Chapter 4 - Scripts and Templates
01. Speech Script: 60 Seconds Networking Group Talk
The 60-second pitch
Some ideas for the 60-second pitch at your local networking group.
Example of an introduction line:
“My name is XXX and I am a Mortgage Adviser with The Mortgage Lab. I work with:
home-owners,
home-buyers and
property investors
to get them:
a new mortgage or
maintain and improve their existing lending.”
The sentence is meant to quickly see if they are someone who could use your services. The bullet points are meant to be said clearly with a slight pause between each one. It gives the listener to time to associate themselves with that. “I’m a home-buyer, I should talk to XXX”
You might try to use this line every week so that people have a fixed memory of what you do. From there you can go into a description of a small factoid around the mortgage industry that they can take away.
Factoids
Some examples
Interest Rates – a breakdown of the latest movements in interest rates
Construction – Turn Key vs Progress Payments
Typical Timeline of a Mortgage Application
Points of Difference for Mortgage Advisers (eg; usually free, come to you, many banks)
Apartments – Differences between banks (eg; minimum square coverage, types of apartments)
Cross-leases vs leaseholds
What you need before an auction
What documents you’ll need to get a mortgage application
Mortgages as you approach retirement age
Mortgages for Investment Properties
Other Resources
Pitcherific – Prepare Better Pitches
News sites such as Interest.co.nz, NZ Adviser, GoodReturns
PoliSense for the range of policy differences between the banks
Books to Read
The 3-minute rule – by Brant Pinvidic
02. Email Template: After First Phone Call
Below is the email that you may like to send clients after your first phone call to them. The goal is for them to gain a better understanding of what you offer and to also expect a link from Trail CRM (which should have also been mentioned in the phone call).
Hi __________ [client name],
Great to speak with you just now. I thought I’d send you an email to give you a quick overview.
I am a mortgage adviser in the _________ [insert your location] area. I work with most of the major banks and my job is to make sure that your mortgage is the best it can be. This means checking that:
you are getting good fixed-term interest rates (you’re paying the least amount of interest)
your mortgage is tax-efficient
the structure of the loan is correct (ie; are you at risk of sudden interest rate jumps?)
you are in a good position to buy more property if you wish
There is usually no charge for you to use my service. The bank will pay me if I can find you a better solution. For more information on fees and commissions, you can visit: https://mortgagelab.co.nz/#important-info
Next up, I’ll send you an email inviting you to our online application system. If you complete this, we can spend more time discussing your particular needs in the meeting (rather than filling in forms!)
I encourage all my clients to call me whenever they have a question, even if it’s 9 pm. I would much prefer to answer your question late in the evening than have you worry about it all night. My DDI number will take you straight through to my cellphone so feel free to use this number.
You can follow me on Twitter [**insert link here], Facebook [**insert Facebook link here], or LinkedIn [**insert LinkedIn link here] for the latest news on the Property Market.
Kind regards,
[email signature]
03. Email Template: Client Concerned About Clawback Clause
You can use this script for clients who are concerned about the clawback clause in the terms of the engagement contract. The second paragraph below suggests opting out of the clawback clause. Use this at your discretion.
Hi __________ [client name],
Thanks for raising that as a concern of yours. The clawback condition is there to protect us from clients that might maliciously refinance their mortgages within a short amount of time. In actuality, we’ve only charged this a couple of times in the entire history of the company.
Kind regards,
[email signature]
04. Email Template: First Home Buyer
Hi __________ [client name],
I hope you’re well.
I sent this information out to some of my First Home Buyer clients and thought it might be good reading for you as well!
LVR Restrictions
I’ve summarised some tips/lessons for you below, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Due to the Responsible Lending Code and LVR (loan to value) restrictions, lending for a home has tight controls and limitations on how many low LVR loans the bank can provide.
To calculate your LVR simply work out how much of the house value you can put in as a deposit. For example, a $500,000 home with $50,000 deposit is an LVR of 90%. The banks almost always require an LVR of 80% or lower. However, there are limited funds available for lending to borrowers with an LVR of more than 80%.
