):
first time home buyer and whatbeing at the bank and being a
first time home buyer and havingthat platform all did when you
kind of mix it all up and make onebig, whatever pie you want to make
it.
Everyone was just like, helped me
achieve the same thing because iwas sharing you know different
financial tips that i would giveto clients at the bank when they
(05:46):
had x y and z type of problems andthen i also shared people what i
was doing to achieve a membershipwhich i mean to many people in my
age bracket feels impossible atthat time how old were you when i
was 26 27 okay yeah about that ageand i bought a townhouse about it
an hour away from my house.
So I bought in Brantford.
I was living in Branton at thetime.
(06:08):
And like, again, it was just,people were just like in awe.
Cause it's like, everybody hasthis kind of goal in their mind.
And a lot of people write it off alot earlier than others.
And I was just very headstrong,very determined.
And I made it happen.
And a lot of people were just
like, I want to do this too.
Tell me how you did it.
(06:29):
And so that would have beencontext.
Yeah.
Context of the year is 2019.
of the year is 2019.
Correct.
I closed on 2019.
I had.
Purchased it in 2018, so I hadsigned on for a year prior.
Okay, so it was a constructiontownhouse.
Correct.
Yeah, it's funny, Noah, just to
add on here, a lot of peoplethink, oh, it's never a good time
to get into the market, or Ishould have gone in a year before,
or I should have gone in fiveyears before.
And here's an example of tellinghis story about how he got in, how
(06:51):
he sort of pivoted to mortgagebrokering, was because he made the
decision to purchase a property.
We always say in our business,
purchasing a home is an importantfinancial piece.
And couldn't be any more true,even for your career and
circumstance.
And I bring that up as a point
because I'm sure that there'syoung people out there, just like
Roy was, that might be thinkingabout what's going on.
Maybe they purchased a home andthey thought the experience was
not the best.
They could do better.
So I'm glad you're sharing thatpart of it for sure.
(07:14):
Of course.
course.
And I mean, even you highlightingthe experience part.
That was part of the reason whatled me to make this shift as well.
Obviously, signing on the dottedline to get a pre -construction
was a lot simpler back then.
You never get to get a pre
-approval.
You could just walk in somewhere
and say, hey, here's my deposit.
I want it.
And that's exactly what Iessentially did.
(07:34):
And realizing that I needed mymortgage a couple months prior to
closing, that process of trying toget my mortgage approval, not
knowing what to have done priorwas a whirlwind.
And I didn't have the support orthe guidance that I think I should
have had to make that wholetransaction a lot more.
comfortable and less stressful andless chaotic.
So after closing on that property,having my YouTube channel, having
as many people already reachingout to me for guidance and
support, it was a no brainer tokind of make that pivot into
becoming a mortgage agent justbecause.
(07:54):
I could then be for other peoplewho I wish I had for myself along
the way.
I love that.
love that.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And I think that that's why I'm
able to, again, connect withpeople so well is because it
doesn't take long for me to putmyself back in their shoes because
I was in their shoes not long ago.
Which is why I think a lot of my
(08:17):
client base is for some homebuyerswho could really lean on me for
that, you know, that expertise andthat, okay, well, what do I do
about my debts?What do I do about my income?
What do I do about my downpayment?
How do I save my down payment?What's the best way to do
everything so that when it comestime to buy my house, it is as.
seamless and amicable as possible.
That's kind of what I, you know,
pride myself on doing now to thisday.
(08:38):
I don't necessarily do YouTubeanymore just because it's more a
different style of content that'srequired for that platform.
really I want to sort of dig alittle bit deeper.
You said at the very beginningwhen you were a teller.
Yeah.
And we talked a little bit about
this off air, the value of being ateller because you get to talk to
thousands of people.
of people.
Yeah.
That's almost a skill.
almost a skill.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Right.
Like you might not be good at itat first.
Talk a little bit about that interms of the added value it
(08:59):
provided for you as you moveforward.
Yeah, being a teller was honestlyone of the most fun, but also most
influential aspects of my career.
Because as you guys probably
assume, you're talking to so manypeople on a daily basis, but not
just that it's quantity, but it'sthe variance.
And you're talking to people whohave problems as small as, oh, I
have a need for overdraft.
But then you're talking to people
who have a need as big.
as I need a certified check to buy
(09:19):
my house.
You know what I mean?
So you deal with so many differenttypes of instances and problems
and different types of debacles,and you are learning constantly.
Whereas if you're in a differentrole where you're doing, for
example, you know, credit cardsall day, you're only going to be
specializing in credit cards.
