Please navigate here for the full 7 page discussion: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/ask-a-mortgage-broker-variable-or-fixed/article2231134

Thanks again to Gillian at the Globe and Mail for allowing me the opportunity!

“Vancouver mortgage broker Jessi Johnson says a mortgage broker can help you with all aspects of a mortgage, from figuring out how much you can truly afford, to determining the best mortgage product for you, to finding ways to save you money and pay off your mortgage faster.

In addition, you should expect your mortgage broker to review your mortgage a few times a year to see how you can pay it off faster, whether it’s still the right product for you, and if it’s still competitive. “It’s very rare that you’re going to get that service from a bank,” he says.”

“Mr. Johnson says you should look for someone with several years experience, who is licensed, and has the title AMP – accredited mortgage professional. Mortgage brokers are regulated provincially so you can check with your provincial regulator on the website for the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals. The organization also has an online directory that can help your search for a broker.

“Like every industry there are rookies, so be careful when researching your broker, get a good idea about their experience before proceeding,” he suggests.

Many brokers now do the bulk of their work online, Mr. Johnson says, and that’s not an issue as long as there’s enough communication with the client either via e-mail or over the phone – and their online application process is secure. “To be honest, the majority of our clients don’t leave their living room, and I don’t blame them,” he says.”

“Mortgage brokers are paid their fee by the lender, not by the person who is using the mortgage broker’s service, says Mr. Johnson. “There’s no cost for the client.” Be aware though, whether you’re doing a new mortgage, a refinancing or renewal, to ask whether there are any legal or appraisal fees, he says. Legal fees for a new mortgage can be about $1,000, but sometimes a lender may cover both legal and appraisal fees; you just have to ask.

Right now, one of the big questions for those looking for a mortgage is whether to go for a fixed or variable mortgage, says Mr. Johnson. While historically variable mortgages have had better rates than fixed mortgages, that’s not necessarily the case right now.

“Any time the fixed and variable rates are very close I do recommend going fixed and they are close right now,” he says. Up until recently about 90 per cent of the mortgages he arranged were variable, but now more are fixed.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/home-cents/why-use-a-mortgage-broker/article2232577

“I had heard about this occurring back in the day – in the 80s or 90s – but it hadn’t ever encountered this until recently,” Jessi Johnson, president of Verico Jessi Johnson Mortgage Team, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “I’ve had about three or four recent cases where the banks were willing to eat the penalty in order to keep a refinancing client”. The scenario is similar to those of a handful of brokers working the increasingly competitive Vancouver market, as banks and large credit unions sharpen their elbows in order to grow and retain clients. That contest has been largely limited to rate wars. The newfound willingness of banks to assume responsibility for penalties attached to premature closing is a relatively new and disturbing addition to the battlefield, said Johnson. Other brokers suggest the tool is being applied at the branch level, and outside of any corporate-wide policy directive. The effects, regardless, are the same. When it comes to a lender eating a penalty that is larger than the commission they’re paying brokers,” said Johnson, “we as brokers can’t compete. Thankfully, we’re seeing it used in a limited number of cases and it represents an unsustainable strategy for the banks.”

Banks, and other institutional lenders have traditionally used penalties , including an IRD – a rate equal to the difference between the original mortgage rate and the interest that the lender could charge today for the same mortgage– to compensate themselves when a client opts to pay off a fixed-rate mortgage prior to maturity. That penalty has actually grown as lenders lower their rates to keep pace with falling bond yields. It makes the willingness of some lenders to now forfeit those charges all the more remarkable.

Todd Fralic, an industry veteran and partner at Quantus Mortgage Solutions in Calgary, has seen the approach before, although without the rate match that Johnson and others are pointing to.

“It happens,” he told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “But usually, in our experience, the banks make it up on the back-end, with a slightly higher rate. Nothing surprises me with the banks offering deals that don’t seem to be good business.”

They’re not necessarily alone, with some brokers themselves offering to pay a prospective client’s penalty in order to get them to break an existing mortgage.

