Is this the bus to Positive Street?

I woke up this morning feeling very uninspired, a little down and struggling to find the motivation I needed to get up and get on with things. After a week that involved true tragedy, one that the nation as a whole will struggle to find an answer to (Gary Speed RIP), I was somewhat perturbed by News At Tens attempt to throw the entire UK into a new depression with stat after stat about economic doom and gloom, unemployment rising, and recession being what we can look forward to in 2012. With all this going on, getting to Swiss Cottage for Precises' Bus Tour was low on my priorities. However, having made the commitment, I turned up out of respect for the organisers.

I was glad I did.

Those of you reading this not in the industry may not even know who Precise are, but they are a heavily backed mortgage lender that lends to the mortgage intermediary only. Many have asked why I am such an advocate of them as a lender as they will be the first to admit that right now I give very little business to them. The reason being that at present, is that my client profile does not fit with their current business model. However I have every confidence that this will change next year as they go from strength to strength. The reason I sing their praises so much is that they are doing all they can to help the mortgage broker and the intermediary market. At a time when unity is really important in the economy, Precise are supporting us to try and explain the importance of a broker and the independence we can provide to the public when they need it most. They are challenging the issues of dual pricing and asking banks some very awkward questions.

For that alone, I am thankful to them. However the Precise Bus Tour gave us a little more. The innovative idea of driving a Route Master bus all over the UK giving seminars and presentations on how we can grow our business, and how we can make a better living for ourselves was something that has to be applauded. I see no other lender out there reaching out a hand of support as much as Precise are doing now. 80% of their seminar had nothing to do with Precises offerings to us, just ways in which we can help ourselves and our clients.

After discovering that mulled wine tastes just as nice at 1020am as it does at 1020pm, the seminar began with the Mortgage Industries very own stand up comedian Roger Morris taking the floor. Roger has one of those "Leslie Neilsen" faces from Naked Gun. By that I mean that you look at Roger and you laugh simply at the expectation of what "funny" he will come up with next. He didn't disappoint. As always he had me laughing, which was an achievement in itself given the "downer" I had been on. But as well as making me chuckle, Roger had true gems of ideas for business generation. Innovative ideas that 13 years in the industry I had never even thought of. Every negative, Roger had a positive for and the positivity that it instilled in me was welcome. There is a reason why Roger is Head of Sales.

My only disappointment was the lack of numbers. The list of confirmed attendees was long. The list of no shows was also. Here we had a lender looking to assist and help us in the current climate, go that extra mile to give support to us as an "Intermediary Only" lender, and help us they did. But the support for them was not what it deserved. For those that missed it, I can only say it was their loss. But their loss will be my gain, as I am armed with ideas that can now help my clients and also help me.

It is refreshing in such a negative week to find that there are some out there full of positivity. Full of eagerness and motivation to go from strength to strength. Over the last 18 months many in the mortgage industry have simply fallen on their swords and accepted defeat. But as I have often bleated on about, if we unite in this industry, with lenders, with surveyors and even with the competition, we will soon find ourselves in a more positive position, and we will find a way out of the economic crisis we find ourselves in. I have found that many in this industry "think" they have nothing left to learn. The role of a broker is changing and as brokers we are always on a steep learning curve, even when we think we have nothing left to learn. The truth is, whatever your profession, whatever your position within a company, you will ALWAYS be learning and the day you think you have nothing left to learn, is the day you should retire because you have become too arrogant to grow any further.

Thanks for cheering me up Precise.

Thanks for the innovation and most importantly...

...thanks for the mulled wine.

Now, where is that Yellow Pages.

What was exposed at Mortgage Expo

As the final few guests trickled out, there was an air of success floating around the large hall of Olympia. Stands were full of lenders, conveyancers, journalists and insurers all with smiles on their faces, patting themselves on the back after a successful couple of days of intense face to face meetings with the industries masses.

The truth is, Expo was a somewhat relaxed affair this year, summed up really by the offerings of most stands which had transformed from pens, post it notes, branded umbrellas and tea mats, to a much more relaxed, branded bottle of beer. There were games galore from mini golf on some stands to a racing simulator from Santander who were clearly still milking the Lewis Hamilton connection. I got the impression the focus was fun. Perhaps to take away from the depression that could have been heard in the seminars about "The Year That Was" and "Where Will We Be Next Year".

Without doubt, the buzz this year was primarily from the bridging lenders with Tiuta and Precise really being the focus of the day. Nothing to do with the beer and sandwiches I can assure you, but the welcome that you would receive from them and the hosts genuine intent to converse with us about where they thought they could assist us. I got the impression the bridgers are looking towards a busy 2012 and with several rumours of some exciting buy to let propositions coming in quarter one 2012, I left the show actually feeling positive about my direction next year. Without doubt, the buy to let market is going to grow next year with several lenders still yet to show their hand so watch this space private landlords, things are going to get better next year.

On leaving Expo, this is where the true judgement began. First port of call was the local public house, where upon entering, I realised actually had more brokers/lenders in than the actual exhibition itself. Many, many well known names all in attendance, some slightly more tipsy than others. I wasn't sure if this was a case of being pleased it was all over, or drowning their sorrows but either way, there was an abundance of slightly tipsy characters floating around desperate to talk/spit over anyone that would listen (you know who you are!) The vibe however was a good one and my day at Expo was starting to get better and better.

Having "networked" with many other brokers/lenders etc it was time to move on to the first "after show party" at the rather swanky Boujis. It was at this stage that I performed the annual "completely forget your bag of goodies you have spent the whole day collating" manoeuvre. And I was not the only one. So do not be surprised if The Hand and Flower public house in Kensington is offering free Aldermore Pens/Northern Rock post it notes with every beer. Press be aware, these lenders are not sponsoring the pub, they have simply "found" a shed load of goodies.