Whereas as a teller, I was dealing
with the entire possibility ofwhat you could be dealing with.
period when it comes to finances.
So now when I'm talking to
(09:40):
clients, I have so much knowledgeon different aspects of finance
period that then also funnels themback into real estate overall,
because your finances is the basisof what you're going to be able to
achieve.
Of course.
So that, I think from a skillsetperspective, being able to.
talk to people about so muchdifferent things, but also
different types of people.
I was helping, you know, elderly
people that were 80 years old anddidn't know how to work online.
(10:02):
I will say, you know, myexperiences as, you know, a
similar sort of introduction tothe banking world as a teller.
And I've talked about Nathanwanting to be a broker.
His mom and I both of you shouldprobably start the bank.
If you find that you're, for somereason, can't be empathetic, you
don't understand maybe people'sperspective because there's so
many different perspectives.
To Roy's point, you know, when
(10:23):
you're hearing people talking to asenior, we're talking about...
someone who's just entering themarket, you know, it almost forces
you to connect with them in thatway.
Maybe be empathetic with thesenior because you know, oh, you
know, they're going through atough time.
You know, seniors, God love them.
You know, they'd like to talk
about what's going on in their dayor with their kids or their
grandkids.
(10:44):
So I think that's an important
piece as well to keep in mind.
A hundred percent.
A hundred percent.
Let me ask you about sort of as
you progress through your journey,Let me ask you about sort of as
you progress through your journey,then of course you took your
mortgage agent.
course.
Correct.
I did it on Remick.
They have different options.
have different options.
Yeah, they're solid.
Yeah, they're solid.
They definitely got the job done.
I did the one week crash course
(11:04):
where it was like eight hours aday for five days straight.
Take the test afterward once youfeel comfortable.
And I think maybe collectivelyabout a month, maybe a month and a
half later.
License was all good to go.
And I chose my brokerage rightafter.
So mortgage outlet, you've beenthere since the beginning.
Correct.
So you've been a broker now.
Since 2021.
So next thing I can see for you is
a mortgage broker.
Hopefully even less.
Yeah, sir.
Whatever it is, I'm excited for
(11:25):
that.
Sort of the next chapter, as the
bankers would say, a little title,but this one is a meaningful,
something to aim for.
So when you joined them and you've
been with them four years, whatdrew you to them?
What helped you make thatdecision?
Maybe it was a friend that wasthere already.
Maybe it was.
You know, you looked at a couple
of other places.
What helps you make that decision?
Correct.
So you've been a broker now.
Since 2021.
So even less.
Yeah, sir.
Whatever it is, I'm I actually
didn't even vet any other places.
(11:45):
I kind of knew where I was going
to be going right from the jump.
And the main thing for me was just
basically having tutelage andguidance.
I know that there was a lot ofbrokerages that had better splits
or whatever the case was, but theydidn't have the support that I was
looking for.
I think the biggest thing when
you're going into, especially acareer shift like this, right,
where.
Your income and your success is
(12:06):
directly tied to how you perform.
You've got to make sure that
you're able to shadow and, youknow, be led by people who know
what they're doing and can alsohelp you understand what to do as
well.
So I prioritize that over anything
from a monetary standpoint, likewho would give me 80, 20 right off
the bat.
I want to know who is going to be
able to be there to assist me andshow me the ropes.
as often as I needed to be shown.
So that's what led me to mortgage
outlet.
And, you know, it's worked out
pretty well since.
Yeah, no, for sure.
You know, the great thing aboutthat, and we talked a little bit
(12:28):
about the stuff here, you know, hedidn't let money lead the charge
and make a decision.
You'll never catch money.
Money will always outrun you ifthat's what you're making your
priority.
So to his point, he focused on the
support piece, what he was goingto be able to do, how he was going
to be able to better his career.
Then.
You know, obviously the money isalways important.
Nobody wants to dismiss that we'rein this business to help and
(12:51):
serve, but we also have to, youknow, feed our families and
support our family and support thepeople we love.
So good on you for making thatfirst decision.
And so, you know, what would beyour top three things that you
would look for if you were to lookfor another brokerage again, or if
you're starting off new again,because you've had some
experience.
Support, I would imagine, is up
there.
A hundred percent.
A hundred percent.
That's still number one.
I wouldn't shy away from that atall.
(13:12):
What does that support look liketo you?
does that support look like toyou?
Or what did it look like to you?Or what does it still look like?
So routine and it's not just OK,like, for example, GDS, TDS and
all the literal terms to go onwith the mortgage application, but
more so how do you maneuverthrough the entire process?