“Well I think having business is better than not having business, so in my opinion you should do whatever it takes to retain a client,” Jackson Cunningham, a broker with TMG The Mortgage Group in Vancouver, told MortgageBrokerNews. “Although I prefer to see something in writing from their bank before I will buy down a rate or pay for a penalty.” Still it’s not necessarily an approach he’s used, despite recently losing deals to banks that have, at least in one case, offered the eqivalent of prime minus 115 in order to retain a client.

Eating penalties may be even less sustainable for brokers than the banks, said Johnson, suggesting he’s done better by salvaging the client-broker relationship after the deal goes south…to the competition. “I’ve lost the deal but not the client,” he told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “I plan to actively maintain my relationship with the client in hopes of winning back their business in the future.”

CLICK HERE to view the story on CMP’s website

By Vernon Clement Jones (CMP Magazine)

“Leads from social media – Facebook and Twitter – and our newsletters account for 20 to 25 per cent of our leads,” Jessi Johnson, president of Verico Jessi Johnson Mortgage Team, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “It’s hard to know exactly what percentage of that is specifically from Facebook or Twitter or the newsletter, but I’m using social media to help me stay on the radar of prospective leads and to help me cement name recognition.” Johnson, in fact, has 15,000 followers on Twitter, one of the highest in the industry. It’s a carefully selected list of potential and existing clients, although the idea is to create a social connection as well as to help position himself as an expert on mortgages, said Johnson, one of the industry’s first to incorporate social media lead-generation methods into his marketing strategy. “About 25 per cent of my Tweets and my Facebook posts are personal,” he said. “If you talk mortgages all day, you’re going to bore people to death.”

Lam, who also opts for a softer sales technique, agrees.

“Rather than use Social Media as blatant request for business, we try hard to create content that is engaging,” he said. “Ultimately, we want our users to dialogue with us.”

Still, for brokers, the volume of users is key, say experts, with the most effective networks measured in the tens of thousands of followers and Facebook friends. Gaining that kind of audience is a challenge in itself, according to brokers who make a point of following prospective clients first in hopes they’ll reciprocate.

“By following someone, you’re paying them a compliment and they’ll usually follow you,” said Johnson. “You have to be on social media these days: it is the new method for communication; I have friends that don’t even read an email; you have to keep pretty active on it, though. Having a Twitter account of 200 or 300 people isn’t going to do anything for you.”

Still, even ardent believers in the power of social media to grow referral and, ultimately, deals, suggest it’s best used as a complement to more orthodox marketing tools, not a replacement.

CLICK HERE to view the story on CMP’s website

By Vernon Clement Jones (CMP Magazine)

A Brave New World: How technology is changing the industry

Many mortgage brokers seemingly try to keep on top of a million things at once. Whether it’s answering their BlackBerry, visiting clients, checking emails, processing applications or setting up new marketing campaigns, brokers always have to be ready to attend to whatever may come their way in order to keep up with all the demands of the industry. However, as brokerages continue to take on more business and competition in the industry grows even fiercer, many are beginning to find the profession that much more challenging, especially those neglecting technology.

Those who use technology at their brokerages, however, generally have been able to cope with the current demands, and actually exceed them. While paper piles up in the offices of brokers who are unable or unwilling to take advantage of current innovations, mortgage agents who are well-versed in today’s technology have been able to free up more time, make their businesses run more efficiently and, most importantly, they’ve been able to attract and retain a large clientele base. As more brokers catch on to this trend, the industry as a whole continues to move closer to becoming almost completely electronic, leaving the old days of paper applications and fax machines to fade into oblivion.

Ten years ago, mortgage brokers could still get away with overlooking technological advancements and doing business the old way, says Jim Black, mortgage expert and owner of Dominion Lending Centres Mortgage Excellence in Lethbridge, Alta. But in an industry in which nearly all mortgage applications are submitted online by using web-based mortgage-origination software platforms, Black says individual brokers are finding that they need to catch up to today’s innovations. “If you’re missing the computer or technology train, you’re missing out,” he says. “But if you get up to speed on some of the basic technologies … it’s proven it’s only going to help you.”

