1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:03,600 Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,920 The show is about to begin. Mohammed, let's put on a show. 3 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:14,800 All right. Welcome to another episode of 4 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:17,120 Golden Nuggets with me, your host Sylvia Eldawi. 5 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:21,080 And today I'm joined by Muhammad Kaswani, who is the Vice 6 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:24,600 President of Property Finder and the Managing Director of 7 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:26,800 Mortgage Finder. Welcome to the show. 8 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:29,080 Thank you for having me, Sylvia. You're welcome. 9 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:31,800 We are going to talk about all things mortgages today. 10 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:35,600 I've got lots of questions and the audience have questions too. 11 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:37,480 So we're going to we're going to go to their question. 12 00:00:37,480 --> 00:00:39,160 I need to find out what they are actually. 13 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:43,080 So because I I gave them, usually what I do is I do it the 14 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:44,880 night before. I say I've got Mohammed Kaswani 15 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:47,480 on the show. Drop all your questions about 16 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:49,240 mortgages. But I did it 10 minutes before 17 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:50,880 you came in. So I'm sure there's some 18 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:53,160 questions which we'll review now. 19 00:00:53,160 --> 00:00:56,840 Mohammed, I learnt something the other day about mortgages. 20 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:59,280 Do you know the origin of the word mortgage? 21 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:04,280 I sure do, and it's not pretty. Tell us what's, tell us about 22 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:05,960 it. So I think it's a it's a death 23 00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:07,880 pledge. Yeah, exactly that. 24 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:12,840 So it comes from the French mort, which is death, and Gage, 25 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:15,960 which is pledge, and it's from the 14th century. 26 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:20,680 So it is kind of like a negative connotation on like a death 27 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:23,160 contract. So do we blame the French for 28 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:24,480 everything that's wrong with mortgages? 29 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:26,840 Let's do it. Let's do it. 30 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:29,440 Everybody else blames the Brits, right So. 31 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:32,400 Let's blame the French for this one, OK? 32 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:35,360 And you actually started your career. 33 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:39,160 You're quite the entrepreneur, but you started your career a 34 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:44,040 while back in mortgages. Yep, that was more about 22 35 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:47,080 years ago. As, as our good friend Drake 36 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:48,920 said, started from the bottom. Now we're here. 37 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,320 Now he's here right at the top and Mortgage Finder is one of 38 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:59,040 the is it the number one mortgage broker in the UAE? 39 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:03,360 We're we're the market leading mortgage provider with direct to 40 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:04,680 consumer lending. OK. 41 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,720 So that's that's where we are. Clear. 42 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:10,199 That's the that's the the accolade. 43 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:16,720 Now tell us about your journey from being a starting at the 44 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:20,320 bottom to now being here. Oh wow, so you know, I, I grew 45 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:25,200 up in I grew up in Damascus area, went to the US in my late 46 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:29,000 teens, early 20s, went school in in Pennsylvania, chased the girl 47 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,120 out West, worked at Bank of America and then started my own 48 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:35,600 mortgage company in 2000 did. You marry that. 49 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,720 Girl, I did marry that girl. I no longer married her, but we 50 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:43,720 have two beautiful children together and they, they all live 51 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:45,680 in California and I go visit them every now and then. 52 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:52,200 So sorry for another day. So then I started my own 53 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:56,400 mortgage company back in San Jose, CA exactly 20 years ago, 54 00:02:56,640 --> 00:03:01,640 so around October 2004, and then sold it and moved back to the 55 00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:07,040 Middle East in March 2008. So that was seven months before 56 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:10,640 the market crashed. So when you're, I was in my very 57 00:03:10,640 --> 00:03:15,320 early 30s and at the time, you know, I obviously, I, I decided 58 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:19,760 to wind down the business late 2007 and completely exited early 59 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:22,080 2008. So when I was, you know, back in 60 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:26,520 the region in, in 2000, you know, late 2008, looking what's 61 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:29,680 happening in the world of financial crisis, I actually 62 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:32,960 believed I was a genius because I was, you know, young. 63 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:34,480 You exited. At the right time. 64 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:38,440 And you know, you're, you're often too full of yourself when 65 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:41,280 you're that young. So I'm like, I'm so smart, but 66 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:43,520 did you? Have like a clue that something 67 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:47,240 was coming or. Truth be told, you had to have 68 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:52,400 been an idiot not to see a crash coming pre financial crisis, 69 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:55,320 particularly if you were in the mortgage industry. 70 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:00,520 I, you know, I, I take a lot of pride in having, you know, built 71 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:02,640 and ran a super clean shop at the time. 72 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:04,720 But we knew what was happening around. 73 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:07,440 We were talking to the bankers. We were, you know, interacting 74 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:10,640 with other brokers etcetera and it was definitely a train crash 75 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:14,280 waiting to happen. But you know, we avoided that. 76 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:18,680 Like I, I do talk a lot about the financial on my guests 77 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:22,600 because my guests are always have been in the industry for a 78 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:27,720 considerable amount of time. We always do reference 2008 as 79 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:31,000 that turning point and we talk about the global financial 80 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:35,040 crash, but a lot of people might not understand how or why it 81 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:37,720 happened. Could you just give us like the 82 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:40,480 101 on Fannie Mac and Hanie Mae or what was it? 83 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:43,480 Freddie Mac. And Freddie Mac and Annie Mae. 84 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:46,600 Whatever. Look, I think if I was to use 85 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:48,840 one word, it would be greed, right? 86 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:53,000 And greed in the sense that customer centricity or having an 87 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:58,000 industry, right, that focuses on what is in the best interest of 88 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,600 the home buyer. And usually home buyers are the 89 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:06,480 most delicate and they usually fall, you know, prey to, you 90 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,280 know, some greedy people in different industries, whether in 91 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:12,480 banking and, and real estate, financial services, etcetera. 92 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:17,440 And a lot of people were rushing into buying homes without having 93 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:21,880 the, you know, the, the proper financial foundation, you know, 94 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:26,400 to, to, to do so. There's a lot of malpractice in 95 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:29,040 that industry. And, and, you know, particularly 96 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:32,440 in the US in the US, mortgages are usually originated by 97 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:38,200 brokers and banks are more than 1200 thousands of mortgage 98 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:41,600 originators, 10s of thousands of mortgage originators, in fact. 99 00:05:42,280 --> 00:05:45,360 And then it's packaged and sold in the secondary market. 100 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:51,200 So let's say a bank originates 1000 mortgages and then they 101 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:54,560 turn them into mortgage-backed securities and then they sell 102 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:56,760 them in in packages of let's say 100 million. 103 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:02,280 What happened was very simple at the time, people were buying 104 00:06:02,280 --> 00:06:04,000 homes that were beyond their means. 105 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:07,080 Their interest rates started adjusting, particularly with the 106 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:11,920 exotic loans at the time. And then, you know, the music 107 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:15,520 stopped, you know, demand turn around, mortgage payments 108 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:17,800 started adjusting. So affordability wasn't there. 109 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:19,800 People were forced to sell their homes. 