Education in real estate is a key element in a successful real estate or financial decision you make. In 1999 when I got into this crazy world of finance I realized early on that consumers lacked in this fundamental component. I have personally witnessed the ruin of many a man and woman. Trusting underqualified financial security advisors and relying on the guidance of salespeople at banks rather than relying on the advice and guidance of qualified and reputable professionals is financial suicide!
The fundamental problem arises from the way that our financial and real estate industries are governed and how the licenses are issued to individuals. Banks call the mortgage salespeople by the term “mortgage specialists” which gives the clients the impression that the person who they are meeting with is a true mortgage professional when in reality the week before they could have been working flipping burgers at your local fast food joint. The consumer further cannot identify what is the difference between a mortgage specialist and a mortgage broker. In the financial world, you have the same thing occurring as you have what are called captive agents working for large insurance companies pushing life insurance products that might or might not fit the interest of the client.
A broker is an independent party, who is mandated and has a fiduciary duty towards his clients to provided them with the best possible solution for their individual situation. They are used to putting parties together and for that, they are usually renumerated via the financial institution or the selling party of the service. In most cases, the broker is a highly trained professional with an education within the field that they are brokering. They are licensed by a governing body and they have errors and omissions insurance to protect the contracting parties. Individuals who work within financial Institutions or insurance companies do not require to hold any licenses at all and education is provided by the institution that they are employed by. The conflict of interest for these salespeople is huge. They are mandated by the banks they work for to pump out dicey insurance and mortgage products meanwhile putting the interests of the clients secondary.
Since we built North East, we have focused on client education first. Our clients are first educated in the entire mortgage, real estate & insurance process via one of our qualified brokers. Once this process has been completed, they are better equipped to deal with the future. This is a free service we provide to our clients and it is the cornerstone of our success. Our “Real Estate Show” that we host on CJAD is as well focused on education. We cover ALL elements of your financial and estate needs in a 1-hour program. It is a valuable resource and I encourage those who have not listened to it before to tune into our Archives here on our Media page.
As the mortgage and real estate landscape changes in the next few months, it is pivotal to make sure that you are working with qualified individuals. Tune in weekly to our show on CJAD 800AM on Sundays from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM or you can stream online at http://www.iheartradio.ca/cjad. If you have not done so already, please take a moment and like our Facebook page located at https://www.facebook.com/NorthEastNordEst. Let us help you just like we have helped tens of thousands of Canadians.
Looking forward to serving you
Terry Kilakos