Mortgage brokers: Are you asking the right questions when choosing a mortgage brokerage?

As a mortgage broker, you negotiate tirelessly to secure the best rates and terms for your clients. But have you applied the same diligence to selecting your brokerage?

Choosing the right brokerage is vital to your success and growth. It’s essential to find one that actively supports and advocates for you.

Many new agents select a brokerage based on proximity or recommendations, often asking only basic questions about splits and training. To ensure you align with a brokerage that truly supports your success, you have to dive deeper.

Here are 10 crucial questions to guide you in your decision:

1. What lenders do you have access to and at what compensation? A brokerage that offers a wide lender network ensures diverse lending solutions for your clients. Some brokerages can’t satisfy the volume commitments of each lender, so they only work with four to five. At TMG, we work with over 90 lenders across all provinces and offer status. This means you can earn more and offer more solutions and perks to your clients. We are also transparent, ensuring you clearly understand what is payable to you. If a lender pays a volume bonus, do you earn it?

2. What is the size and scale of your brokerage? The size and scale of a brokerage determine the level of collective support from lender and industry partners. Again, TMG has over 1,400 agents nationally and funds over $10 billion a year. This significant volume guarantees top compensation and status with all lenders, providing a substantial advantage over smaller brokerages. Larger brokerages can also offer superior loyalty points programs and the ability to use those points for benefits such as appraisal reimbursements. Ensure you understand the policy for each benefit and what you’re able to access, including support for deal escalations.

3. Do you provide social media and website support? It’s important to ask if the brokerage offers a fully optimized website and comprehensive marketing support. At TMG, we provide a dedicated website (not a micro-site buried under a brokerage webpage) loaded with calculators, mortgage content, your application, rates, and much more. Additionally, TMG offers free social media and blog content, a monthly newsletter, and breaking news drip campaigns. Unlike many competitors who aren’t transparent about what is included in your monthly fees and what is charged as extras, we make it easy by bundling numerous services for you. Ensure you understand the marketing support you will receive, how current it is, and how frequently it is made available to you.

4. Are there any hidden fees like royalties? Brokerages often deduct their royalty fees from your earnings before applying your split. For example, you might believe you’re on an 80/20 split, but your actual take-home pay reflects a 75/25 split plus taxes. It’s crucial to ask, “What is my true split after royalties and taxes?” TMG does not charge royalties, allowing you to keep more of your income and save on additional taxes.

5. What are the additional monthly expenses and what do I get for them? Our monthly bundle plan covers industry expenses, allowing you to budget accurately without unexpected charges. While some brokerages have exorbitant deal storage fees, ours are only $6.50 per file! You pay only for what you need, with no hidden fees. TMG The Mortgage Group is also a proud member of Mortgage Professionals Canada, providing all our agents and brokers access to MPC’s free training and discounted events.

6. What deal processing technology will I have access to and is my data transferable if I leave? Ensure the brokerage offers advanced deal processing technology that includes secure portals for documentation, free e-signatures, and a robust CRM. Look for features such as free social and blog content, and automated newsletters to help you stay in touch with clients and referral partners. TMG is proud to provide all the systems and tools needed to stay in touch with clients and referral partners. Our agent agreements clearly state that your data is your data, and it can be easily transferred if you decide to leave TMG.

7. What training is provided and will I get mentorship? Look for a brokerage that offers comprehensive training programs. Effective training should include coaching on underwriting and handling client communications, provided both through dedicated training centres and experienced agents and brokers. Ensure the new agent training program is thorough and highly regarded in the industry. TMG loves training! We offer a comprehensive range of training options, including regional online sessions, one-on-one personal coaching, an extensive training library, underwriting training and support, and direct coaching for agents. Our goal is to ensure you are well-informed and comfortable supporting your clients as quickly as possible.

8. Read the contract! It is surprising how many people don’t read their own agent agreements. Make sure you understand the terms, notice period, data clauses, early release conditions, and any potential penalties. Know your exit strategy in case you need to move. Just like a mortgage client with a mortgage product, you should be portable. Read the fine print and ask for clarification. Don’t sign something you aren’t willing to honour. At TMG, we are proud to have very transparent and agent-friendly agreements.

9. Have you done reference checks? Just as you conduct due diligence on your client files, it’s essential to check references on brokerages. Speak with lenders and industry partners to gather their feedback and determine if the brokerage aligns with your personal values and professional objectives. This step can provide valuable insights into the brokerage’s reputation and support system. A good brokerage also does reference checks on you to ensure quality of business is maintained for all agents at the brokerage. At TMG, we do lender reference checks and sometimes CERTN checks (soft credit checks and criminal checks). We are fiercely protective of our current agents and want to ensure a great reputation. This should matter to you as you should want to be with the best of the best too.

10. How does the brokerage prevent fraud and protect its agents? Inquire about the brokerage’s policies and procedures for preventing fraud and ensuring ethical behaviour. Ask to see their Policy & Procedures and Code of Conduct and understand how they maintain clean, efficient business practices to protect lenders. Joining a brokerage with strong safeguards helps prevent issues like losing lenders, deal audits, and reputation damage. At TMG, we believe in managing our collective reputations, knowing that our community of professionals is stronger when we deliver on quality and behave professionally. All of our agents/brokers deserve to feel safe and to know their business reputation is being cared for.

If you know, you know

It can be very confusing to interview brokerages and to understand all the industry nuances, especially for those just embarking on this career path.

Need help or advice? We are just a text, email or call away. Visit https://www.mortgagegroup.com/join-tmg/ today to connect with one of us or call Veronica Love, Senior Vice President at 647-929-1241 | veronica@mortgagegroup.com.

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Last modified: August 28, 2024

TMG The Mortgage Group

The TMG Management Team includes former lenders, brokers and executives who have been working in the industry as long as 30+ years! We’re all focused on coaching agents for success. Many of us have served – or are actively serving – on provincial and national associations, as well as regulator advisory committees. We stay on top of all mortgage-related changes so we can prepare our brokers/agents. We’ve carefully studied all brokerage models, and many of us left lenders/industry partners to join TMG The Mortgage Group. We can confidently say that TMG is truly the most supportive of both new and seasoned agents, and has an outstanding reputation among our lender partners.