110 00:06:20,280 --> 00:06:22,200 And there were a lot of companies as well. 111 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:26,800 I remember there were a lot of companies that were betting on 112 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:29,040 people defaulting. I can't remember what that was 113 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:31,040 called. But yeah, credit default swaps, 114 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:35,920 I think, or yeah, it was, I mean, look, it's, it's how we 115 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:39,120 evolve as a, as a species, as a human being, you would hope. 116 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:43,000 And I think there's a lot of safeguards that are in place in 117 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,200 the financial services industry, both, you know, in the US and 118 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:51,320 Europe here and, and globally. So here in the UAE, Central Bank 119 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:55,400 is always very committed to maintaining lending standards 120 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:59,960 that ultimately protects home buyers from from making bad 121 00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:02,000 decisions or poor financial choices. 122 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:04,600 And that definitely safeguards our market. 123 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,120 And what would you say, I mean, I know that was 20 odd years 124 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:11,400 ago, but is there any significant differences between 125 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:15,120 getting a mortgage here and getting a mortgage in the US? 126 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:21,520 Here's the unfiltered truth. I think the mortgage industry 127 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:30,120 here is 20 years behind what the mortgage industry was 20 years 128 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:33,840 ago when I was in it in the US. So it's 40 years behind 129 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:36,160 technically. Unfortunately, yes. 130 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:39,000 And let me let me quantify what I mean by behind right. 131 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:44,040 The the transaction cycle is extremely slow. 132 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,520 It is a painful, daunting journey right now. 133 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:54,720 I remember back then in, in the 2004 to two 2007 eight, we were 134 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:59,760 originating mortgages in within 48 to 72 hours, right? 135 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:06,040 The average transaction cycle in the UAE is 48 to 78 to 272 days, 136 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,160 right? So that's 24 times slower, 137 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:13,080 right? And, and look, this is the, the 138 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:17,720 sort of the trade off between central bank being, you know, 139 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:21,080 hyper committed to maintaining that conservative approach to 140 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:24,520 mortgage lending, ultimately to protect home buyers and protect 141 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:27,640 the consumers and put all of these safeguards in industry. 142 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:31,880 But it also comes at the expense of, you know, very inefficient 143 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:34,559 processes, right? And I can dive into these 144 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:38,440 processes and the pain that, you know, home buyers would, would 145 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:40,520 go through. Now we go through this pain on 146 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:42,240 behalf of home buyers and mortgage finders. 147 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:45,440 So we we, we understand it very, very well and we try to sort of 148 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:48,320 shield home buyers from that pain, but we know what's 149 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:50,600 happening in the background. Yeah, because my friend just 150 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:55,160 took out a mortgage recently and she was like, I had no idea how 151 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:58,520 painful just that part of the process was before she's even 152 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:02,040 started viewing properties and and making offers. 153 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:05,040 It was like that was a pain. Sender to us next time, it'll be 154 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:07,720 a lot less pain. OK, so this episode I really 155 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:12,240 want this to form AI mean a lot of people are actually using 156 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:16,480 these episodes as training programs or, you know, instead 157 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:20,920 of CEO doing a Monday meeting, they'll just play one of these 158 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:22,440 episodes. So I really want this to be a 159 00:09:22,560 --> 00:09:27,080 useful episode for someone either who has just got into 160 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:30,560 real estate or is in the the very beginning does has never 161 00:09:30,560 --> 00:09:32,320 actually taken out their own mortgage. 162 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:35,280 So I really want to fill in a lot of the blanks for them on 163 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:40,240 that and also tenants, tenants moving into or considering home 164 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:42,440 ownership. And one product that you have on 165 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:46,920 on your website is that rent versus buy calculator. 166 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:49,360 Can you tell us about that? Yeah, absolutely. 167 00:09:49,560 --> 00:09:52,080 So it was a tool that we developed on the back of my own 168 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:55,400 personal experience. Couple of years ago, I was doing 169 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:58,680 some math deciding whether to continue renting or to buy a 170 00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:03,320 property. Luckily we bought and but the 171 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:06,760 process was on an Excel sheet. So I started plugging in some 172 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:08,680 numbers, running different scenarios. 173 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:10,480 What happens if the property price goes up? 174 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:12,040 What happens if interest rate adjusts? 175 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,600 What happens with various different scenarios of that, you 176 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:17,960 know, that can happen in a property transaction? 177 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:21,960 And on the back of that, we, you know, sat with the product team 178 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:26,120 and I said, hey guys, how can we build this tool to empower 179 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:29,160 consumers or home buyers in making that decision 180 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:31,320 objectively? So we built a tool that is 181 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:33,280 called the rent versus buy calculator. 182 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:38,160 You can find it under explore, so you can just go to Google, 183 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:42,960 type property Finder, run versus buy calculator and you'll find 184 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:44,920 the link just to give you a bit of a shortcut. 185 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:50,760 What we found in almost absolute terms is the one variable that 186 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:53,320 makes the difference is how long you plan on staying in the 187 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:55,600 property. And we advise home buyers 188 00:10:55,600 --> 00:10:57,800 accordingly. You know, we say, hey, if 189 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:01,440 you're, you know, if you're getting into the property with 190 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:04,760 the view of potentially moving or selling in a year or two, 191 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:09,160 maybe you're better off renting. Because of the upfront costs 192 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:10,920 involved. Yes, right. 193 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:13,800 And I don't like to look at appreciation. 194 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:17,480 A lot of times people I believe make a mistake of treating a 195 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:18,920 property purchase like a trade, right. 196 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,920 It's not a trade. It's a the most important thing. 197 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:26,800 It's your home, particularly if you're buying to live, right? 198 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:30,040 The second most important thing is it's an investment. 199 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:31,600 It's an investment in your family's future. 200 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:36,800 Now, in almost absolute terms, if you're living in the property 201 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:40,800 for three to five years or longer, it is always better to 202 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:44,640 buy than rent. Now, that's an almost keyword, 203 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:48,360 almost absolute terms to double click on today's market 204 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:51,400 dynamics, right? And the reason why the rent 205 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:55,480 versus buy calculator will almost always come on the side 206 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:59,120 or encourage you to buy is because in today's market, and 207 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:04,640 this is unique to the UAE, your mortgage rates are lower than 208 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:08,000 rental yields. So if you look at rental yields, 209 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,720 that is annual rent divided by the property divided by property 210 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:14,920 value, it's in a range of 6 to 7% gross yield. 211 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:20,960 Mortgage rates are close to 4%. Nowhere in the world has those 212 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:23,160 dynamics. You go to the US, your rental 213 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:26,520 yield is more like 4%, depends on where in the US obviously, 214 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:29,760 but let's say major cities and then your mortgage rates are 7, 215 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:33,480 seven and a half percent where we are right now in in mid 2024. 216 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:39,360 So that dynamic is making it a lot more financially viable to 217 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:40,960 buy as opposed to rent. Yeah. 218 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:44,240 And the only thing that could put anyone off and let's be 219 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:47,880 honest, because you have another product the the monthly payment 220 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:49,240 calculator, I think it's called mortgage. 