Boujis is the club frequented by the countries princes. Quite why I do not know. It was not quite the swanky venue the website lead us to believe, but Tiuta were the perfect hosts and we had a good start to the evening. As the numbers dwindled, we realised everyone was heading over to the second after show party hosted by Precise/Mortgage Introducer. This was a little more relaxed and despite being a free bar, a friend still somehow managed to spend £140. The atmosphere was jovial, lots of inter lender rivalry and a really good buzz floating around. Various dancing competitions embarked on the dance floor of which I had to throw in a few of my very dated MC Hammer moves. My trousers managed to stay in tack this time round without ripping but speaking of rips I am pretty sure I heard my calf go after my second attempt at the box splits.

The room was filled with smiles, and for the first time in a while, the mortgage industry had a buzz back. Something it has been missing for several years. Everyone was enjoying themselves, everyone forgot about how difficult it has become to broke mortgages, how pedantic some lenders have become with their underwriting and for a few hours, the industry was a happy, thriving one again.

Until it all kicked off.

I made a decision that even though this is a "secret diary" that this shall remain a secret. But it was the final act of a day and evening that literally "had it all". It was one to remember. One that proved that there are still a lot of us left making a living in this industry and that still, we have the ability to laugh despite often feeling the need to cry.

Whilst there were many contenders for "man of the match" at Expo this year, my award simply has to go to Precise who were the perfect hosts from the minute we first saw them in Olympia, to the final goodbye as the bouncers threw us out at Rennaisance (oh sorry, I said I wouldn't talk about that).

The mortgage industry lives on...

The brokers are still broking...

...and I look forward to next years Expo, immensely.

What's the down low - on Mortgage Expo?!

You may have heard many mortgage brokers uttering the words "Mortgage Expo" under their breath of late and thought to yourself, what is this? Well, for us brokers, this is the biggest indication of the year as to how the mortgage industry is doing. It is a two day extravaganza, held at Olympia where we bascially cut to the chase. We ignore all the headlines, we ignore all media coverage, all the positive spin every lender tries to deliver every day and we go face to face with all lenders, conveyancers, surveyors and chat to them at the coal face.

It's actually extremely comical. Brokers descend on the venue from all over the UK with one thing in mind...which lenders will be offering the best freebies!

It is judgement day. As far as the eye can see there are lenders set up with their stands knowing that within seconds of brokers coming through that door, they will all be judged. Whoever says size doesn't matter, lied. At Expo, it is all about the size...of your stand. Your stand alone, will fuel some brokers impressions of your financial klout for the following twelve months. Next time they pick up the phone and they are talking to a client about a lender and the client asks "but are they financial strong" guaranteed... 75% of the brokers answering that question will think back to the stand they saw at Expo and say "yes" if it was big, or "No" if it was basically a small wallpapering table in the corner.

Having completed your "first impressions" round, brokers then continue onto the "best freebies" run. This is effecetively a supermarket sweep round the hall, picking up the best freebies they can, knowing that half of them will find their way under your grandparents Christmas tree.
"Oh Lea, a Santander Golfing umbrella! Thanks, that's just what I wanted".
"Thats okay Nan. Love you."
Brokers everywhere, are rearranging kitchen cupboards in preparation for Expo as they know they will need the space for all the free mugs. It's truly an amazing phenomen to watch. And you can't help but become part of it too, as without even realising, you quicken your step to the Abbey stand, in a desperate attempt to get one of the last three Abbey branded calculators...even though you have plenty of perfectly good ones at home.

I love Expo, and the comical value it brings.

When all of the judging and freebie collecting has abated, it is then on to the "spot the ex colleague" challenge. Here, you find that you partake in a finger pointing ritual where you point out all the old brokers that you worked with in the past, old Business Development Managers, and even ex bosses and deliberate whether to go and say hello or not. Over the years, the answers that followed the question "what have you been up to lately" have become a little more depressing and it can shape the evenings events, so you need to chose who you converse with wisely. Depressing stories will mean the aftershow party will be one of doom and gloom. You could ponder your future and wonder if there is reason to continue! Or, success stories will result in a restored confidence in the industry and an evening of merryment. So it is key to only approach those that appear to be smiling.

On completion of "finger pointing" and catch up, it is on to more serous matters. There are often insightful and truly excellent speeches delivered from fantastic market experts giving their version of events and how the year has been. This is always informative and a great part of the day and is normally and excellent way to end the formalities before you head off to the local Public house and find every other attendee in there also. There you will talk about the agenda I have outlined above, whilst comparing your Freebie bag, knowing that it will never really make it home with you anyway, as the evenings drinking starts to take shape.

For the neutral this is a great place to join. This is where the true stories start to emerge, and as some of the banks or buildings societies employees trickle in, the true "I shouldn't say this but..." stories commence. This is where, if you keep your witts about you, you can find out exactly what is going on at brokerages, lenders, surveyors, everywhere "behind the scenes." Here, is where you get the "real story" and it is the true highlight of the event for me.

So next time you hear a broker or lender mention Mortgage Expo, i hope this little description of events will give you a clearer understanding of how it works. Announcements concerning lender figures for H1 and H2 are all very interesting. Lenders talking to the media about their % of market share, well that is all great. But if you want the real deal...if you want the "true story", get yourself down to Mortgage Expo this year, keep your witts about you...and the real stories of the mortgage industry will evolve.

So, see you all there!