Because in this industry, it's allabout experience and how you not
only experience for yourself, butmore so the experience for the
client.
So the consumer experience needs
(13:32):
to feel a certain way.
At the end of the day, that's what
we're in the business of is makingsure that.
the people that we're working forand on behalf of feel good about
what you've done for themthroughout the process and
knowing, you know, how to, youknow, have their first discovery
call and how to identify theinformation that you need to get
from them and what is going to beimportant and what solutions you
put together for them.
That is what I mean when it comes
(13:53):
to support and being able toopenly ask these questions and
openly, you know, attain theinformation of what it is that you
need to do going forward.
Make it a healthy exchange because
if you have questions and they'renot being fielded properly or
people don't have time to answerthem, then, you know, your
questions are pretty irrelevant.
Like the support is non -existent.
So making sure that it's going tobe a two -way street and that
it's.
met with someone who's just as
eager to help you on your journeyas you are to be on your journey
(14:16):
to begin with, I think is the mainfocal point of what support should
look like and how it should feel.
Secondly, I definitely think that,
you know, what your brokerage'sreputation is, is huge.
There's times where I say whatbrokerage I'm a part of and the
reception is met very warmly andI've seen other people say what
brokerage they're with and it'slike...
Question mark, question mark,question mark.
Like, what?Where are you?
I don't even know.
And that inherently makes them
want to trust you or not trust youif they can't even do a quick
(14:40):
Google search on what mortgagebrokerage you're with.
You want to have a little bit ofpresence.
You want to have a little bit ofpresence.
You know, I will say, you know, ofcourse, I'm founder of DNA Lending
Group.
But one of the things even before
I started the brokerage clientsand friends and people that we
help and serve, you know,sometimes.
forget about who the brand is orwho the brokerage is because
they're dealing with theindividuals.
Right.
I think it's important some
presences there.
(15:00):
A little bit, at least some.
Yeah, and making sure they'rearound and they can be, they're
non -existent.
I think that's very much the case.
Exactly, exactly.
But to your point, for sure, I
think that's, you know,reputation, you know, the banks as
an example.
reputational risk for the banks is
like right at the top.
You know, obviously want to make
sure people are recognized aspillars of the Economic Foundation
in Canada, you know, reports orstories.
(15:22):
Oh, the banks kicked me out of myhouse.
They make sure that the same thingwhen we're dealing with brokerages
that we're joining, you want tomake sure that they're reputable
and looking after clients theright way and things of that
nature for sure.
Yeah, and Agreed.
And then I would say maybeaccessibility.
What lenders do you have accessto?
I know not all brokerages arecreated equal from that
perspective of having access.
to X, Y, and Z type of lenders.
And obviously the more options youhave to provide to your client
base, the better.
So there's been times where I've
had clients who were comparing mewith another broker that they were
(15:43):
also conversing with.
And I just thought I had other
options that that other brokerdidn't have.
Okay.
That is a different figure at
times.
Yeah, for sure.
Options and being able to provideclients in those different
circumstances.
I think you may agree with this.
You don't need all the plethora ofprogress.
I agree.
You want to have a solid base of,
you know, going really old schoolRolodex of things.
If you've been on Rolodex for theyoung people, I'm sure you will.
(16:05):
Google it.
It's a small thing device.
But the options available areimportant.
I agree.
So let's dive in in terms of how
do you generate leads?Because that's always something
that people talk about.
Are you going to send me leads?
Yeah.
Tell me, you know, what led to
your success.
because you're a successful
mortgage agent.
So tell me what leads to some of
that success.
Yeah.
Even just to attest to what youwere saying, what you label your
(16:26):
value ads or your value props asis going to be dependent on
obviously what your strengths aretoo.
And if one of your strengths isnot lead generation for yourself,
then I do think that you shouldvalue lead generation from a
brokerage.
That's not really a concern of
mine particularly.
My main lead generation source is
social media.
Even just kind of going back to
the YouTube.
background.
They go hand in hand.
mine particularly.
go hand in hand.
I don't have any problem putting
(16:47):
myself out there and, you know,providing information that will
make people want to reach out tome to get the help that they're
looking for.
I think that there's, you know,
the old fashioned, you weretalking about Rolodex, the old
fashioned ways of, you know, coldcalling, for example, not really
my cup of tea.
And it's not because I can't do
it.
I just don't enjoy doing it.
And I think that your enthusiasm,we're talking about energy.
It's very easy to pick up ifsomeone is calling you out of
(17:09):
obligation or if they're callingyou because they truly want to.