221 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:52,400 Mortgage calculator, yeah. That so you think, OK, in my 222 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:56,880 head I'm like, oh, 20% deposit, my upfront cost, But then when 223 00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:01,880 you Add all the plus plus plus, it ends up being double the 224 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:05,640 amount of your deposit after you factor in agent fees, after you 225 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:09,520 factor in the transfer fee, surveyor's fees. 226 00:13:09,560 --> 00:13:14,440 All of that makes you want to go back to the Rent search button. 227 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:18,640 So yes and no, right? Because some banks, in fact most 228 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:24,240 banks today, allow you to include DLD registration and a 229 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:29,320 real estate agency Commission, let's say transaction fees allow 230 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:30,720 you to include them in the mortgage. 231 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:33,400 Yeah, I saw that at the bottom, there's a toggle at the bottom 232 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:34,720 include the fees. So that's. 233 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:39,360 Look, I always say to people, if you know it is it's ultimately a 234 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:43,640 financial decision, you can include them, you know, or or 235 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:47,520 you can choose not to again at rates as low as 4%. 236 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:51,560 And remember, our rates are lower than the majority of, of, 237 00:13:51,560 --> 00:13:53,520 of of markets, particularly western markets. 238 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:57,160 I think it makes sense because you're borrowing money cheap. 239 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:04,760 Not as cheap as it used to be. Look, it isn't right, but let's 240 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:07,760 face it, you know, one 2% interest rates, that's not 241 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:10,920 normal, right? It was, it was never, that 242 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:13,480 wasn't cheap. That was abnormally low. 243 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:16,400 For a long time. For a long time I know. 244 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:18,280 And, and we got spoiled when we get used to it. 245 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:22,960 And, and you know, look, funny enough, a couple of years ago, 246 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:26,480 almost everybody was speculating that with interest rates going 247 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:30,480 up, the, the music is going to stop or home buying activity is 248 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:34,960 going to slow down. And, and, and I, you know, we go 249 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:39,480 through this chart with, with our team on a monthly basis and 250 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:41,880 it's, it's mind boggling. You see it, you see the dynamics 251 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:43,880 differently. So for example, in the US, the 252 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:45,680 curve moves in the opposite direction. 253 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:50,000 So interest rates go up, mortgage activity goes down in 254 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:51,840 here, they're moving in the same direction. 255 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,240 Why? Because of rents. 256 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:58,760 You know, again, rents went crazy the last couple of years. 257 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:01,600 They've in in some areas they've more than doubled. 258 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:05,480 I know I'm, I'm, I'm in that. I'm in that mix. 259 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:11,280 OK. And in terms of the split now, 260 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:14,680 would you say it's 5050 cash and mortgage purchases? 261 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:19,360 What are you getting there? It's closer to like it's, it's 262 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:23,280 in the 40 something percent on ready properties, so. 263 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:25,200 A mortgage. Our mortgage. 264 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:28,280 OK, fine. So just to kind of understand a 265 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:33,600 bit about how to calculate it, let's say before you get to the 266 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:36,680 calculator state, in fact, no before that, and I know the 267 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:41,520 answer to this, but from a technical perspective. 268 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:48,040 But your advice you start shopping first or get pre 269 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:51,240 approval first. Always get a pre approval first, 270 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:54,600 always get AI mean look for a couple of reasons. 271 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:58,840 One is I think it gives the home buyer more credibility when 272 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:02,640 they're engaging and interacting with real estate agents and 273 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:03,840 potential property sellers, right? 274 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:05,920 Because they will ask that question. 275 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:07,080 Everybody will ask that question. 276 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:12,280 Two, as I also think it, it gives home buyers that more 277 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:16,440 responsible approach because particularly when you're buying 278 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:20,760 a home to live in, as much as it's an investment or a 279 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:24,520 financial decision, it is an emotional process, right? 280 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:29,200 And what you don't want to see is people going out shopping for 281 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:34,000 homes, finding the home of their dream and then stretching 282 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:38,200 themselves in every possible direction and borrowing money 283 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:41,880 from, you know, aunts and uncles and brothers and sisters and 284 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:45,240 friends to make that down payment or, or, or to make that 285 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:47,200 transaction happen. And then going through 286 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:49,760 financial, financial stress. Now you will find it quite 287 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:52,520 often. And this is important to always 288 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:56,000 advise home buyers is particularly first time home 289 00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:00,440 buyers. It's almost not normal not to 290 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:05,079 have some level of stress, financial stress, when you buy 291 00:17:05,079 --> 00:17:06,480 your first property. That's OK. 292 00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:12,240 But don't take, you know, too high of a burden to a point 293 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:13,440 where you're putting yourself at risk. 294 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:16,599 Especially if you lose your job or in those kind of scenarios. 295 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:20,560 OK, so let's say before you get your pre approval, there are 296 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:23,000 some calculations that you can do yourself. 297 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:27,400 So there's a few rules of thumb when it comes to how much can I 298 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:32,240 or how much should I borrow. And I would say it's about 25% 299 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:36,760 of your monthly income should go towards your rent or your 300 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:38,720 mortgage. Am I right on that? 301 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:41,240 It depends on your other liabilities. 302 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:47,120 So if we were to go by central bank rules, right, Central bank 303 00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:49,120 rules says all of your liabilities. 304 00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:52,920 So that is your mortgage, your car payment, your credit cards. 305 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:55,960 Keep in mind on credit cards it's not how much you owe, it's 306 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:58,040 what your credit line is, right? Right. 307 00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:02,120 Your personal loans, etcetera, all of which should not exceed 308 00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:05,280 more than 50% of your monthly income. 309 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:07,040 OK. Now so. 310 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:12,200 So they want you to have 50% of your salary put away each month? 311 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:15,560 It's not put away, right? It's your disposable income is 312 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:18,160 going to go to, you know, putting gas in your car, paying 313 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:20,720 utilities, you know, paying service charges for your 314 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,720 apartment, if you own an apartment or even a villa, 315 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:27,800 school fees. Want to talk about this? 316 00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:30,680 Yeah, that can be expensive. Yeah, OK. 317 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:34,560 Because there was another calculator that I had seven 318 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:38,040 times. You should buy a property that's 319 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:42,160 seven years worth of salary. Yes, or less than seven years. 320 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:45,560 Worth of your salary, yeah, don't exceed 7X your annual 321 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:47,200 salary. So that's a nice kind of. 322 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:49,280 I mean, look, there are all kinds of formulas. 323 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:53,920 You know, ultimately it is a, it is a, a matter of personal 324 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:56,960 choice. Some people do make that choice. 325 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,520 We made that choice as a family to say, you know, look, we 326 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:02,880 wanted a property that is fit for purpose. 