Keeping Mortgage Choice in the family

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Several Mortgage Choice franchisees are passing on their broking and business expertise to their children

MORTGAGE CHOICE celebrated its 30th anniversary in September – a significant milestone for a nationally recognised and trusted brand that has helped generations of Australians realise their property ownership dreams. When the business began in 1992, Australia was recovering from a deep recession, the superannuation guarantee had just been introduced, the official cash rate was 5.75%, and mortgage broking was a new concept. Over the past 30 years, our lives and lifestyles have changed almost beyond recognition, yet Mortgage Choice’s purpose has never wavered – to help Australians from all walks of life discover what home means for them and their families. Mortgage Choice is a much bigger business than it was 12 months ago, let alone three decades ago when its national footprint stretched only between Sydney and Wollongong. Last year’s integration with Smartline, a business with its own rich heritage (dating back to the founding of Mortgage Force in 1991) saw the network grow to more than 1,000 brokers around the country. At Mortgage Choice’s recent National Conference in Adelaide, the combined national business came together in person. This milestone event celebrated the business’s 30th anniversary and looked ahead to the next 30 years.

For 30 years Mortgage Choice has been at the forefront of Australia’s mortgage broking industry, and under the ownership of global property technology business REA Group, this doesn’t change. Following the merger with Smartline late last year, Mortgage Choice now has a network of close to 1,000 brokers and more than 750 franchises nationally and remains one of Australia’s most trusted and recognised brands. Mortgage Choice builds successful businesses that set the benchmark for advice, customer care and removing complexity from the home loan process.

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“One of the things I enjoy most at Mortgage Choice is the sense of community. My favourite part of broking is that it’s an excellent mix of problem-solving and customer care”

Matt Pyers, Mortgage Choice Camberwell & Canterbury, Vic

The family Mortgage Choice built With more than 30 years’ experience in creating hundreds of successful and sustainable small businesses across the country, Mortgage Choice prides itself on its family-oriented culture. Over 45% of Mortgage Choice franchisees have stayed with the network for more than 10 years, and there are many examples of families at Mortgage Choice who have built legacy businesses to pass on to their children or others within the network. A franchisee for 21 years, Peter Ruddock says what gave him the confidence to bring his wife Lynne and daughter Simone into his Whitehorse-based (Vic) franchise was Mortgage Choice’s willingness to back the family’s business plans.

“You can pick up the phone and call anyone from the state office or any of the support teams, and they’ll help you out, no matter what you need”

Simone Ruddock, Mortgage CHOICE Ferntree Gully, Vic

“As well as seeing that our business has grown, the teamwork that has developed within the Mortgage Choice network is something that I love,” says Peter. Lynne has been the backbone of the franchise’s administrative functions for 16 years, and Simone is a loan writer who will soon run the family’s newly acquired second franchise in Ferntree Gully (Vic). The Mortgage Choice Camberwell (Vic) franchise is another family-run office, with two husband-and-wife teams working in the business. Co-franchisees of eight years, Michael Wren and Geoff Pyers and their wives Meg Barr and Kelly Pyers have known each other for decades. About 12 months ago, Geoff’s son Matt also started working in the business as a loan writer. “One of the things I enjoy most at Mortgage Choice is the sense of community. Michael and Geoff have their close connections in the network, and similarly, we’ve now started a young group of Melbourne brokers. The group started around the time I joined, and that’s grown from three to 10 members, and we meet fortnightly,” says Matt. For husband-and-wife franchisees Tim and Karen Leonard, the social side to Mortgage Choice means people in the network are constantly looking out for one another. Their daughter Abby started working in the Bayside-based (Vic) business during COVID-19 after losing her job in hospitality. Joining her parents’ brokerage in a part-time administrative role has given her the flexibility to learn a new career path while studying for a Bachelor of Business and Banking and Finance at Monash University.

From one generation to the next As an up-and-coming loan writer, Simone Ruddock says it’s comforting to know she has the backing of a network that wants to see her succeed. “You can pick up the phone and call anyone from the state office or any of the support teams, and they’ll help you out, no matter what you need,” says Simone. “It’s nice to know we’ve now also got the support of REA Group and the expertise they can offer to potentially expand our business further.” The Leonards are keen to grow their business and see it stay in the family. “It’s a business we never want to sell; it’s something I’d always like to see in our family. Mortgage broking is here to stay, and I have total faith that this business will be in our family for many years,” says Tim. Having worked in digital advertising in the UK before joining his father’s franchise as a loan writer last year, Matt Pyers says broking is a career worth pursuing. “It’s not common for younger people like myself to become a mortgage broker. You don’t necessarily go and do a degree like an accountant. My favourite part of broking is that it’s an excellent mix of problem-solving and customer care, and if you see yourself being in the middle of that Venn diagram, it’s a great spot to be in,” says Matt. For Geoff Pyers, there’s comfort in knowing his son is entering a business and industry that has longevity. He says you wouldn’t ask a family member to join you at work if you didn’t believe in the brand and the business. “I’m more than comfortable there’s a really good future career path here for Matt and others who come into the business as it evolves,” says Geoff.

There are many other families like these across the Mortgage Choice network who are building strong legacies for the next generation and passing on their passion for helping Australians achieve their dreams of property ownership.

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“One of the things I enjoy most at Mortgage Choice is the sense of community. My favourite part of broking is that it’s an excellent mix of problem-solving and customer care”

“You can pick up the phone and call anyone from the state office or any of the support teams, and they’ll help you out, no matter what you need”

“One of the things I enjoy most at Mortgage Choice is the sense of community. My favourite part of broking is that it’s an excellent mix of problem-solving and customer care”

“You can pick up the phone and call anyone from the state office or any of the support teams, and they’ll help you out, no matter what you need”

Several Mortgage Choice franchisees are passing on their broking and business expertise to their children

Pathway to broking

A look at where young professionals joined our industry from and what motivated them

What best describes what you were doing before you became a broker?

Under 35s

Financial institution, such as a bank or non-bank lender

2021

2018

30%

35%

Mortgage broking admin or broking support staff role

18%

N/A

Wealth-knowledge industry, such as a financial planner or accountant

High school/TAFE

University

10%

Non-finance industry – white collar

21%

Non-finance industry – blue collar

11%

Other

10%

16%

When over 35s were asked the same question, their top three answers were:

Working in a financial institution

51%

Non-finance – white collar

21%

Other

10%

High school/TAFE