Having a company with an effective website and database, or a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool, integrated with either Filogix Expert or Marlborough Stirling Canada’s MorWEB, is just the standard for any new brokerage to get started nowadays, he says. All of these tools free up time in a variety of different ways. For example, when consumers fill out applications directly on Black’s website, which is integrated with Expert, he’ll automatically receive an e-mail on his BlackBerry alerting him that an application has been started. He then reviews the forms and if all the information needed is included, he e-mails his client a PDF file to get their signature for the application, which they can then print out, sign, scan and e-mail back to him. Finally, he can go to his Expert account, where the application created on his website was automatically sent, approve it and send it directly to a lender. Before Expert was around and he had a website, he said he would have had to do that whole process by fax, which more than doubles the time.

Jessi Johnson, chief executive officer and president of Jessi Johnson Mortgage Team based in Langley B.C., says when he started his company a year ago, he was intent on using technology in a way that would maximize his business. Today, 95 per cent of all of his clients’ mortgage applications are filled out online and nearly all of his files are stored electronically. “I can probably do two to three times the volume than someone using paper applications and standard fax machines,” he explains. “This isn’t bragging, but simple numbers. It takes our office zero seconds to collect an application and only a few minutes to have it ready for submission. You can’t beat that,” Johnson adds.

Mortgage-origination software
Mortgage-origination software is another area where Johnson has seen a big development. After using Filogix Expert for more than three years, Johnson says he switched to MorWEB, because it is a client-based system, whereas Expert is a deal-based system. Brokers using Expert must resubmit their clients’ information if they need a new mortgage, since the application does not keep client records. To manage that data, brokers should find a CRM that can be integrated with Expert, such as inContact’s CRM NEXA.

Johnson says this area of technology in the industry is one that needs more competition in order to spur further innovations and developments to make doing business even more convenient for brokers. “The Filogix versus MorWEB situation reminds me of Microsoft versus Mac. If Morweb keeps its head up, it will be very interesting to see how much market share they will have in five years.”

But there is another player emerging in the market for mortgage-origination software: Axcess Canada. Malcolm Collett, director of marketing at The Mortgage Group Canada Inc. in B.C., says Axcess Canada could really end up giving the other companies in this sector “a run for their money.”

The two-year-old company, partnered with Axcess Consulting Pty Ltd. in Australia, and Axcess Americas in the U.S., offers a web-based CRM called the Axcess Relationship Manager (ARM) that takes care of mortgages from origination through to completion, says Tim Shkolnik, vice-president of solutions and development at Axcess Canada Inc. Ontario. “We don’t hand off the mortgage after it’s been originated. We’re managing arrears, collection, monthly interest accrual, payment management, collection and servicing – everything right through to discharge,” Shkolnik adds.

What makes Axcess Canada stand out from the competition, he says, is the amount of control brokers have to customize their ARM account. “We do business in the way the company wants to, rather than telling them here’s how you’re going to work ,and here’s the screen you’re going to use, and here’s the process you’re going to follow. We go the opposite way by asking the company how they want to do things.”

Do you need a CRM
While using one of these service providers to connect to lenders is pretty much a necessity in today’s industry, brokers that use Expert and MorWEB still have the option of choosing to use a CRM. Some brokers, however, just prefer to make their own database. Black, for instance, made his by using Microsoft Access. To those who may think that creating database would be extremely taxing, Black says that’s not the case. “It’s simple enough for people to go to Chapters and buy Access for Dummies and they could do a really basic database on their own … I’ll never say it’s simple, but anyone could do it, given a little time and effort.” To do his mail-outs, he then imports his client lists from his database into Sendoutcards.com to forward thank-you cards, birthday cards and other notifications to clients.