And you have to think about howthe person is on the other end of
that phone call when you do that.
For example, I hate being cold
called myself.
I don't like when people call me
to clean my ducts.
I don't like when people come to
my door to ask me if they cancheck my attic for mold.
I'm not a fan of it.
I would rather seek out who I want
the information from.
(17:30):
And I think in 2025, in our
current day and age, the realityis a lot of us pick who we like
based off of who we're seeing andhow they appear to us off of first
impression.
So I put myself out there on
TikTok, Instagram, Facebook,whatever platform that there is.
And I put out the information.
If you like it, you like it.
If you don't like it, cool, keepscrolling.
And it's fared pretty well for me.
And I think the main aspect when
(17:50):
it comes to that is A, again,being authentic and organic.
And similar to the cold calling,people can tell, is this something
that's scripted?Is this something that is true and
organic?Does this person really know what
they're talking about?And granted, maybe you see one
video and you're like, okay,that's a cool video.
Don't know if he really knows whathe's talking about.
But it's also strengthened therepetition, just like with cold
calling, right?If you're putting out one video
(18:12):
and expecting a slew of beats tocome in, you're not really doing
it the right way.
You've got to do this day in and
day out and build a routine behindit, just like you would with cold
calling.
So that's kind of how I built my
business.
and Yeah.
The word about the routine and thepractice, you know, I have 30
steps of success that my audiencehas heard.
The first six ones, one of themis, hasn't been talked about yet,
(18:32):
but will, is practice.
Athletes, for example, they
practice 90 % of the time.
you know, and play 10%.
So when you're looking at thatkind of thing, so, you know, that
repetition going over and over issuper, super important.
And a way to create thatconfidence and maybe the authentic
way of delivering a message, youhave to look in the mirror and do
it over because it's important toget comfortable with being
uncomfortable.
So how do you do that?
(18:54):
Talk in front of the mirror and asif you were talking to someone.
I know that sounds kind of, youknow, outlandish or why do I do
that?But just as it's important, this
is back to sort of overall well-being and mental health.
Look in that mirror and maybepractice, if you don't do this, a
bit off topic.
Hey, Mike, I love you.
And you're talking to yourself, ofcourse.
But that practice and thatrepetition and just being reminded
(19:16):
that I think is so important.
Let me ask you your opinion on
referral sources, like referralpartners.
Do you have that in your network?A thousand percent.
How did you establish those?of course.
Same thing.
That's the beauty of it, I feel,
is that.
The same way that a client could
reach out to me because I saw avideo that aligns with them is the
exact same way that almost everysingle one of my referral partners
have reached out to me too.
They have clients that need to be
(19:37):
serviced.
And who do they want to trust with
that great of a responsibility?The person that they've seen
talking about a numerous amount ofthings that can also then solve
these problems for them and theirclients and provide the
exceptional service, right?So almost all of my referral
partners have pretty much comefrom contacting me first because
they saw a video that they like.
They want me to either elaborate
on it for them to then regurgitateto their client, or they just want
(20:00):
me to talk to their clientdirectly.
And now we create a partnershipfrom there onward.
All realtors, some realtors?Mainly realtors, a couple of
accountants here, more social andfinancial advisors too, lawyers as
well.
It's a mixed bag, but primarily
realtors.
Okay.
Talk to me a little bit about,because some people might be
wondering, reciprocal nature ofthe business.
So if reaching out to you andthey're sending you a client, do
they expect something in return?How is that relationship that
you've created with them?So I think the expectation is
(20:21):
different across the board, thinkthe expectation is different
across the board, but primarilythe expectation is just for me to
support that transaction orwhatever clients they send my way.
in a way that reflects one on themfor their business.
Right.
Granted, I don't know why it is
this way, but you probably agreeas well.
I find that clients reach out torealtors first, even though they
should reach out to their mortgagebroker or agent first.
So a lot of the times the clientreaches out to the realtor first
(20:41):
and then they're like, well, Ican't do anything until you get a
preapproval.
Right.
Talk to Royston.
So it's not necessarily always
going to be a two way street whereit's like, OK, I got one client
from you.
I'm going to send one back.
It's not one for one.
But in the event that I do get a
client that has reached out to mefirst and doesn't have a realtor
and also it aligns with whatthey're trying to do.
Some realtors are investor based.
(21:01):
Some realtors are strictly good
for condos and they onlyspecialize in condos.
Some realtors are in Sudbury, forexample.
You know what I mean?Location plays a factor.