327 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:08,240 And, you know, we did a remodel and, you know, went all out and 328 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:09,680 that was very, very important to us. 329 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:13,160 So, yeah, it wasn't, it was tight, right? 330 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:16,480 You know, again, different people have different 331 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:19,440 personalities. Some people cannot, simply 332 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:23,120 cannot live with any level of financial anxiety. 333 00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:25,320 So they choose to go more conservative, live within their 334 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:26,800 means. I admire them. 335 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:29,760 I think, you know, that's always the more prudent approach. 336 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:33,800 But different people have, you know, different personalities. 337 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,360 But you know, I love playing around with the Mortgage 338 00:19:36,360 --> 00:19:39,480 calculator. And what's quite interesting is 339 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:45,400 the the difference between no, if you're adding one million, if 340 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:51,280 you're going up a notch, 1,000,000, it's only an extra 341 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:54,520 4000 dirhams a month on your repayment. 342 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:57,800 That's it. That could be two nights out at 343 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:03,040 Zuma that you no longer go to. You know, you scrap that off 344 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:06,280 your list and then instead you buy a property that's a million 345 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:09,640 dirhams more. Or it could be a pair of shoes. 346 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:13,320 Quite frankly, it's a pair of designer shoes every month that 347 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:17,240 you sacrifice in order to live in a property that's a million 348 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:21,800 dirhams more expensive. 100%, 100%. 349 00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:24,480 So look, I mean, and, and again, the, the Mortgage calculator is 350 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:30,200 a is a great guide to show you, but again, you want to keep in 351 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:35,680 mind some scenarios, right? You want to look at what are 352 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:39,560 your other liabilities? And then also keep in mind that, 353 00:20:40,360 --> 00:20:42,960 believe it or not, some people look at it simplistically in 354 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:47,560 saying my mortgage cost versus my rental cost as a monthly 355 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:49,320 payment. But remember, part of that 356 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:51,400 mortgage is going to to your principal. 357 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:54,960 So it's it's forced savings, right? 358 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:56,120 Right. OK. 359 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:58,320 And then the other. Even if you what I'm saying is 360 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:01,800 even in in a world where your mortgage payment is slightly 361 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:05,880 higher than your than your rent, but you're living in a property 362 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:08,640 that you love and that you see yourself committing to for the 363 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:11,720 next week. So I'd almost, I'd rather see 364 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:15,440 somebody stretching themselves a little bit and live in the 365 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:19,360 property longer as opposed to going on the, you know, going on 366 00:21:19,360 --> 00:21:21,760 the conservative side and then making a move in two to three 367 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:25,360 years because that move is more expensive and more risky. 368 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:31,080 Because when you take a long term view on a property, you 369 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:33,080 know, appreciation, depreciation, all of that 370 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:35,440 becomes a lot less of a, of a concern. 371 00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:39,160 Because look, we've all, we all know every market in the world, 372 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:43,800 whether that be the UAE, France, Spain, England, US, etcetera. 373 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:49,360 You know, it's the nature of any, you know, any market, you 374 00:21:49,360 --> 00:21:51,440 go through economic cycles, you're going to have ups and 375 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:53,280 downs. We've seen ups and downs, you 376 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:57,600 and I within the industry, we've seen a couple of cycles, you 377 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:01,920 know, of the, the market going up 20304050 seventy, 100% and 378 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:04,400 then going back down and then going back up. 379 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:06,240 So. And it's, and it's interesting 380 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:08,680 because it is, there's a name for it. 381 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:10,760 I think it's like lifestyle upgrade or something. 382 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:13,200 Once you do stretch yourself a little bit. 383 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:16,280 And I actually had one of my, you know, one of my early day 384 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:23,480 bosses, he used to encourage all the brokers to go out and get an 385 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:27,600 expensive Mercedes on finance, go and buy a property. 386 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:32,720 Not that he was pushing us into debt, but he wanted us, he 387 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:36,680 encouraged us to stretch ourselves financially so that 388 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:42,520 then our, you know, income had to keep, keep pace and obviously 389 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:45,080 we'd close more deals or make more money and and so on to kind 390 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:48,600 of keep up the lifestyle. So I completely agree with them. 391 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:52,440 So one of my really good friend and mentor is a high profile 392 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:54,040 figure in the private equity space. 393 00:22:55,840 --> 00:23:00,080 One of his profound advice, he's an older gentleman, mid 60s. 394 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:04,840 And one of his profound advice to me is has well, always live 395 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:07,480 beyond your means because it keeps you going. 396 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:11,560 Now again, when you have a family and you have a, you know, 397 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:16,280 wife and kids, you know, husband, parents, etcetera, you 398 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:18,720 always want to make sure that your family is is protected. 399 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:21,360 So. Don't be irresponsible, OK? 400 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:24,960 And then the other thing to bear in mind is the length. 401 00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:27,080 So let's talk about mortgage typical length. 402 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:33,360 So the standard is about 25 years, but if you're over 45, 403 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:37,560 they'll cap it at 65 when you turn 65 that they'd only give 404 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:41,160 you a 20 year. And, and this is one of the, the 405 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:43,760 debates that we always have with, we're trying to have with 406 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:46,800 the, with the bankers and ultimately, I think a debate 407 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,840 that should be had with had with, with central bankers. 408 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:53,920 Why the 65 year old age gap, right? 409 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:58,640 Let's face it, if I'm 50 years old and I'm, you know, I'm 410 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:01,960 borrowing for a 30 year term, not even 25, right? 411 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:06,280 Well, let's say 25 year term and I'm, you know, I'm now 65, then 412 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:08,960 I would have already paid more, paid down more than half my 413 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:10,600 mortgage. So the risk to the bank is 414 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:13,440 almost non existent. But it is that it is what it is 415 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:16,840 and that is the rules. So the rules here are your 416 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:21,600 mortgage term is capped by either maximum of 25 years or 417 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:26,360 age 65. However, there are unspoken of 418 00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:31,120 exceptions depending on the borrower's profile and the bank 419 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:35,480 and the borrower's income and etcetera, etcetera, where we can 420 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:38,120 stretch that tenure up to 70 years old. 421 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:43,240 So you can be 50 years old and have a 20 year mortgage as 422 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:45,520 opposed to only 50. I'm surprised they don't ask for 423 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:47,680 medicals and stuff or they don't look at health. 424 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:50,760 Do they or do they? Do they sneak into the? 425 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:53,080 No. So there's a life insurance 426 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:56,200 policy and I would say it's one of my favorite documents to sign 427 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:58,640 on a mortgage. I told my wife when when I did 428 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:01,800 it, I said, hey, I just realized I'm gonna be, you know, I'm 429 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:03,320 worth a lot more dead than alive. 430 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:07,640 Don't give her any ideas. She listens to a lot of those 431 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:13,800 podcasts which you know, the, the, the crime and disappear 432 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:16,440 people podcasts. Sometimes I. 433 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:20,160 Red flag. Yeah, yeah. 434 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:23,000 But yeah. And hopefully we're not giving 435 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:28,400 her any bad ideas. 25 years. 2560. 