For those who don’t necessarily want to create their own database, there are a number of different companies that offer CRMs. Software Developer Shane Lemon, owner of Shane Lemon Software Consulting Inc., for instance provides a CRM called Coconut that allows brokers to track their brokerage’s and their own commissions, as well as client information, whether it’s by deal and contact details. The system can be integrated with Filogix Expert and when users send a newsletter through Coconut, the system can distinguish between referral sources and clients, sending different messages to different groups.

Lemon says he got into the business because he wanted to give brokers a better way to manage their clients’ information and track their commissions, rather than relying on a simple spreadsheet. “I realize it’s hard to change something that you think is working, but Coconut is a much more effective tool then stand-alone spreadsheets and whiteboards. Coconut replaces your whiteboard with an online dashboard, complete with all your current clients and automated reminders based on your current and past deal life cycle and spreadsheets are replaced by easy-to-use forms and comprehensive reporting.”

While CRMs are great for brokerages that are just starting out, they’re not necessarily the best bet for companies that have the capital to create their own, says Albert Collu, CEO and president of Argentum Mortgage and Finance Group, and vice-president of the Independent Mortgage Brokers Association of Ontario. “In my opinion, I think we have far too much technology out there,” he says. “I think all these pieces of technology and software platforms do a good job in themselves, but they’re all over the map. The irony is they were supposed to create efficiencies and help you with your business, but many of them have become so bloody cumbersome that no one actually uses them anymore.”

When he started his company a year ago he knew right from the start that he would need a CRM that could be used as a central point to store and manage data. So he produced his own software application called The Stream. “I knew if we opened the doors and created an organization that was just like every other brokerage we would have been dead in the water before we even started,” adds Collu, who’s been a mortgage broker for more than 10 years.

Argentum uses The Stream to create mortgage applications, interact with clients and manage documents for compliance and record-keeping. The CRM is fully integrated with his website, document management systems and is connected to an online mortgage-origination software platform for application submission. “You’re just taking the data and dropping it in a central portal and pushing it out to all the relevant areas. It puts everything on autopilot so to speak.”

The Stream has given his agents a greater ability to understand the company database, develop relationships with clients and find new business. But most importantly, it’s allowed Argentum to gain more business. “Most agents spend almost half their time on administrative functions rather than developing their business, whereas our system has diminished that to maybe five or 10 per cent.”

Jessi Johnson is another broker who hasn’t found a CRM he’s totally comfortable with. Until he finds something that can work for his business, he’ll continue using Microsoft Excel to manage his client data. “Don’t get me wrong, I am sure they work for a basic broker, but unfortunately I have a very complicated setup.”

Online marketing
Johnson’s focus, however, is less on what application he uses for client-data management and more on how he markets his company. Johnson, who teaches marketing at seminars hosted by the Mortgage Brokers Association of British Columbia, built his business by using technology. His colleague Mike Averbach, president of TMG Averbach Mortgages Ltd., says he can remember when other people in the industry would say that “mortgage brokers shouldn’t try re-inventing the wheel without learning the fundamentals first, but Jessi came in and re-invented the wheel.”

Johnson admits when he first started out he was only focused on clients who understood current technology. After a short while of working with that in mind, he realized he could build a successful business targeting only those consumers. “I don’t really want a client who doesn’t use e-mail or the Internet. Those files take 10 times as long to complete and those clients are literally a dying breed. We prefer to focus on the younger clientele and teach them cool new tricks to be more financially savvy.”

He says he’s used social media websites not to sell his products but to educate people with quality information. By doing that he was able to increase his business’s exposure and give consumers an incentive to call him when they need a mortgage. By using Twitter.com, he says he’s been able to give his business a “personal touch,” which seems to be harder to establish these days, since brokers have less face-to-face interaction with their clients.” Johnson currently has more than 10,000 followers on his twitter account, giving him a reach into a market that others cannot access.

However, before brokers even worry themselves with social media, they need to develop and maintain a decent website, Collu says. “There is going to be more and more demand for brokers to have robust websites that have ample information that capture audiences or visitors and entice further interaction,”

And even though there’s a growing demand for well-developed websites, he’s seen a lot of reluctance among brokers to fill what he calls “a very big void” in the industry. “It doesn’t matter what you want as a broker or agent, the only thing that matters is what the consumer demands. Over 80 per cent of consumers right now will visit the Internet for mortgage and home advice before even contacting a human being. If that’s not a kick in the rear-end to change habits, I don’t what is!”