So if I find, you know, that italigns, I will send that client
back to.
who it makes the most sense for
right it is a two -way street it'sjust not a one -for -one two -way
street yeah and i think realtorrelationships they have with
(21:22):
whether it's mortgage brokers andi think realtor relationships they
have with whether it's mortgagebrokers You know, one thing I want
to like you, I want to be able toconnect with you.
So I think that's an importantpiece.
And then, you know, value ofcounsel and advice, you know, and
building beyond like, you know,I'll send you one if you send me
one.
I mean, a lot of time it's not
sustainable if that's all youexpect.
That's why my thoughts on having alot of realtors, I don't know if
you need that, might have two orthree that you really like.
(21:46):
You can talk to that.
Do you have a certain amount or do
you have a large amount?I mean, if you talk about like who
I've done business with, you talkabout like who I've done business
with, I've done.
business with, I want to say like
north of like 60 realtors.
But I definitely have a core maybe
10 that I do.
constant business with and then i
have a couple that come in for acouple maybe they go elsewhere for
others and that's totally finebecause again much like i'm saying
(22:07):
you know there's a particulartransaction that a realtor might
fit well with they might feel thatthere's a particular mortgage
broker that this client fits wellwith versus another so i'm not
going to be too much of a sticklerwhen it comes to something like
that but yeah i would say likeit's a wide range of who i've done
business with overall and will dobusiness with overall but then i
have a core base that i will dobusiness with on almost like On a
weekly basis, it's almosteverything I do for that.
Let me dive into what's been goingon in the market.
(22:29):
So, you know, you can share whatyou want with our audience with
respect.
So how was your year last year?
Do you feel the ups and downs?For sure.
And, you know, how are you findingthe first quarter of this year?
What are you seeing your clientstalking to you about?
What's keeping them up at night?Good question.
For sure.
Good question.
Honestly, every year has been anascension from the year prior, and
this year's been no different.
It's been incredibly busy, which
is always a good sign, especiallyin entrepreneurship.
If that's something that peoplewant to get in, If that's
(22:50):
something that people want to getin, or even they're in the
business, maybe they're stuck.
We're all going through the same,
right?We all have the same feelings
about, oh, am I going to really dowell this year?
Is it going to be like last year?But it's a process that's
important to keep in mind and makesure you're always doing what's in
the best interest of you.
Whatever it is, you're helping and
serving.
Of course, it is, you're helping
and serving.
Of course, 100%.
And I think the conversations area little bit different.
There's a lot of uncertainty.
There's a lot of anxiety, which I
mean, granted, there's always atleast a hint of anxiety, but I
(23:16):
think a little bit more so nowthan in years prior, just because
there's just so much turmoil.
We're also dealing with the tariff
situation and what's going tohappen with our government and
where's the market going in termsof interest rates.
And it's just, there's so manydifferent moving parts and people
want to be able to make moves orpeople want to be able to, you
know, figure out what they'renext.
step is going to be.
But in the midst of so much
uncertainty and so much gray area,they kind of lean on me for, like
(23:37):
you said, that advice.
And it's just a matter of me
making sure that I'm staying up todate, staying current and doing my
research so I can give tangibleand reasonable feedback back to
them, despite whatever theirsituation might entail.
But I'm also just seeing a lotmore action being taken more so
than last year.
I think a lot of people were
setting up.
Last year, granted, there was
still a significant amount ofactivity last year.
In addition to the activity, therewas a lot of people that were just
(23:59):
like, OK, let me position myselffor the next year when I think it
makes sense for me.
Right.
And I think that a lot of peopleare sensing that there's a window
right now.
And I think that a lot of people
are sensing that there's a windowright now.
And, you know, if I was looking totransact right now, I'd want to
take action before that windowcloses.
Right.
Because once there is that
semblance of, you know, stabilityand everyone's like, OK, the worst
is behind us.
then that's when prices will start
to increase.
And people don't want to be in
(24:21):
that predicament paying more thanthey had to had they taken action
sooner.
So a lot of people are looking to
just kind of get thatunderstanding right now.
What do I need to do to be in thebest position in three months, six
months, a year from now?Or what can I do right now?
Because I see a lot of opportunityand a lot of things that I like
right now, which I think there'san abundance of right now.
Do you have a best practice ofwhat you're doing with clients
that maybe you haven't talked tobefore?
(24:42):
you have a best practice of whatyou're doing with clients that
maybe you haven't talked tobefore?
communication that you're sendingto them.
And, you know, this is beingrecorded today, April 16th, but
the Bank of Canada held rates thesame.