436 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:33,680 Five, Yeah. So life insurance yes, with with 437 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:40,720 life insurance you sign a medical declaration form where 438 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:43,200 you declare any pre-existing conditions and etcetera. 439 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:46,080 I always urge people to be factual. 440 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:49,840 There is always the case that nobody thinks about, you know 441 00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:54,800 of, God forbid you know, the the mortgage holder is deceased and 442 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:58,320 then the insurance company can always find a reason to say, oh 443 00:25:58,320 --> 00:25:59,560 you had a pre-existing condition. 444 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:03,080 So if you do have pre-existing conditions, I always urge people 445 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:08,200 to declare them. My mine is the smoking box so I 446 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:12,120 mean I'd love your opinion on this but I used to smoke 447 00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:15,320 cigarettes. Now I've switched to Icos which 448 00:26:15,360 --> 00:26:18,360 I don't consider smoking so I think I would tick the 449 00:26:18,360 --> 00:26:22,000 non-smoker box. Well, you know what ICOS stands 450 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,840 for? No, it actually stands for I 451 00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:27,840 Quit Ordinary Smoking. I did not know. 452 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:30,000 Did you all know that? They're all like, did you? 453 00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:31,920 I did not know that. OK. 454 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:34,920 Maybe that answers your question. 455 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:38,480 So if they need another box that says not ordinary. 456 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:40,360 Smoking Are you an ordinary smoker or are you an 457 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:42,760 extraordinary? I'm an extraordinary everything 458 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:43,960 you. Are extraordinary. 459 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:45,440 So yeah, we both know. It thank you. 460 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:46,720 Thank you. Right. 461 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:49,240 OK. So we've done the length of the 462 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:54,240 term bank versus broker because your default is the easiest 463 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:57,200 thing for me to do is use the bank that I bank with. 464 00:26:57,400 --> 00:26:59,840 They're offering me a mortgage. Let me go with them. 465 00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:03,240 It's easier to just be in house. Why should I go to a mortgage? 466 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:05,520 What a broker? What's the pros and cons of 467 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:09,720 each? What's more important, buying a 468 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:13,120 pair of shoes or buying a house? You're asking the wrong person. 469 00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:16,560 You're asking the wrong person I love. 470 00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:18,520 Can you say they're equally important? 471 00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:23,120 Look, as long as I have somewhere to live and I have 472 00:27:23,120 --> 00:27:26,160 nice shoes, I'm happy. Look, if you're looking to buy a 473 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:32,200 nice pair of shoes, do you go into one store or do you go, are 474 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:34,440 you better off going into three or four different stores? 475 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:37,160 Good point. I tend to go to a mall where 476 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:41,400 there's multiple brands or concessions within the 477 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:43,120 department store. I mean, look, there's always a 478 00:27:43,120 --> 00:27:45,840 world where you say, you know, I want to buy a lupoutine or 479 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:49,200 whatever, right? But, but there's a world where 480 00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:52,480 you wake up one day and you say, Hey, I need some emotional 481 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:54,720 support and I want to go to the mall and buy a nice pair of 482 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:56,840 shoes, right? I do this sometimes. 483 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:01,600 I'm sure you do now, but you don't really know what kind of 484 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:03,960 shoes they want to buy or let's say a watch or whatever that is. 485 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:06,880 So you're always better off shopping around and and seeing 486 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:12,120 what other options you have now. Jokes aside, your mortgage and 487 00:28:12,120 --> 00:28:15,920 your property purchase is often the most important decision that 488 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:18,960 you make after marriage. Agreed. 489 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:21,600 Agreed. With that said, you go to the 490 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:24,040 bank, you're going to get one option and the bank is going to 491 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:25,880 sell you on their mortgage product. 492 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:29,480 You go to a broker or a mortgage provider, an independent 493 00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:33,560 mortgage provider, and then you have every bank in the country 494 00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:37,320 at your disposal as opposed to only one. 495 00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:44,000 So your advice of course. I would always go definitely 496 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:48,560 advise to go to a trusted mortgage broker and a trusted 497 00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:53,960 mortgage broker is ask your friends, right? 498 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:59,080 Check out Google reviews, you know, ask your agent for a 499 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:03,000 recommendation. Maybe you know, always, you 500 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,080 know, definitely make sure that you're working with somebody 501 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:07,080 trusted. If you can ask for references. 502 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:08,840 Like I said, check for Google reviews. 503 00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:11,880 They always tell you a lot. If you don't find positive 504 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:13,760 Google reviews, maybe that's an alarming sign. 505 00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:17,080 Or just ask for references. Yeah. 506 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:22,320 And there is another reason not to go with your bank because if 507 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:27,920 you do switch employment, there's a, you know, that end of 508 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:31,000 settlement or not, end of settlement, end of service that 509 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:33,800 triggers, you know, red flags for the banks. 510 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:36,680 So we, we usually tell this to each and every single borrow 511 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:41,760 what we get and, and we clarify that we get a lot of borrowers 512 00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:45,080 who end up getting a mortgage through their bank, but through 513 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:48,000 US, right, because we manage the process on their behalf and it's 514 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:52,320 better they get the same terms. So let's say you bank with ADIB 515 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:55,840 or FAB or Ms. MB D, right? You can come to mortgage Finder, 516 00:29:55,840 --> 00:29:59,760 we can get you the mortgage through your bank and we'll get 517 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:03,440 you the same terms. Just frankly speaking, better 518 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:09,760 service right now. We always advise people to say 519 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:14,480 even if you go through your bank, don't go for the salary 520 00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:16,640 transfer option. It's it usually comes at a 521 00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:21,360 lower, at a lower interest rate. But then the issue that you're 522 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:25,400 having is if you feel that there's a risk of you exiting 523 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:28,680 your role, then you know what either the risk that you're 524 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:32,480 taking is. The bank will then hold your end 525 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:36,240 of service amount as soon as you as soon as you exit. 526 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:40,040 So it could be a bit of kind of financial complication. 527 00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:47,440 OK, Speaking of financial complication, credit scores, how 528 00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:52,120 how do I find out my credit score? 529 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:55,000 What can I do if there was something on there that I didn't 530 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:58,600 know about? Like is how often things being 531 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:01,400 discovered in the credit score that people had no clue about. 532 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:08,960 Yeah, funny enough, we get a lot of cases where people get have 533 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:10,880 credit cards that they didn't know existed, right. 534 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:16,800 So somebody who had gone for a car loan and part of the, you 535 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:19,720 know, as they're signing the documents, the bank offered them 536 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:21,280 a credit card and they checked. Yes. 537 00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:23,440 And then it shows as a credit line on the credit report. 538 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:28,200 Yeah, anybody can pull their own credit report using AECB. 539 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:32,640 So, and it had credit Bureau AECB. 540 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:37,120 Just look it up on Google. And then they also have an app 541 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:39,000 where you can download it, put your Emirates ID and your 542 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:41,320 information and then you get your credit report. 543 00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:44,560 So it's not just the credit score, it's a full report that 544 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:47,600 shows your, you know, payment history and what your credit 545 00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:50,800 lines are with different financial providers. 546 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:54,080 So is it good to have credit cards that you don't use? 547 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:55,960 Does that improve your credit score? 