From nursing to Top 75 broker

You don’t need a doctorate to become a broker – but perhaps a background in nursing might help in getting you onto the CMP Top 75.

You don’t need a doctorate to become a broker – but perhaps a background in nursing might help in getting you onto the CMP Top 75.
 
Charlene Elliott, a mortgage specialist with Dominion Lending Centres The Mortgage Hub, made last year’s Top 75 list with seven years in the channel and after working a decade as a nurse.
 
She’s optimistic that she’ll once again make the Top 75.
 
“I’ve been too busy to check my numbers this year,” she says, “but they’ve certainly been good. It’s been a good year.”
 
Last year Elliott recorded numbers of $67,466,635 in funded volume and 125 funded deals to come in 20th on CMP’s Top 75 Broker list. But for Elliott, the switch to brokering from nursing was all about quality of life.
 
“I worked as a nurse for 10 years,” she told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “But I wanted more flexibility in my schedule. Sure, I still work a lot of hours now, but at least I can choose when and how long I work.” 
 
Inclusion on the Top 75 is the icing on the cake for many successful brokers as they look to ramp up their marketing efforts in a challenging market. The ranking is generally used as a selling tool and a way of automatically conveying broker expertise to prospective clients. Repeating the feat year after year only amplifies the marketing muscle of the distinction, say brokers.
 
CMP magazine is now calling for broker submissions for its ranking of Top 75 Brokers by funded volume for 2012. To be eligible, all the figures must be supplied by you, the broker/agent, via electronic survey – and that all deals must have been personally sourced and originated by you.
 
Click here to learn more.
 
Sales figures must be broken down by the relevant lender, and should include a contact name and telephone number for each representative of those institutions. CMP reserves the right to contact them and the broker network to confirm figures.
 
Although Elliott cracked the Top 75 list last year, she still remembers those first few years when the going was tough.
 
“I got past that difficult year, there was a huge learning curve,” she reflects. “All the demands of the banks, the realtors – it was a good year before I was able to really get into the job.”
 
The Small Market Top 20 gives a tip of the hat to the accomplishments of mortgage professionals in markets with a 2012 average home price of $290,000 or less.
 
As the gap between home values in Canada’s smaller centres and those in Toronto and other major cities continues to grow, the Small Market Top 20 is the best way to acknowledge the funded-volume success of those brokers.
 
The criteria to qualify for the Top 20 includes being in a market that is a CREA-identified region, municipality or centre, and to brokers who did a minimum 80 per cent of their deals in such a market where the average home price is at or under $290,000.
 
Small brokers will be automatically considered for the Top 75 list – and their volumes must be personally sourced and originated.
 
Submission close on June 21.