There is the First Home Loan (previously the Welcome Home Loan) which is especially for first home buyers with only a 5-10% deposit. This is done through a few banks but the approval comes from Housing NZ and they charge a 1% fee on the amount of the loan (in addition to any fee the bank may charge). So a $400,000 loan would attract a $4,000 fee.
If you are borrowing more than 80% the banks charge what is called a low equity premium or margin. For example:
LVR 81 – 85% – they add .25% to the carded rate LVR 86 – 90% – they add .75% LVR over 90% – they add 1.25%
It can differ between banks but that’s generally the margin.
“Carded” interest rate means the standard, non-discounted rate. This is not the “special” rate that you hear about or see in advertisements. Special rates are only available to under 80% LVR borrowers, so the carded rate could be around 4.35% and then they add the low equity margin so the actual rate you could be paying is 5.6% with over 90% LVR. Banks also have rules around lending for apartments and generally you need a 20% deposit.
All this makes a good case for having 20% deposit but in reality that’s often not possible.
Banks do have specials from time to time, I can let you know when this happens.
So, there are deals to be had and as your mortgage adviser I’m here to advise you on who is the best lender to approach for your particular circumstances. 🙂
Preparing for your purchase
There is quite a bit of paperwork involved with applying for a mortgage. Here is an article that we have that lists the documentation we might need: Preparing For Your Mortgage – Documentation
They will do a credit check so if you have anything adverse on your credit record (which can just be from paying bills consistently late), or lots of finance applications, it would pay to try and mitigate that by having a good explanation for any “deficiencies”.
Check your credit record now and see what it is on there. I recommend “my credit file” (don’t pay for it, wait for the free one that takes 10 days):
https://www.mycreditfile.co.nz/
The bank looks at credit card limits and assumes you will have the card at its limit (because you can) and will add that payment into your expenses. So a $10,000 credit card will factor into your outgoings as a $600 per month bill, even if you pay it in full every month. That $600 can make a huge difference to what we call the loan “serviceability” calculation.
On that note, the banks are very strict on what minimum living expenses they allow. You may live very cheaply but they have what they consider is a minimum amount they will add in for things like car costs, food, etc.
In addition, they work out the mortgage repayments based on around 6.5 to 7% as a buffer. So, whilst your actual repayments may be at 3.95% they will add them in at say 6.8% when looking at your serviceability.
Our website has some great articles on preparing for your mortgage:
That’s a lot of information to digest, make sure to call me if you want to discuss it.
Kind regards,
[email signature]
05. Email Template: Explaining PORSE Income
A suggested explanation for clients receiving income for “at-home childcare”, typically through PORSE. Credit: Robyn Turner
Hi __________ [client name],
With childcare income, the government has a standard form to simplify the whole accounting process and it allows individuals to write off a significant amount of their income although no real costs are incurred. This standardisation was designed to make it easier to bring childcare into the homes and it allows the providers to earn a fairly significant amount of money tax-free. A typical child care income is around $5.50 per hour per child and a care provider can have several children in care. The government then allows around $3.50 per hour per child to be deducted meaning the actual income looks very low. For example, a provider with five children in care can be bringing in $27.50 per hour but their taxable income would only be considered to be $10 per hour. From this income, they then get to deduct a percentage of their home value. They also get to deduct a standard administration charge which is around $350 each year without incurring admin costs.
These standard deductions are designed to make tax deductions for home-based office expenses as easy as possible for the provider and thus reduce their compliance burden so they do not need to employ an accountant. This was intended by the government to make things easier for them and not impose a burden when purchasing their home and these deductions are going to be incurred regardless of whether they work at home or not. These will already be reflected in the client’s expenses budget in the form of electricity, water costs, grocery bills etc. It is easy to identify from the statements what their actual costs are and most of the time it is really negligible and would work within a standard budget.
In addition, the provider gets reimbursed for any actual costs incurred if they go on outings etc and they also receive an allowance to buy supplies. This is displayed separately and is in addition to their income. It’s usually easy to identify from the end-of-year summary provided by Porse.