548 00:31:55,960 --> 00:31:59,200 Because that in certainly in the UK we were encouraged to take 549 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:02,240 out credit cards but not use them or make sure we repaid them 550 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:06,120 every month in full because that gives you a bit of a boost or is 551 00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:09,760 that not really apply here? No, look, I mean it's all within 552 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:12,320 a balance, right? So yeah, definitely having a 553 00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:15,200 couple of credit cards with regular usage, what's very 554 00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:19,680 important is paying it off off on time or maintaining a low 555 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:23,560 balance to credit line ratio. That's for a couple of reasons. 556 00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:27,040 One is financial responsibility because credit card interest 557 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:31,240 rates are borderline criminal. You know, if you add it up for 558 00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:32,760 the year, it's higher double digits. 559 00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:36,200 It's very, very expensive. So you don't want to be paying 560 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:39,440 credit card interest or profits. It's very, very high. 561 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:45,560 Two is, again, in a world where you're adding that financial 562 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:48,480 stress onto yourself and in a world where you're forced to pay 563 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:50,720 down your credit cards, you don't want to have that 564 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:54,400 financial stress always. I really justly tell people the 565 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:57,320 one thing to watch out for the most is maintaining credit card 566 00:32:57,320 --> 00:33:01,480 debt to a minimum. OK And what about your like 567 00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:04,640 utility bills and stuff? Because I've there have been 568 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:09,880 times where I've forgotten about an AC bill or paid my due exile 569 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:12,200 up late. Does that have a? 570 00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:14,560 Sadly, yes. How many days late? 571 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:17,120 It was so more than 30 days is what? 572 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:19,200 Oh no, that's not. It's more of a kind of reminder, 573 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:22,160 like oh damn I forgot to. And, and like, the nice thing 574 00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:24,880 about over here is if you're, you know, like I've been with 575 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:28,040 the salad for how long? 1213 years now. 576 00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:32,520 They they call me on the day that my bill is due. 577 00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:34,680 It's not like a day, but a day after. 578 00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:37,080 It's like, hey, you know your bill, dude. 579 00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:39,240 Have I ever missed a payment? No like. 580 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:43,360 I don't get a phone call, I just get the text message saying it's 581 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:45,680 oh maybe I clicked don't call me. 582 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:51,080 Maybe I should do that? Yeah, so and with the apps and 583 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:54,720 everything, but in the in the UK it's much, much easier because 584 00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:56,320 everything is on a standing order. 585 00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:58,720 You will not forget it. It just comes out automatically. 586 00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:01,800 Here I have to manually have like a bill day where I'm just 587 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:03,400 going to go in and pay everything. 588 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:09,560 But yeah, OK, so I want to get your opinion on what makes 589 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:10,679 sense. And this is your personal 590 00:34:10,679 --> 00:34:12,280 opinion. It's not to be construed as 591 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:15,320 financial advice. But let's say you've got a 592 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:19,760 million Dirham's cash. Would you be recommending 593 00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:25,600 someone buy a million Dirham property outright or mortgaging 594 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:30,520 5 apartments, putting the OR mortgaging as many apartments 595 00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:33,800 and and putting that money down as a deposit? 596 00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:37,960 Are you buying to live or are you buying to invest investment? 597 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:43,320 So it's not that simple, right? Because you don't always 598 00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:45,560 mortgage. So your mortgage on your primary 599 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:49,360 residence, the 20% down payment applies. 600 00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:51,800 If it's an investment property, you need to have a higher down 601 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:56,360 payment. 40%. And, and again, I always say 602 00:34:56,920 --> 00:35:00,640 look for you want to, you want to be in a world where your 603 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:07,360 rental income is or your, your mortgages, your, your mortgage 604 00:35:07,360 --> 00:35:12,520 and service charges, etcetera is less than 80% of your rental 605 00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:15,120 income. There's a couple of, there's a 606 00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:18,720 couple of formulas that you want to apply into making these 607 00:35:18,720 --> 00:35:21,680 decisions properly. So it may not be 5 properties, 608 00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:23,920 it may be three properties, it may be 4 properties. 609 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:28,440 The short answer is, again, with in a world where rental yields 610 00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:34,000 are higher than mortgage interest rates, then yes, all 611 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,080 day long mortgaging and investment property is better 612 00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:40,240 than buying it cash. But that make sure that you have 613 00:35:40,240 --> 00:35:43,800 that balance and, and the reason you want to do this because you 614 00:35:43,800 --> 00:35:48,240 want to account for, you know, vacancy, you want to account 615 00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:50,640 for, you know, God forbid something happening in the 616 00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:53,160 property. You know you want to account for 617 00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:55,920 interest rates adjusting because remember, interest rates here 618 00:35:56,240 --> 00:36:00,320 are fixed for, you know, 2345 years, but then they become 619 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:01,240 adjustable. Right. 620 00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:04,680 And and let's talk about that, the difference between tracker 621 00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:07,160 and variable. Can you explain the differences? 622 00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:09,760 Yeah, of course. So you have two options. 623 00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:11,960 Usually when taking out a mortgage, you can either take a 624 00:36:12,080 --> 00:36:14,360 variable or what they call a tracker. 625 00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:18,480 And that is there's a, there's an index called the IBOR, which 626 00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:20,600 is the Emirates Interbank offering rate. 627 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:25,120 So it's usually IBOR plus a margin of let's say you know, 1 628 00:36:25,120 --> 00:36:30,360 1/2 or 2%. That's option A Option B is and 629 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:33,320 that's adjustable from day one. So whatever happens to the IBOR, 630 00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:35,560 you just add 2% and then it moves up and down. 631 00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:39,160 Sometimes people do this when they speculate that interest 632 00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:43,000 rates are going down. Option two is to take on a fixed 633 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:45,840 term mortgage that is often fixed for. 634 00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:49,640 The most common product here is three years, so fixed for three 635 00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:53,080 years and then it turns into a tracker at the end of that 636 00:36:53,080 --> 00:36:54,480 three. Year and you're either going off 637 00:36:54,480 --> 00:36:56,960 a Cliff or climbing up a hill, Yeah. 638 00:36:57,320 --> 00:36:58,960 Yeah. So we're getting, I mean 639 00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:03,320 naturally now a very big portion of our business is mortgages 640 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:07,440 that we had originated in 2000 in 20/21/22 that are now coming 641 00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:09,240 back for a refinance. OK. 642 00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:14,800 And let's talk about refi as they call it, refinance or 643 00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:18,520 switching mortgages or something else that is quite common in the 644 00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:20,320 UKI don't know if it happens much here. 645 00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:24,160 Is releasing equity to buy another property does that? 646 00:37:24,240 --> 00:37:26,360 Is that a thing here? Absolutely. 647 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:30,480 You can release equity either to buy another property or to 648 00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:33,920 renovate your property, right? You renovate your home now with 649 00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:36,200 home renovation. Some banks, they simply send you 650 00:37:36,200 --> 00:37:38,960 the money straight to your account and then you manage a 651 00:37:38,960 --> 00:37:41,120 renovation. Other banks mandate that they 652 00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:43,480 only send that money directly to the contractor. 653 00:37:44,240 --> 00:37:46,200 Interesting. But again, and that's the, 654 00:37:46,240 --> 00:37:48,880 that's one of the benefits of working with a, with a mortgage 655 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:52,160 provider because you can then have these options when you go 656 00:37:52,160 --> 00:37:56,920 straight to your bank, you're, you're usually bound by whatever 657 00:37:56,920 --> 00:38:00,560 rules your bank has. So those are usually the two 658 00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:03,000 common ways for, for remortgaging. 