Even though having a superior website with great information and tools is crucial for success, it’s all for nothing if no one sees it, says Averbach. So the next step brokers should take, if they have the budget for it, is to hire a search-engine-optimization specialist to make their websites rank higher on search engines. Averbach says this is particularly important because most people looking for a mortgage, between the ages of 25 and 45, start by using search engines, and they usually end up selecting with what’s closest to the top.

CLICK HERE for the interview posted on CMP magazine

By Jessi Johnson

Click here to view the magazine version: http://www.jessijohnson.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/you.com_.pdf

About three and a half years ago, I obtained my mortgage broker license. It was a good day, but now what do I do? I can ramble on for hours about marketing but none of it means anything unless you have one key tool, a website. This wonderful instrument should be a staple in the daily operations of every broker, especially when looking towards the years ahead. Without a sharp sword, how can a warrior fight? A sharp website can be viewed as a glorified business card. Would you go to networking event without business cards? Of course not, so why would you run your business without a site? There is a very good chance you may already have a website and if this is the case, I hope my article can provide suggestions on how to increase your traffic. I will say it now and I will say it again, get a website and be discovered.

There a two main types of mortgage broker websites. The first is a supportive tool where potential clients can look you up online, check out your pretty pictures and hopefully call you or apply online. The second is a marketing tool used to generate business. I myself have both, but certainly don’t suggest that for everyone. Maintaining a good website is a lot of work, ever more work when you have two. First decide which type of website you are going to create, then progress from there. This is very important because your first step or phase of website creation is to pick a domain. Your domain will appear in the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) which is the small box on your browser where you type in a website address. This is the most important item because it is the ultimate key word for search engines. Take your time when deciding the domain. If you are going to create a supportive website then the domain is simple, www.yourname.com. Dot com’s are not so crucial these days. Dot ca will work great but there are others to consider: dot me (.me) or dot tv (.tv), etc. If you are creating a marketing site with a specific niche, then I would take more time with your domain decision.

Once you decide on your domain, you need to create a budget for your website creation. There are cookie cutter websites out there for about $500, or you could drop as much as $20,000. It all depends on how crazy you want to go. Do your research and get quotes in writing with detailed breakdowns of what is being offered. You should expect to pay 2-5k for something good, and I suggest using Ballistic Arts (www.ballisticarts.com) for this price range. Anyone reading this article who knows me personally, I am very particular when it comes to business (or in general according to my fiancée), and therefore I do my research and you can trust my suggestions.

So now that you have an idea of what you are going to do and who is putting it together, we must decide on a backend. This is the program used to update and maintain your website. Yes you can pay someone each month to update your site for you, or you can use a nice backend tool like WordPress. This allows you to easily update your website without throwing money away by the hour. Both my sites are designed on WordPress (www.jessijohnson.ca and www.firsthomeinfo.ca).  Different people are comfortable with different levels of technology, so do your research and select what works for you. Your next step is to decide on key words, these wonderful words are to be used thoroughly throughout your site and will be what people type in a search engine to find you. I suggest choosing ten and sticking with them.

Now comes the fun stuff, creating content. Good content helps generate traffic. It is suggested to have to least 250 words of copy per page. Write everything on a word document to be easily copied and pasted onto the site. Once you have a good enough idea of your content, you need to create a layout. Try to make this simple and easy to navigate. Your web designer should have many ideas for you, I suggest researching other quality sites in your industry for ideas. There are some important items in these current times to remember when creating your layout with a website for a mortgage broker in mind:

• Make sure to have your “follow me” social media links to expand your network
• Have a subscribe now and unsubscribe for your newsletter
• Post testimonials from your clients about how great you are
• Don’t forget your online mortgage calculator (hint: send this link to all your realtors)
• Have an area for reciprocal industry links to high quality sites, this will help generate traffic
• Offering free reports is a great way to increase your database
• If you post rates, keep them current! It looks terrible having outdated stats
• Last but certainly not least, make sure to have an online application on your site

Instead of programming or designing an online application, I suggest talking to Morweb. In my option they are the superior choice for a program to work on mortgage deals and their online applications are excellent. Remember to collect ID and thoroughly review documents if you don’t meet the client when using an online application.

