Hot Seat: Preeti Kowshik

Mint Equity broker Preeti Kowshik, talks about building respectful relationships

Q: Who inspired you to become a broker?
A: When my husband and I were looking to buy our first home we had absolutely no idea where to start and probably didn’t make the best decisions. We were lucky that we found a great broker, and the experience inspired me to use my service and sales skills from the finance industry to help people find homes for their families and build property portfolios.

Q: What do you wish you’d known when you started out as a broker?
A: The importance of building strong relationships and networks is something I had to learn quickly. Broking can be an isolated job, and because there are so many moving parts – the client, lenders, real estate agents, conveyancers – building strong, respectful relationships is key to providing a quality solution for the client.

These relationships are also essential to the education process and understanding the lending landscape. I think most new brokers underestimate how much time is needed for education. Today’s lending environment is tough and constantly changing, so working closely with lenders, BDMs and other brokers to ensure we’re constantly learning and educating ourselves is something I probably wasn’t prepared for to this extent.

Q: What’s the greatest challenge for brokers at this time?
A: Brokers are faced with many challenges at the moment, but managing client expectations is the most crucial, as they are the ones directly impacted by recent changes. It’s one thing for brokers having to deal with lender policy updates, but when a client has been working for years or months towards a property goal and you have to tell them someone moved the goalposts, that’s the challenge I enjoy the least. The uncertainty around whether the client’s application is ‘approval worthy’ is a big challenge for brokers as we are the ones who have to deliver the message.

Q What’s one thing, personal or professional, that you hope to achieve before the end of the year?
A: For me it’s not about settlement volumes, it’s about how many clients I can help get their family home or improve their position by growing a property portfolio. My goal is to help as many people as I can, and that doesn’t always mean there is a settlement at the end. It’s about helping people find the right path to their property goals, just like the broker did for my husband and I when we first arrived in Australia.