If you’re not sure what is going on with your clients finance, and aren’t getting straight answers, do you start to wonder if your client is making up stories? Surely if the banker or broker had good news they’d have given us notification of approval? So frequently my real estate friends say “Liz I think they’re just having me on and they can’t get approved. Can you ring them to find out if they need help?” My experience, is that when no answers are flowing… around half of the time (if not more!), nothing is going on. Here is a typical example of what is happening behind the scenes, from a new client who came to us last month. The applicants were referred by a good friend of mine in the ACT, after using their Facebook page to ask for a better broker. They had been waiting weeks to hear from their existing broker. When they finally heard he said “I haven’t done any work for you yet, I’ll have a look at it when I get back from holidays in two weeks”. Perhaps some people just don’t know how to say no I can’t help? Clearly the broker was in too deep and unable to find a solution. The clients had not lodged an application, but had expressed an interest in a house with an agent and were keenly hanging on to the belief this broker could help them obtain a loan. Once they heard he was going on holiday they realised they weren’t important to the broker, and thought to find someone else. Upon being assessed by our newest broker Abby, we found some debts that were holding them back, as well as an insufficient deposit. The same day that they contacted us, Abby let them know they had some obstacles. However … the difference was that Abby is trained and skilled to find a solution and offer it up. She discussed consolidating the debts and sourcing a security guarantor. The clients parents spoke to Abby to find out more information, and agreed to become guarantors. Abby had found a bank who would allow the parents equity to be used not only as deposit, but also to pay out those debts! The difference resulted in a confirmed pre-approval with a reputable lender. Where previously the agent was left wondering “what is wrong with this client, what aren’t they telling me?”, they now had a confirmed buyer! In so many instances, the client is not withholding information, they simply have none, as they aren’t getting efficient and transparent service from a brokerage that cares about them!
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Last month we had a client come to us declined from a major bank. Something we see every week to be honest. This case was a bit peculiar though, as our client was self employed and despite the business being run very well and making good income, the financials showed a small loss after wages, expenses and depreciation.This had caused the loan to be declined. Our client was now stuck between a rock and a hard place, as he had already bought the land, and needed to build the family a home to live in. Without a loan, they were stuck! Upon our assessment we noticed the business was growing rapidly, and the client could easily afford the debts he had, the trouble was the bank couldn’t pass the file for approval as a loss by the company didn’t meet policy guidelines. The tricky part was the bank he was declined at, in my opinion, was the one we were most likely to obtain approval through. We spoke to the clients accountant and requested a review of the 2015 financials, it was possible that they could be re-worked to run at a profit. The accountant reviewed his business, and took into account materials and supplies which were for jobs not yet invoiced, this is called ‘work in progress’. The correct accounting treatment is to match costs to the same period income is generated. This is called the ‘Matching’ principle - in this case it worked to our advantage as it meant we could run 2015 as a profit. The accountant got us a new set of financials and returns straight away. We also supported the application with a set of interim financials to show the business continued to run at a profit for the first 7 months of the current financial year, which always brings comfort to credit teams. Particularly where you are re-starting a financial year, they would want comfort that we are not robbing Peter (2016 financial year profits) to pay Paul (2015 financial year profits) ! From here, we re-submitted the loan for approval with the same bank and received it within 24hours. So you see, we don’t always need a new lender, sometimes we just need a new perspective. |
AuthorLiz Wilson has been working in finance for nineteen years now. She regularly blogs on industry topics and here you will find over a hundred personally written blog topics and case studies... Archives
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