The most consistent expense you will have with running a website is your hosting cost. This can range from about ten dollars a month to hundreds depending on the service. Hosting is the location for your website and data to be stored. If you are just starting out, www.godaddy.com will have some good cost efficient hosting packages for you. Their customer service is reasonable but you will eventually need to upgrade if your site grows with traffic. Now I use a company called Robson Inc, they are rock-solid and worth every penny.

So you have a website, now what the heck do you do? First off, make sure you have a blog or at least an area where you can continuously add content. Search engines love new content and so do your viewers. Remember to use your keywords and keep focused on your niche. The word of the day is SEO, this stands for search engine optimization. The concept is to maximize your sites potential to be found on search engines. By using certain strategies in your website design, this will gain you higher rankings with the search engines. A high Google ranking means more visitors which generates more business. Google isn’t the only search engine but it is certainly the largest. Don’t expect overnight success from your website. If done properly you will see results in good time. I am by no means the master of SEO and this is always a learning process. Internet will be your best friend if you learn how to use SEO.

Marketing your site is another step but prior to this you need to have your site connected to Google Analytics. This magnificent tool monitors your site traffic and marketing campaigns. By now you should already have a blog on your website and some content, now let’s work on showing this to the world. There are many ways to generate traffic. You can read and comment on relevant industry blogs with links to your site. Advertising on Google Adwords or Facebook can be successful but certainly not cheap. Personally, I suggest using this only after the above stages are complete. Here you have the option of paying on a per click basis or per view. If you would like to learn more about advertising your site, I suggest checking out www.reachd.com and attending a few seminars.

I remember one day this past summer, the sun was shining, the temperature was about 35 degrees and I was working from home where the pleasures of air conditioning don’t exist. The fan was on full blast but I needed more circulation. My front door doesn’t stay open on its own so I had to prop it up, after looking around I discovered the perfect tool, a Yellow Pages book. Do you get my point here? Gone are the days of flipping through countless pages to look something up, if people want anything they look for it on Google. The Yellow Pages are archaic; search engines will make you money! Get a website and be found.

Steps:

Phase one:

1. Figure out your niche
2. Buy a domain (check out dotster.com or godaddy.com)
3. Create a budget and find a web designer
4. Decide on a back end (wordpress, etc)

Phase two:

1. Decide on ten “key words”
2. Start writing content
3. Create a website layout
4. Purchase Hosting (I suggest Robson inc)

Phase three:

1. Create your blog or area for continuous content additions
2. Design your site to be SEO friendly
3. Decide how you are going to market your site
4. Tell EVERYONE about your awesome site

Why is it that some people’s veins pulsate from the stress of purchasing their first home, while others don’t even break a sweat? In most circumstances the answer is simple; some are properly prepared while others aren’t. Is it really that difficult to send in the documents to your broker prior to writing an offer? Wait, your broker hasn’t asked for any documents? Get a new broker. Educate yourself with the right questions or attend a first home buyer seminar hosted by a trusted and reputable broker. A quick one hour seminar can give you all the information you need to know that will seriously decrease your stress load.

Let’s say you avoid proper qualification and the lender doesn’t like your job letter/ T4’s. Odds are he will demand to see an NOA (notice of assessment). If you don’t have this wonderful blue document available guess what, it takes on average two to three weeks for the government to snail mail a duplicate copy. By now you have lost your dream home and wasted your own time. I would be beating around the bush if I told you that you can get a three week extension, this is a rare situation. Something else to keep in mind, documents don’t last forever; they expire after a certain period of time. Don’t get me wrong, “stuff” happens and sometimes creativity is required, but by following simple steps you can make the transaction as easy as possible.