As an example a childcare provider can contribute $30,000 worth of taxable income to the budget, however, the typical taxable income is around $7,000. Someone earning around $20,000 may have only around $2,000 in taxable income. This income however is very real and useable. The risks of income stopping are no different from any other self-employed or employed person who could have fluctuations in their income. The risk of losing income would be low if someone has been doing it long-term because there is good demand for home-based providers.
There is an added advantage in that if the recipient qualifies for working for families they qualify at a much higher level than someone else earning $30,000 as their taxable income is considered so low.
Kind regards,
[email signature]
06. Email Template: Post-Settlement
3 Weeks After Settlement
Hi __________ [client name],
It’s been almost 3 weeks since the settlement on your property and I just thought I’d touch base and see how it’s going.
A couple of things to think about:
is the money coming out of the right account? Have a look online and check. If not, give the bank a call and they can change it.
is the money coming out on a suitable day? A lot of my clients align their payments a couple of days after their salary. Give the bank a call and they can change the day you pay the mortgage.
now you’re all settled, it might be a good time to review your KiwiSaver. There’s no cost to you for this, the process takes 20 minutes and we can make sure you’re invested correctly and paying the right amount of tax. Let me know if you’d like to do this.
If you are happy with our service, please tell your friends. My business grows from happy customers like you.
Kind regards,
[email signature]
07. Email Template and Phone Script: Real Estate Agent Referral
Goal:
To help an Open Home attendee organise finance
Are they struggling or unsure of how to get finance (reduce stress)
Can they get a better deal from another bank? (save money)
Do they hate their bank? (reduce stress)
Can we help them reduce their mortgage faster? (better retirement plan)
Info needed:
Need financial position
Application for the bank
Cold Call Script for open home attendees:
Hi. My name is ___________ and I’m calling from The Mortgage Lab here in __________ [city]. You attended an Open Home (on the weekend) with ___________ [Agent] and he’s asked me to give you a call about helping you get the best finance.
Our job is to make getting a mortgage easy by finding you the best interest rate and keeping the whole process stress-free.
Our service is paid for by the banks so is usually free for you to use Is this something you’d be interested in?
[optional, if the conversation is positive] Have you already spoken to someone about your finances?
Great, we’d love to help you, when would be a good time to have a no-obligation meeting with you?
Email to send:
Hi __________ [client name],
Thanks for your time just now. We’re meeting at ____________ [booking details] to discuss how I can help save you money on your mortgage. There is no cost to this.
To make our meeting more productive, I will send you a link via a separate email to our online mortgage applications system. Completing this prior to our meeting is compulsory but helps us get more in depth on your needs rather than basic fact-finding.
Kind regards,
[email signature]
Objections
Already have finance
That’s great! Congratulations! Did you shop around all the banks and check that the bank was the best option for you?
[answer]
Well, that’s my job. Our service is obligation-free free so if I can’t get you a better option, you can use your existing bank’s finance.
Have you got some time this week, maybe _________ [book time]?
Busy (give me your details, I’ll call you later)
That’s ok. It’s a busy time of year. Do you have an available hour sometime soon to see if I can get you a better deal with the bank? On average, our clients end up a couple of thousand dollars better off after we’ve helped them. Have you got one hour at any time this week or next to meet and see if we can help?
But I like my bank
That’s great. Having a good bank is really important. I’d just be checking that they are offering you the best rates possible. All it takes is an hour of your time and, on average, our clients end up a couple of thousand dollars better off after we’ve helped them. Have you got one hour at any time this week or next to meet and see if we can help?
We already have an adviser
That’s great. So you already know the value of an adviser. If you find their response time isn’t quite what you’d like or you not sure if they’re looking at all the options, you can get in touch. Our online application system means the process is about 40 minutes faster than paper-based applications. This means we spend more time talking to you about your needs so we can get the best deal for you.
Can I send you an email with my details?
08. Phone Script: Current Home Owner
Goal:
To refinance a client because of a current mortgage problem they have
Can they get a better deal from another bank? (save money)
Do they hate their bank? (reduce stress)
Can we help them reduce their mortgage faster? (better retirement plan)
Info needed:
Application for the bank – Needs current mortgage account details
Break Costs – If you have a signed Authority and Declaration, you can retrieve this from a bank. The Mortgage Lab has an Agency with. Requesting break costs does not indicate that they are refinancing and banks should give you this information without any problem.