Are you reaching out to clientsbefore, after, during, like,
what's your communication piecewith your client base?
Constant follow -up.
It can be meticulous, but it's
necessary.
I don't want to say it's cookie
cutter because it isn't.
And the reality is everyone's
follow -up should be differentbecause everyone's situation is
(25:03):
different.
I'm a big fan of, okay, if our
first conversation is today, yoursituation is A. You want to do B.
We're trying to get you from pointA to point B. Everyone's distance
from those two points isdifferent.
Maybe based off of where you arecurrently and where you want to
go, you require a monthly followup.
Right.
So I'll be following up with you
May 16th.
Right.
Maybe it's someone was like, OK,based off where you are today and
where you want to be, ideally,maybe there's a lot more work that
(25:24):
needs to be done.
Here's what you need to do between
now and then.
We're going to follow up in July.
And I'm setting my constantreminders to follow up with people
and I'm setting it on the call.
Like I'm not letting people, you
know, okay, you get back to me andyou let me know because the
reality is I want to make surethat people understand that I'm
just as invested as they are intheir journey.
And I think that's, again,speaking to how you're able to
connect with people and reallybuild those relationships.
It starts from the firstconversation because if people get
the sense of, okay, you know what,you're just doing this because you
(25:47):
have to.
You tell me to follow up when I'm
ready.
You don't really care.
Right.
And if they don't feel like you
care.
then they're going to find
somebody who does.
Right.
And that person might be me.
So let me ask you about your
follow -up.
let me ask you about your follow
-up.
So I agree.
Follow -up is super, superimportant.
You know, that's one of my 30steps is the follow -up piece.
Do you have CRM?Like what have you incorporated
into your business?Yeah, I use Zoho.
(26:08):
Blue Mortgage?Correct.
Okay.
Yeah.
Tom, shout out to you if you'relistening to the podcast.
Tom is supposed to be a guest.
So Tom is the founder of Blue
Mortgage.
Tom, founder of Blue Mortgage.
Ah, well, I need to get hiscontact information.
I think Blue's a great platform.
He's finding which platform works.
Yeah.
I have no problems with it, and
it's just a matter of doing thefine tweaking and specifications
to make it cater to how you likeyour things to be set up.
(26:29):
But my follow -up is based off ofCRM and Google Calendar.
It really is that simple.
And just making sure that you're
taking notes, making sure that youknow exactly what was talked about
on day one, so that when youfollow up on day 30 or day 60, you
know what it was talked about.
putting down what was the advice
given so that you know what tofollow up on in X amount of time.
(26:51):
You know, Yeah.
Royston, you said your friends
call you Roy, right?But you said you called yourself
Royston.
Now I'm among the feds.
I'll answer to both.
But what do your best friend call
you?right?
Right.
Okay, right, okay.
I just want to make sure.
Should I be my best friend?
No, yeah, no, excuse me, excuseme.
All kidding aside, it's music tomy ears with respect to these
notes, right?So I'm a big journaler.
Like if you ever look at my CRM,and I've had a couple, but, you
(27:11):
know, I've been with Blue for thelast 18 months or so.
But because of how I created thatplatform, so I want to share a
little bit about this.
no, All You look back at my notes,
I have them as old as 2013starting.
It's all dated and it's almostdate stamps.
all dated and it's almost datestamps.
And to your point, compliance inour business, of course, as you
all know, is important and itneeds to be adhered to.
(27:32):
If somebody, a compliance officeror audit of your file is being
picked up, And you shouldn't haveto describe what you did with this
file.
The compliance or audit person
should be able to read.
everything that's happened with
that file and that's the importantpart of the note so you know music
to my ears i love hearing itbecause it gives me belief and
faith to be honest that you knowbecause you're from a different
generation than i am right youknow 15 years removed from where i
(27:53):
am where you are currently and tohear that you know makes me feel
good about it you know that's whythere's that 80 20 world 80
percent of business done by 20 ofthe people because i think there
are practices and processes righti think there are practices and
processes that are important to bein play to continue your success.
So good for you for doing that.
Thank you.
Super impressed and just happy tohear it.
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
That means a lot.
And I think that that's a direct
(28:14):
testament to, again, whatbrokerage you choose and what
tutelage you're getting becauseit's ingrained in me.
Yeah.
Yeah, I know for sure.
We were talking a little bit aboutthe marketing demographic and not
the uncertainty.
So of course, like I said, the
Bank Canada as of April 16th heldweights.
Do you have any forecasting?Are you in the postcasting
prediction game?I am not.