659 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:06,560 The third one is you can simply remortgage without taking an 660 00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:09,720 equity release just to fix your rate for another longer term. 661 00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:14,320 Now it's been extremely common because think about what 662 00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:15,520 happened the last couple of years. 663 00:38:16,040 --> 00:38:18,960 Property prices appreciated big time, right? 664 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:21,840 And. Unexpectedly. 665 00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:26,360 I, I think expectedly you think I absolutely, you know, 666 00:38:26,400 --> 00:38:28,960 absolutely. After the C word, everyone 667 00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:31,320 thought it was going to be an absolute disaster. 668 00:38:33,840 --> 00:38:36,400 Maybe not everyone, but. Look, I've, I've, I've said this 669 00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:41,320 quite often, I don't advise people to bet against Dubai, 670 00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:45,840 right? This that you know, it's a city 671 00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:47,880 with an incredible regulatory environment, with leadership 672 00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:51,800 that knows what they're doing, with a, with almost an, an 673 00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:57,120 obsession to, you know, advancing and being the best of 674 00:38:57,120 --> 00:39:00,680 the best anywhere in the world. You know, you look around you, 675 00:39:00,680 --> 00:39:04,200 you've got a great environment. I wouldn't bet against the city 676 00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:07,080 right now. The reason why I don't say it, 677 00:39:07,240 --> 00:39:11,520 it is expected or I, you know, it has been expected is and 678 00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:13,080 people aren't really paying attention to this. 679 00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:19,040 You're looking at property values and absolute value as 680 00:39:19,040 --> 00:39:22,760 opposed to looking at it in inflation adjusted value, 681 00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:28,120 because if you look at property price levels today, adjusted for 682 00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:32,040 inflation, they're actually less expensive than where they were 683 00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:33,520 in 2015. Sixteen. 684 00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:37,560 So yeah. OK, I like that. 685 00:39:37,560 --> 00:39:43,720 Don't bet against Dubai. OK, self-employed people and 686 00:39:43,720 --> 00:39:47,720 freelancers. How did the mortgage options 687 00:39:47,720 --> 00:39:51,200 differ if you're self-employed or if you're an agent that's 688 00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:55,880 Commission only, or you're a, you know, freelancer of some 689 00:39:55,880 --> 00:39:59,800 sort? Most banks will either not lend 690 00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:01,600 you or put you through hell and back. 691 00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:07,200 We can show you vouchers, right? We but that's again, not all 692 00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:09,560 banks. That's most conventional banks. 693 00:40:10,440 --> 00:40:13,720 That is we're working with. This is, I think, particularly 694 00:40:13,720 --> 00:40:17,080 for somebody who's a freelancer, real estate agent or 695 00:40:17,080 --> 00:40:20,680 self-employed or non resident. This is particularly the case 696 00:40:20,680 --> 00:40:24,240 where I would advise them to go to a mortgage broker because 697 00:40:24,240 --> 00:40:27,520 then they would save you the time and trouble and drama of 698 00:40:27,520 --> 00:40:30,480 going to one bank at a time and getting rejected. 699 00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:35,640 We, our team, would know which banks would lend you at what 700 00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:38,520 terms ahead of time and they'll help guide you properly. 701 00:40:38,840 --> 00:40:41,480 OK. And what about employment 702 00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:45,240 probationary periods? Like how, how, how does that 703 00:40:45,240 --> 00:40:48,720 affect mortgage eligibility? You've just started a new job, 704 00:40:48,720 --> 00:40:50,120 or you've just arrived in the city. 705 00:40:50,120 --> 00:40:54,200 Yeah, you're always, you need to apply after you've passed 706 00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:58,960 probation, OK. Again, there are some exceptions 707 00:40:59,120 --> 00:41:01,560 of banks who would lend you while on probation. 708 00:41:01,920 --> 00:41:08,280 It is extremely uncommon, OK. And look, part of it is also, I 709 00:41:08,280 --> 00:41:10,480 think being financially responsible. 710 00:41:11,320 --> 00:41:13,840 If you're facing the risk of not passing probation for whatever 711 00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:15,920 reason, do you really want to take on a mortgage liability? 712 00:41:16,320 --> 00:41:19,040 Because it is a liability. Well, you could actually request 713 00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:21,480 that if that's your intention to buy a property, you could 714 00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:25,520 negotiate your probationary period is reduced from six 715 00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:28,200 months to three months. Perhaps there's there's that to 716 00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:30,440 think about. All right, What happens at the 717 00:41:30,440 --> 00:41:36,200 end of the 25 years? Because I'm approaching that 718 00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:38,600 stage on some of my properties where I'm like, hold on a 719 00:41:38,600 --> 00:41:39,600 second. That's amazing. 720 00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:40,960 Time is coming. Yeah, did. 721 00:41:41,160 --> 00:41:42,960 You buy your first like this. You bought your first property 722 00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:45,520 when you were two. 1007 and. You were 12. 723 00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:48,480 No, I was, Yeah. Yeah, I was 12. 724 00:41:48,520 --> 00:41:51,080 I was 12. They gave you a mortgage when 725 00:41:51,080 --> 00:41:53,600 you were 12 years old. Unbelievable, these Annie Mac 726 00:41:53,600 --> 00:41:59,040 and Freddie Mae crooks. And actually my first mortgage 727 00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:02,480 was 100% mortgage where they just gave you the whole amount. 728 00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:04,520 You didn't have to have any down payment or anything, no. 729 00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:07,400 The real answer to your questions I don't know. 730 00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:15,000 Just because I had interest only, so that was an interest 731 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:17,880 only. So I've only paid the interest, 732 00:42:17,880 --> 00:42:22,640 not the principal. So I have to just sell it at the 733 00:42:22,640 --> 00:42:26,440 end, which is made a, you know, it's, it's gone up considerably, 734 00:42:26,440 --> 00:42:30,160 but, but generally you're supposed to own it at the end of 735 00:42:30,160 --> 00:42:33,200 the 25 years. You do own it, yes, 100 So that 736 00:42:33,200 --> 00:42:38,280 we know now, if you're asking me if, if you're asking me, what's 737 00:42:38,280 --> 00:42:39,840 the process? Do you get a call from the bank? 738 00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:41,520 Do you call them? Does anybody come and give you a 739 00:42:41,520 --> 00:42:44,120 hug and say Hallelujah? No, we don't know what happens. 740 00:42:44,120 --> 00:42:46,560 I, I I don't. Know OK no one's reached the end 741 00:42:46,560 --> 00:42:48,560 of the 20. Five years you will own, you 742 00:42:48,560 --> 00:42:52,360 will really own your property because remember you're when you 743 00:42:52,360 --> 00:42:55,120 when you buy a property through a mortgage, the mortgage is 744 00:42:55,120 --> 00:42:58,720 mentioned on your title deed. So I would imagine you go down 745 00:42:58,720 --> 00:43:01,680 to the trustee office and say get them removed. 746 00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:04,760 I think you get, I think you get a document from your bank that 747 00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:08,720 says my mortgage is paid off and or I have no liability and then 748 00:43:08,720 --> 00:43:09,720 get them to remove it. So. 749 00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:12,760 If anyone knows what actually happens at the end of 25 years, 750 00:43:12,760 --> 00:43:15,240 if you're if you've been, you know, if you've been in a a 751 00:43:15,240 --> 00:43:18,240 mortgage holder for that long, drop it in the comments. 752 00:43:19,280 --> 00:43:22,880 Next generation of home buyers. I know you know, we're probably 753 00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:26,160 the same generation. We always had it drilled into 754 00:43:26,160 --> 00:43:27,680 US, own property owned. Property. 755 00:43:27,680 --> 00:43:29,480 Yes, You look so much younger than me. 756 00:43:30,120 --> 00:43:31,400 Funny how that happens, but yeah. 757 00:43:33,880 --> 00:43:35,280 That's the property Finder colours, yeah. 758 00:43:37,280 --> 00:43:40,640 They they they enhance my complexion. 759 00:43:42,680 --> 00:43:45,800 Are you seeing any trends when it comes to the age of first 760 00:43:45,800 --> 00:43:49,680 time buyers or are people waiting for longer? 761 00:43:50,320 --> 00:43:53,480 Is the next generation like so done with that measure they'd 762 00:43:53,480 --> 00:43:56,760 rather invest in other assets, asset classes? 763 00:43:57,240 --> 00:44:02,080 Are we seeing any kind of shift since you, since you're 2020, 764 00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:04,360 well the beginning of your mortgage career? 765 00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:10,360 It's a very, very good question. We, we published those on a on 766 00:44:10,360 --> 00:44:13,400 an annual basis with our mortgage Finder annual report. 767 00:44:14,200 --> 00:44:18,440 We're definitely seeing that scale sliding younger and 768 00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:22,600 younger over time. Interestingly, those dynamics 769 00:44:22,600 --> 00:44:26,600 are different between one global city to another. 770 00:44:27,120 --> 00:44:31,440 Keeping in mind that the UAE has we we are a young population, 771 00:44:31,440 --> 00:44:32,520 so. Lots of entrepreneurship. 772 00:44:32,560 --> 00:44:35,000 What applies here isn't necessarily similar to what 773 00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:37,920 applies elsewhere in the world. Right, let's move on to home 774 00:44:37,920 --> 00:44:40,800 buyer tips because this has all been home buyer tips 775 00:44:41,200 --> 00:44:45,840 educational, but we're going to separate three sets of people. 776 00:44:45,840 --> 00:44:49,520 So we're going to talk about the end users, the investor and the 777 00:44:49,520 --> 00:44:53,520 real estate agents. So what do you wish the end end 778 00:44:53,520 --> 00:44:58,200 users knew about mortgages? Go to a broker as a a trusted 779 00:44:58,880 --> 00:45:02,000 mortgage provider or a broker as opposed to going to your bank so 780 00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:04,000 you can have more options, right? 781 00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:13,360 That's that's number 1/2 if your first time home buyer stretch 782 00:45:13,360 --> 00:45:17,800 yourself within limits, right? So make sure that you have that 783 00:45:17,800 --> 00:45:22,920 your family is secure, right. So think with your mind as well 784 00:45:22,920 --> 00:45:26,160 as your heart. So it's not all emotions 785 00:45:27,040 --> 00:45:30,440 definitely apply some sense Three, and this is another part 786 00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:33,680 of working with a trusted mortgage provider. 