Cold Call Script:
Hi. My name is ___________ and I’m calling from The Mortgage Lab here in __________ [city]. Are you free to speak at the moment?
[gain permission to continue]
We’ve been helping local homeowners who want to save money on their mortgage or purchase a new property.
Could I ask if you own your own house or if you’re looking to purchase in the next 6 months?
[optional, if the conversation is positive] When was the last time your bank reduced your interest rate?
We help people save money on interest rates all the time and one of the things they always ask is “why didn’t my bank tell us?” The answer is that are often just too busy with thousands of other clients. We see what all the banks are offering so we know what the whole market is offering.
We make it really easy to work with us by doing the entire application online with a bit of phone support. The whole thing takes less than 15 minutes. This means you don’t have to give up any personal time to meet a stranger in a cafe. Once you’ve completed the information, if it looks good to you, we can help you the rest of the way.
Would you be open to receiving an email with instructions and a link so you can find out how much you’ve been missing out on?
[get email address, send them introductory email]
Great, I’ll send that to you now. Thanks for your time, talk soon.
Email to send:
Hi __________ [client name],
Thanks for your time just now. You’ll shortly receive an email with a link to our system for you to enter your details. This will give me a picture of your situation and enable me to suggest the next steps.
Kind regards,
[email signature]
Calling on behalf of Insurance Company Script:
Hi. My name is ___________. I’m a Mortgage Adviser and I work closely with your insurance adviser _____________ [name of adviser] from ____________ [insurance brokerage].
They have asked me to give you a call to see if I can help find you a better interest rate and show you how to pay your mortgage off faster.
Most of our clients can save a few thousand dollars off their mortgage in the first year. Our service is paid for by the banks and there are no contracts or obligations. Do you have half an hour to meet up and discuss some possibilities?
Great! When would be a good time to have a no-obligation meeting with you?
*get name, email address*
*book in a time online*
So my name again is _____________. My company name is The Mortgage Lab (we work very closely with ____________ [insurance brokerage]) and I’ll send you an introductory email in about 10 minutes.
Email to send:
Hi __________ [client name],
Thanks for your time just now. We’re meeting at ____________ [booking details] to discuss how I can help save you money on your mortgage. There is no cost to this.
To make our meeting more productive, I will send you a link via a separate email to our online mortgage application system. Completing this prior to our meeting is compulsory but helps us get more in-depth on your needs rather than basic fact-finding.
Kind regards,
[email signature]
Objections
Just Re-fixed
That’s fine. We help lots of clients who have just re-fixed their mortgage and lots of them still save thousands of dollars. All I need is a bit of information from your mortgage and I can tell you exactly what you can save. If you can’t save anything now, then we can readdress it later.
Have you got some time this week, maybe _________ [book time]?
Busy (give me your details, I’ll call you later)
That’s ok. It’s a busy time of year. Do you have an available hour sometime soon to see if I can get you a better deal with the bank? On average, our clients end up a couple of thousand dollars better off after we’ve helped them. Have you got one hour at any time this week or next to meet and see if we can help?
But I like my bank
That’s great. Having a good bank is really important. I’d just be checking that they are offering you the best rates possible. All it takes is an hour of your time and, on average, our clients end up a couple of thousand dollars better off after we’ve helped them. Have you got one hour at any time this week or next to meet and see if we can help?
NZ Home Loans
Yes, NZ Home Loans have a great system to show you how to pay down your system. All the banks have a Revolving Credit facility which allows you to pay down your mortgage. Unfortunately, NZ Home Loans are tied to one or two banks. I look at the full spectrum and not only work to get your mortgage paid down but also get you onto the best rates. Have you got one hour at any time this week or next to meet and see if we can help?
We have a mortgage adviser
Note: Try to avoid rewriting a mortgage that is less than 27 months old to cause clawback to another adviser.
That’s great. So you already know the value of an adviser. Have they reviewed your mortgage recently to make sure you’re getting the best deal?
Well, we have regular reviews with our clients to make sure we’re always getting them the best deal. Have you got one hour at any time this week or next to meet and see if we can help?