Yeah, it's like some of yourmentors, perhaps, or the leaders
at Margella, have they sharedsomething they believe might be
(28:35):
happening in the markets?Again, nobody knows.
I share my sense on the market andprovide as much counsel and advice
as I can from the data that'sbeing produced, bond yields and
the curves on the yields andtreasuries in the U .S.
But is there any, like, what'syour thoughts?
I mean, I am not.
Yeah, it's like some I the mean,
my personal thoughts are that,like, I don't think we're at the
bottom just yet.
in terms of rates and what's going
to be happening with the Bank ofCanada, but I don't think that
(28:57):
we're far off from it.
And the reason behind that is
just, I don't believe in thenotion, and I've said this from
prior to the rates being decreasedover the past, what, eight, nine
months.
We don't want to repeat what we
just experienced, right?So by bringing rates all the way
down to the high ones and lowtwos, I don't think that there's
any benefit in it.
And those are not going to be
around for a long time.
Exactly.
And the norm prior to those ultralow rates, was around that three
(29:17):
-ish, you know, mid threes, lowthrees.
So let me peel back on you a bitmore.
let me peel back on you a bitmore.
So from 2002 to about 2007, beforethe financial crisis, rates,
believe it or not, were like fiveand a half, 6%.
Yeah.
Okay.
But property values were lowerthan what they were.
Financial crisis hit, ratesdropped, rates were low in the...
You know, 299 range to 3 .5 rangefor a long while.
(29:39):
Then you had BMO who came out witha 199 rate.
And then I think HFD, you know, 0.99 % from 2010 to 2019 or
thereabouts.
Before COVID, here's the
interesting part.
than Rates were already getting to
the 3 .8 to 4 .2 range.
People were really nervous about
that.
And then, of course, COVID, they
dipped and then they went thisway.
But to your point, normalization,maybe low threes.
To low fours, I think is whereit's going to go.
(29:59):
And I think that's where we areright now.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's in a lot of cases, depending
on the products and depending onthe transactions.
There's three buckets, as wetalked about with rates, that
people get sort of slotted into.
So that they have one rate for
everyone just doesn't exist.
Exactly.
But it's interesting about howit's going to sort of normalize.
And I think that's healthy for theeconomy.
Agreed.
Here's something I've also said
before.
Clients are typically only
careable rate.
And I think that's where we are
(30:21):
right now.
yeah, Because there's a lack of
value or there's an absence ofvalue.
Now, what I mean by an absence ofvalue, whether it's the value
you're providing, whether it's thevalue of the product, people only
will choose rate or focus on ratebecause there is an absence.
of value.
And I think that's super
important.
I agree.
You're being mindful of that.
(30:41):
And that's good just for our young
listeners.
Those are, again, maybe just
starting out.
Somebody that's, you know, in
their 20s and they're trying toengage, you know, how they're
going to navigate the industry.
If I could make a recommendation,
it would definitely be make sureyou focus on meaningful, valuable
conversations.
I agree.
You know, because a lot of thethings that people want to focus
on is just rate and do yourself adisservice.
I agree.
And you're not doing any kind of
service to the client.
And even if they started, I think
(31:01):
it's our responsibility to helpthem steer away from the rate.
I do understand the implication.
do understand the implication.
You know, over the past, I think,two years, the most common rate
obsession.
There was like some specialty
products where like you can get anultra low rate compared to all of
the lenders for six months.
And then after that six months,
you're getting an inflated ratefor the remaining however many
years.
And or you're paying a very hefty
(31:24):
penalty to leave that lender.
I have not put a single one of my
clients in this product, but I'vehad a numerous amount of people
who got put in that product byother brokers have reached out to
me afterward because they're like,well, how did I not know?
And I'm like, well, you know,first of all, the onus is on
whoever your representative wasthat told you about this.
(31:45):
in the first place because this isnot something that is just known
by the general public.
Someone brought this to you and
they didn't educate you on thefull extent of this product.
And now you're in a position whereyou regret taking it.
The six, well, let's call it ahalf a percent discount that you
may have gotten.
It wasn't worth it in the long run
(32:07):
because now you're facing apercent higher than what you
should have access to for anextended amount of time.
or a large penalty out of pocketthat needs to be paid.
And again, having the larger focuson not just rate, because not to
say that rate isn't important, buton all the other aspects and all
the other implications of what itis that you're actually signing up
for versus what else is out there.
Right.
years.
And And the other thing to be
mindful of, a client who's goingto save, let's say, $5 ,000 over a
(32:30):
five -year period, if they're notbeing told or talked about the
value of another product thatcould save them.