First things first, get properly qualified through a reputable broker, have your documents reviewed and consider obtaining a rate hold. A proper rate hold will last for 120 days and a good broker will use a lender who will allow for a mortgage increase in the event it’s required.

Life is too short to not be preparing for such a large transaction. For details on buying your first home or booking a seminar, go to www.firsthomeinfo.ca. Remember, own your life!

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Thinking outside the box:

It all started back when I was 6, this striking pair of Nike shoes was on my mind but after searching through my tiny pockets, I came up with about 27 cents. I wanted these shoes very badly, but what was I to do? Unfortunately my credit with the parental lending division wasnt very well established, and at this point they were a little too good at hiding their money. If I wanted to obtain these wonderful kickers, it was up to me, myself and I. Operation Nike was in full effect. At first, it started as a one man operation until demand for my product grew to levels beyond my expectations. I was forced to bring my five year old sister in the business, luckily for me she had no idea the concept of being paid for work. Needless to say, her cut didnt really affect my over all profits….. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.

To read the full newsletter holding that article, CLICK HERE. *Please note it may not be posted yet.

Standing out from the pack

You could say that Johnson, a broker based primarily out of the Greater Vancouver Area, started  late in the game. To look at where the 28-year-old sits today – with sales figures among the top three at Global Mortgage, having a team of two working under him and recently expanding into White Rock to oversee the financing requirements of over 150 agents –you would think that he started on this career path fresh out of high school, not a mere three years ago.

To do this, Johnson capitalized on his reach for the top personality and fresh approach to marketing, even in the face of adversity. The most outlandish of these ideas saw him promoting his website on a banner being towed behind a plane atop a fireworks celebration – a move he admits did spike his site traffic but resulted in little business.

“Some people laugh at the way I market myself and they think it’s stupid,” he says. “But if potential clients call me from it then I don’t care. Your bread and butter comes from yourself, your personality and your ability to talk on the phone.”

Born to work
When most six-year-olds were learning addition and using their fingers for painting and counting, Johnson was officially open for business, selling unopened items from his mother’s fridge. That endeavor was shut down after a month by the reluctant supplier after she realized she was footing all the expenses for her son’s rather prosperous business. It may have cut into the piggy bank books at the time, but it definitely instilled an entrepreneurial spirit within him that would carry on as he matured.

Throughout his high school years, Johnson was an ambitious concert promoter and DJ, organizing about 20 concerts with crowds ranging from 500 to 6,000 – his personal best for attendance.

Even now with his busy broker schedule, he still manages to do a DJ set twice a month, but admits he’d like to do more. In fact, the day after he spoke with CMP, Johnson was opening in Vancouver for Judge Jules, a leading British dance music DJ.

The next step was a power washing business, which he ran right up to the time he became a broker at 26. Power washing allowed Johnson to control his own hours, not unlike the world of brokering.

“Although the work was only seasonal and I was cold and wet half the time, the pay of $45 per hour cash was reasonable,” he says. “I just didn’t feel that I was able to push myself enough, though.”

He felt that no one he employed cared as much as he did about work quality and often found himself doing everyone else’s
job. “People used to say I was anal,” he says, adding “and I guess I am, a bit.”

In the five years he operated the business, he never had a staff member last more than a few months. “In the mortgage industry, people are far more professional and now I feel that I’m able to push myself.”

He went to a first-time homebuyer seminar in his early 20s and realized that he was more interested in a career as a mortgage broker than purchasing a home.

Answering the call
To say Johnson’s transition to becoming a mortgage broker was difficult would be an understatement.

“I literally drank only water and ate rice for the first six months,” he says. During that time he found himself working under a senior broker and making little money. He then decided that he’d  had enough and trapped himself in the basement, learning as much as he could about the lenders and the business in general. He also considers himself lucky to have been able to spend a few days with Global Mortgage co-owner, Joanne Vickery, to complete his learning process.