787 00:45:34,200 --> 00:45:38,320 Ask your mortgage provider to review the MOU and the purchase 788 00:45:38,320 --> 00:45:39,320 agreement. Right There's. 789 00:45:39,320 --> 00:45:40,000 A. Can they do that? 790 00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:43,280 Would they do that? So our mortgage advisors always 791 00:45:43,280 --> 00:45:46,160 review and it's a complementary service that we offer. 792 00:45:46,760 --> 00:45:49,200 What we look for is there's, there's something and this is I 793 00:45:49,200 --> 00:45:53,480 think the one advice for people to walk away with is always make 794 00:45:53,480 --> 00:45:59,920 sure that there is a, a term in your MOU about valuation, right? 795 00:46:00,240 --> 00:46:03,640 Because if you're, if subject to, you know, bank valuation, 796 00:46:04,040 --> 00:46:06,640 because if let's say your valuation comes back and it's 797 00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:10,160 20% below your purchase price, then you won't qualify for that 798 00:46:10,160 --> 00:46:12,800 mortgage anymore and your transaction falls apart and you 799 00:46:12,800 --> 00:46:16,120 just lost your deposit, right? So make sure absolutely that 800 00:46:16,120 --> 00:46:19,520 there is that valuation clause that is advice that applies to 801 00:46:19,520 --> 00:46:22,440 first time home buyers, to investors and to real estate 802 00:46:22,440 --> 00:46:24,320 agents. Because the last thing a real 803 00:46:24,320 --> 00:46:28,640 estate agent should want is drama halfway through the 804 00:46:28,640 --> 00:46:29,760 transaction. OK. 805 00:46:29,760 --> 00:46:31,840 That's superb advice. Thank you. 806 00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:34,600 Valuation clause. Make sure it's there. 807 00:46:34,600 --> 00:46:37,680 OK. And and if they don't have it. 808 00:46:38,280 --> 00:46:40,480 They can reach out to. Go buy it. 809 00:46:40,600 --> 00:46:42,680 Don't don't buy the property, go buy another property. 810 00:46:42,680 --> 00:46:45,720 And there are times when the seller would refuse and we 811 00:46:45,720 --> 00:46:47,680 usually advise. But again, that's the 812 00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:51,120 distinction between a trusted mortgage advisor and a. 813 00:46:53,280 --> 00:46:55,240 Cowboy. Thank you. 814 00:46:55,240 --> 00:47:00,040 OK, you know, and and we always in in our, our team does this 815 00:47:00,040 --> 00:47:02,960 incredibly well and so do many people. 816 00:47:02,960 --> 00:47:09,800 I'm sure being an advisor is a very, it's a big responsibility. 817 00:47:09,800 --> 00:47:12,880 You're advising people on the most important financial 818 00:47:12,880 --> 00:47:17,000 decision that they're making. So I would say if you're, if 819 00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:20,440 you're a mortgage broker or your real estate agent or your buyer 820 00:47:20,440 --> 00:47:25,560 or your seller are pushing you against doing what is logically 821 00:47:25,560 --> 00:47:28,000 correct, don't buy the property. There will always be another 822 00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:29,160 property. Walk away, OK? 823 00:47:29,800 --> 00:47:32,800 And yes, you know, your husband or your wife is going to tell 824 00:47:32,800 --> 00:47:34,680 you, but I love this. It's a corner plot. 825 00:47:34,720 --> 00:47:36,080 There'll be another corner plot. Don't worry. 826 00:47:36,400 --> 00:47:38,280 Yeah. OK. 827 00:47:38,400 --> 00:47:41,840 And what should investors be aware of when considering 828 00:47:41,840 --> 00:47:45,280 mortgages? So always look for that balance 829 00:47:45,400 --> 00:47:50,960 of making sure that your, that your mortgage payment and 830 00:47:50,960 --> 00:47:53,680 service charges and, and you know, maintenance provisions, 831 00:47:53,680 --> 00:47:57,000 etcetera is within that 80% of rental income range. 832 00:47:57,680 --> 00:47:59,160 That's, that's absolutely important. 833 00:47:59,520 --> 00:48:01,720 Watch out for those service fees, right? 834 00:48:02,920 --> 00:48:07,080 And also there's so many tools on the market and, and, and 835 00:48:07,080 --> 00:48:11,840 great companies like Keeper. For example, if you want to work 836 00:48:11,840 --> 00:48:14,920 with a property manager, you want to assess whether you're 837 00:48:14,920 --> 00:48:18,920 better off doing short term rentals or long term rentals. 838 00:48:19,280 --> 00:48:20,760 What are your objectives on this property? 839 00:48:20,760 --> 00:48:24,840 How important is liquidity? So for example, if you want to 840 00:48:24,840 --> 00:48:28,800 be in a position to be able to sell that property on a short 841 00:48:28,800 --> 00:48:32,960 notice or you know, move into the property yourself, then 842 00:48:32,960 --> 00:48:34,360 short term rental becomes. Yeah. 843 00:48:35,120 --> 00:48:38,240 Becomes more relevant. And lastly, I would like to hear 844 00:48:38,240 --> 00:48:44,040 from you, why choose mortgage Finder to finance my next well 845 00:48:44,040 --> 00:48:48,480 to broker my next mortgage? Trust is, is, is a one word and 846 00:48:50,000 --> 00:48:53,000 look, this is something that we've been hyper committed to as 847 00:48:53,000 --> 00:48:58,040 a, as a team and as a company with a, with a brand as large as 848 00:48:58,040 --> 00:49:02,440 property Finder and mortgage Finder, maintaining trust and 849 00:49:02,440 --> 00:49:06,200 taking that responsibility seriously is extremely, 850 00:49:06,200 --> 00:49:11,440 extremely important. There is one metric that I as as 851 00:49:11,440 --> 00:49:13,760 the MD of the business focus on. What do you think that is? 852 00:49:14,480 --> 00:49:15,640 Revenue. Nope. 853 00:49:16,680 --> 00:49:17,880 Retention. Nope. 854 00:49:18,240 --> 00:49:19,520 Referrals. Nope. 855 00:49:20,000 --> 00:49:22,040 Reviews. Google reviews. 856 00:49:22,680 --> 00:49:27,480 So the one thing that I talk about most religiously is Google 857 00:49:27,480 --> 00:49:30,120 reviews. I read them every single day 858 00:49:30,360 --> 00:49:32,520 with my morning coffee. That's your thing. 859 00:49:32,800 --> 00:49:34,280 It's, it's my thing. It's what I enjoy. 860 00:49:34,280 --> 00:49:37,040 It's what we it's what we love. And that's not just about me. 861 00:49:37,480 --> 00:49:39,760 You would see we have WhatsApp group with everybody on the 862 00:49:39,760 --> 00:49:41,000 team. That's what everybody 863 00:49:41,000 --> 00:49:43,160 celebrates. You'll hardly ever seeing 864 00:49:43,160 --> 00:49:46,160 somebody saying, you know, congratulations, so and so on 865 00:49:46,160 --> 00:49:49,640 closing 100 million that I have last month, that's not really a 866 00:49:49,640 --> 00:49:51,440 thing. Congratulations so and so on 867 00:49:51,440 --> 00:49:53,320 closing 30 transactions last quarter. 868 00:49:53,800 --> 00:49:57,160 It's not a thing what you see even the team celebrating each 869 00:49:57,440 --> 00:50:02,120 celebrating each other for is is is customer reviews because we 870 00:50:02,480 --> 00:50:07,600 literally obsess with home buyers and and we say we even 871 00:50:07,600 --> 00:50:09,640 say it on the website and we're not shy to say this. 872 00:50:10,080 --> 00:50:13,760 We work for home buyers. We don't work for the banks, a 873 00:50:13,760 --> 00:50:17,120 lot of real estate agencies. And we have, you know, hundreds 874 00:50:17,120 --> 00:50:21,120 of real estate partners who choose to place their trust in, 875 00:50:21,680 --> 00:50:25,960 in our team, a mortgage Finder. Not only because we have members 876 00:50:25,960 --> 00:50:29,640 on our team who have been doing this for nearly 20 years, but 877 00:50:29,680 --> 00:50:33,160 also because they know that they're referring their home 878 00:50:33,160 --> 00:50:35,520 buyer to somebody that they can trust and somebody who will look 879 00:50:35,520 --> 00:50:37,560 out for. Them and that's really, it's 880 00:50:37,560 --> 00:50:42,440 really important because I, I always went by the saying people 881 00:50:42,440 --> 00:50:47,200 respect what you inspect. So as a leader, if you are 882 00:50:47,200 --> 00:50:52,200 obsessed with Google reviews, well, guess what your team are 883 00:50:52,200 --> 00:50:54,120 going to be pushing for all the time? 884 00:50:54,560 --> 00:50:57,840 It's those Google reviews. I'm Dan Mohammed's asking me for 885 00:50:57,840 --> 00:50:59,320 another review. Where are my reviews? 886 00:50:59,480 --> 00:51:01,240 No, I don't ask people, by the way, for reviews. 887 00:51:01,240 --> 00:51:03,480 We just, yeah, I just celebrate them, right? 888 00:51:03,960 --> 00:51:07,280 But it must then become part of the culture that people that 889 00:51:07,280 --> 00:51:09,640 your people are asking for reviews because they know it 890 00:51:09,640 --> 00:51:12,800 pleases you so much. Entrenched in the culture, right 891 00:51:12,880 --> 00:51:15,480 And, and, and, you know, thankfully it pleases everyone. 892 00:51:15,480 --> 00:51:18,440 It's no longer about just making, you know, making me feel 893 00:51:18,440 --> 00:51:20,720 good. It really everybody now in the 894 00:51:20,720 --> 00:51:23,520 company. It it became, I think it became 895 00:51:23,520 --> 00:51:25,560 entrenched in our culture, customer centricity. 896 00:51:25,800 --> 00:51:28,440 And then but the other thing that flip side of that, because 897 00:51:28,440 --> 00:51:32,280 I used to obsess over reviews as well, but when you get one bad 898 00:51:32,280 --> 00:51:35,600 one, what? How do you have any bad ones? 899 00:51:35,720 --> 00:51:37,920 Do you ever? Everybody, everybody has a, 900 00:51:38,080 --> 00:51:40,040 everybody has a bad review every now and then. 901 00:51:40,960 --> 00:51:46,560 We have close to 700 reviews now and at 4.9, so obviously a lot 902 00:51:46,560 --> 00:51:51,640 more five star reviews than now. Interestingly, Google reviews 903 00:51:51,680 --> 00:51:54,040 often tend to be either five stars or one star. 904 00:51:54,200 --> 00:51:54,640 Nobody. Ever. 905 00:51:54,640 --> 00:51:56,520 Reads you four stars or three. Stars, right? 906 00:51:56,880 --> 00:51:59,440 Because if somebody's taking that time to review on Google, 907 00:51:59,920 --> 00:52:02,440 you know, they're either very happy or they're very unhappy. 908 00:52:03,520 --> 00:52:08,160 What we do is, you know, many times, so either our head of 909 00:52:08,160 --> 00:52:12,280 mortgage advisory, Sam, who I believe you may have met, or a 910 00:52:12,280 --> 00:52:14,680 member of our management team will call that customer to 911 00:52:14,680 --> 00:52:17,200 better understand. The first course of action is to 912 00:52:17,200 --> 00:52:22,520 say, hey, we see you're unhappy, how can we take care of you? 913 00:52:23,480 --> 00:52:26,760 After we've taken care of them, we then ask them, hey, if you 914 00:52:26,760 --> 00:52:28,000 feel that we've taken care of you. 915 00:52:28,560 --> 00:52:33,800 And look, sometimes customers, you know, sometimes they wake up 916 00:52:33,800 --> 00:52:37,080 on the wrong side of the bed. Sometimes they don't know that 917 00:52:37,080 --> 00:52:40,240 it was the bank who change the term halfway in between. 918 00:52:40,240 --> 00:52:41,680 Ultimately, we are held responsible. 919 00:52:41,720 --> 00:52:43,840 Yeah, and everybody makes mistakes. 920 00:52:44,960 --> 00:52:47,160 OK, brilliant. And there is that opportunity to 921 00:52:47,160 --> 00:52:50,320 give good customer service by turning around a negative review 922 00:52:50,320 --> 00:52:52,240 into a +100%. That's the way that you handle 923 00:52:52,240 --> 00:52:53,040 it but it. Becomes a. 924 00:52:53,080 --> 00:52:57,000 It becomes a crisis. It's like a natural disaster if 925 00:52:57,000 --> 00:52:59,080 there's a one star review on on Google. 926 00:52:59,760 --> 00:53:01,360 OK, you're having that. You're sitting there with your 927 00:53:01,360 --> 00:53:04,480 coffee and it's like what? Brilliant. 928 00:53:04,760 --> 00:53:08,080 Well, Mohammed, thank you so much for sharing your expertise 929 00:53:08,080 --> 00:53:11,200 and your valuable insights. I've really enjoyed that. 930 00:53:11,200 --> 00:53:12,840 I've learnt a few things as well. 931 00:53:12,840 --> 00:53:15,400 And yeah, I hope you enjoyed that. 932 00:53:15,560 --> 00:53:17,720 If you do, like, share and subscribe. 933 00:53:17,720 --> 00:53:19,400 Thank you very much. Thank you.