$20 ,000, it's not the rate you'regetting and the difference that is
going to prevent you from save oninterest or pay more interest.
It's how it's going to all workout in the long run.
In terms of saving money, I had asituation where someone's closing
on a pre -construction, as youknow, that's going to cause stir
for appraisal.
And there was a difference of, I
(32:53):
think, maybe 0 .2 % on theinterest rate.
One lender was requiring thatappraisal, and the one that had
the slightly higher interest ratewas not.
And we were not confident inproperty appraising, which would
have then cost that client a wholelarge lump sum down payment
because that would have been areduced mortgage amount overall.
So that is a huge example of notglorifying or over obsessing over
interest rate when you have tolook at all the other value adds,
(33:17):
especially when looking at thingslike path of least resistance.
Yes, yes.
I can't stress enough how
important it is to provideclients, even our partners, our
friends with counsel.
and advice.
The industry no longer shouldaccept order takers and paper
pushers.
It just shouldn't, you know, but
there's a lot because they don'tget to support.
They don't have the confidence.
They don't have the understanding
chasing money.
Remember, money always outruns
you.
(33:37):
So those are things, you know, the
industry needs as a whole,mortgage broker industry, the real
estate industry, the financialadvisor industry.
Everyone, especially duringuncertain times like Roy and I are
chatting about, they need counseland advice, not paper pushers and
order takers.
So in closing, let me leave you
with the last word, Roy.
Where do you see yourself in one,
three, five years?I'm not asking you to go into
detail, but you've been in thebusiness four years now.
(34:00):
You've had some great successbuilt on the strategies, the
processes, the follow -ups.
Where do you see yourself?
Doing and how the industry mightchange a bit as we close out our
episode.
Good question.
Honestly speaking, I'm a verylofty goal setter.
So, I mean, last year I was thenumber six overall producer at my
brokerage.
Nice.
This year I'm going to do cracktop five.
And then in the next.
Three and five up in the same
bracket.
A goal of mine, I want to create
(34:20):
like a lending.
I don't want to be necessarily a
private lender, but I do want toget more into the realm of lending
just because there are a lot ofsituations where, especially with
first time home buyers, thatthere's just a hurdle that's hard
to clear for them, especially withthe market trending in the way
that it's trending.
And I want to find a way to
creatively help people get intothe market, whether that be, you
know, for a short term.
(34:40):
push up just to kind of help
people get in and then they cankind of find their footing
afterward.
But that's kind of one of my
missions is just to kind of helpfor some homebuyers specifically,
because I know how difficult itcan be.
I have those conversations on aregular basis and I feel the pain
and the disdain and I kind of wantto just find a way to help out in
some way.
And I think that if I can find.
you know, a niche type of first-time homebuyer mortgage solution,
(35:02):
be the pioneer of it.
I think that'd be really impactful
and helpful.
Yeah.
And then, you know, Yeah.
And then, you know, I super
respect that a great deal.
It's hard, It's hard, but I'm
trying.
Yeah, no, but listen, you know,
Yeah, no, but listen, you know,it's funny, you know, I say it all
the time, you know, the future iscreated in the present.
So the fact that you're thinkingabout it brings some action to
(35:23):
play is respectable.
I admire that.
It just speaks to who you are as aperson.
We appreciate having you on ourepisode.
Hopefully we'll have another one.
Yeah, of course.
When you get that studio set up.
Yes.
Yeah, of course.
When you get that studio set up.
Yes.
Yes, thank you.
Let's not let up all the secrets.
Yes.
Yes, thank you.
Let's not let up all the secrets.
(35:45):
If our audience wanted to get ahold of you, what's the best way
of them connecting with you?It won't be hard to find me.
It won't be hard to find me.
You can open up your Instagram.
You can open up your TikTok.
Type in Financial Solutions.
That's F -L -Y -Y -N -A -N -C -I-A -L dot solutions.
(36:07):
And I am only a click away.
Amazing.
And I will say this in closing.
I will say this in closing.
I may have said this once before.
Of course, podcasting is something
that I really love and I'mpassionate about to share and help
young entrepreneurs.
Don't forget to subscribe and
(36:28):
like.
We love the support so we can
continue to grow this.
The more subscribership we have,
the more opportunity we'll havefor more people to hear the
messages that we're delivering.
And again, Roy, thank you so much.
I truly appreciate you andappreciate the opportunity to go
over everything we talked abouttoday.
So thank you.
truly Thank you as well.
Thank you, guys.
Enjoy.
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