“I’m not gonna lie – it was hell,” he says about the transition, but it was a lesson well learned. Johnson now knows, for instance, that it is more than prudent to have at least six months of sustainable income sitting in your account to use in the event that you don’t get a single paycheque while you’re starting out as a broker.

“The worst thing is starting off and trying to get what your clients need, but in the back of your head you’re terrified you won’t be able to pay the rent.”

Luckily for Johnson, the business picked up quickly and by the next year he was within the top three for sales at Global Mortgage, with his eyes set on the top prize.

“Right now I’m going to break my record for the third time this year,” he says, which equates to 10 deals he’s made in a
single month. He admits this isn’t huge, but he’s happy that he’s been able to do it on a consistent basis.

Looking back, Johnson says he loves being a broker and would do it all again, just making a few changes here and there. “I should have started out as an assistant to an experienced independent mortgage broker and saved more cash before starting out on my own,” he says.

And while the oversight did make for a rough start, Johnson has no plans to look back.

The Limelight
When Johnson talks about what his future as a broker has in store for him he doesn’t hold back.

“Essentially I want to become a mortgage celebrity,” he says. “I think it’s from all the music that I did that I have issues with liking the limelight.”

That’s why he’s taken an active approach to marketing – whether it’s calling radio and TV stations to offer his knowledge of the industry, holding seminars for prospective first-time buyers or even contacting CMP to tell us what he’s been up to.

As an added coincidence, of the two brokers Johnson recently hired as part of his team, one, Kevin Schallie, happens to be
a singer in a British Columbia-based band called Columbia that released a new album in November.

“Schallie recently took time off to produce a record and I haven’t seen him since,” says Johnson. “His music career is picking up so I am very proud. I don’t think he’s going to be a broker for much longer.”

The celebrity approach seems to be working. Johnson was interviewed  last month on CBC Radio One about the $25 billion government purchase of insured  mortgages and he had hosted six seminars with five other agents for first-time homebuyers in the Vancouver area when CMP talked to him, with plans of bringing it to other cities.

“I’m trying to get myself known to the media as the go-to guy for questions about the mortgage industry and first-time buyers,” he says. “I should be able to do it, too. I’m young – only 28 years old, but I look like I’m 25, if that. I’m also targeting other radio stations and hoping to get on Global TV.”

That’s not to say he doesn’t engage in typical marketing venues, such as grocery carts and referrals, but he figures the more he gets his face out there, the better. This was the idea behind his recent website, firsthomeinfo.ca, which features a video blog of Johnson doing everyday things, such as going out for drinks with friends, while talking about mortgage-related issues.

In addition to appearing on his website, he also posts the videos on a number of social media websites, including YouTube and Facebook, and credits the YouTube postings for the reason why CBC contacted him for an interview.

“I have about 39 video blogs right now and I actually had a number of people e-mail me asking me to do more, which is kind of weird,” he says. “I’ve been told that ‘you’re not going to get any sort of significant response until you hit about a hundred posts,’ but it’s already working.”

Johnson acquired two deals by the time his video blogs had been live for a month. His social media networking is all part of the greater plan to get his name out there. While he’s now concentrating his efforts on his video blog and firsthhomeinfo.com, his future plans include a couple of book ideas he’s been mulling over.

“Books show that you have credibility and so does having investor seminars,” he says. “These are things I’m going to look into. For now, I’d just be happy if somebody who is looking to buy his or her first home comes across my name on the Internet.”

His youth, coupled with his experience exploring the limitless social networking sites available today, have definitely given him an advantage in this new niche marketing approach, but it’s not all about self-promotion.

Johnson also gives back to the community, occasionally organizing fundraising dinners for his clients and business associates, and has also run a charity aimed at raising money during Christmas to hand out meals in downtown Vancouver.

“It’s not that giving back to the community is an important aspect of the mortgage broker, but we’re pretty lucky to get
into this and be successful, so we should give back a bit,” he says.

Asked how he finds the time to maintain this full schedule, his reply is simple:
“I don’t.” CMP