Former teacher and banker finds her true calling in broking
Broker in Focus is a dedicated series that highlights the unique journeys of mortgage brokers, providing them with a platform to share their experiences, insights, and expertise. Through compelling personal stories and professional reflections, each featured broker recounts the key moments that have shaped their careers, delves into the challenges and opportunities facing the industry today, and shares the valuable wisdom they have gained along the way.
This week, MPA is featuring Marisa Schönwolf (pictured), mortgage broker at CHL Home Loans Leederville, who entered the broking industry more than two decades ago after a chance meeting with a mortgage broker sparked a career-defining lightbulb moment.
With a background in education and banking across South Africa and the UK, Schönwolf was determined to find a career path that offered both purpose and autonomy. What began as a leap of faith soon evolved into a thriving career built on hard work, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to doing the right thing for her clients.
Full name: Marisa Schönwolf
Job title: Mortgage Broker
Company: CHL Home Loans Leederville
Number of years in the industry: 22
Location: Leederville, WA
How and when did you become a mortgage broker?
I became a broker in March 2003. I was unsure what career path to follow after having obtained my graduate diploma in secondary education at Curtin Uni. I’d worked in banks in Durban, South Africa, and London, and wanted the opportunity to progress in a career at my own fast pace. At the time, I was relief teaching – and hating it, and concurrently working casually at one of the big four banks, which was less than fulfilling. The career progression was going to be slow and tedious, and I was hungry to do something meaningful and rewarding, both from a job satisfaction perspective and an income stream.
A broker came to our house one evening to discuss a loan for a potential property purchase, and I had a lightbulb moment. I investigated what being a broker was all about and made the move a mere few weeks later. I haven’t looked back since then – more than 22 years ago now.
In your opinion, what has been the most positive development in broking?
As the role of a broker has become more arduous over time, our industry has kept up with the inception of various third-party platforms, offering services to relieve some of the extra work. For example, platforms which can “pull” clients’ bank statements as required have become invaluable to us in a climate where the broker is expected to examine and analyse clients’ living expenses – something not required around 10 years ago, and which adds more time to assessment and application preparation, amongst all the other “extra” tasks we now perform.
What challenges do you see currently facing the industry, and what solutions would you propose?
Although they’ve been around since even before I became a broker, I see clawbacks as becoming even more problematic. I say this as the level of work per file has increased so dramatically over the years, but the risk of losing all that time spent on an application has not diminished. When a client pays their loan out (divorce, moving, loss of job) – when they sell their property, the main reason, secondary to refinancing their loan – due to no fault of the broker, the upfront commission (the main remuneration) earned for time spent assisting that client is “taken back,” no questions asked and no warning. Furthermore, brokers are not allowed to quote a client a postponed fee in the event they do pay the loan out and a clawback is triggered. I see the solution as three-fold:
- Lenders to adopt a pro-rata clawback system, as some banks have already done;
- If clients purchase and sell the same property within the clawback period, the lenders should practice discretion in these unusual circumstances; and
- Allow brokers to cover themselves by quoting a fee to the client should a sale occur.
In no other industry is one expected to use their time and expertise to assist, be paid for that job they’ve performed, and then have those earnings taken back. It’s primitive and borderline criminal.
Can you share a challenging experience from your career as a broker and the lessons you gained from it?
For the first five years of my career, I didn’t take a single day off. I didn’t grow up in Australia, and so I didn’t have the friends or school network to bolster my career, as many do. I worked so incredibly hard, so consistently, that I recall my workaholic father telling me it was “time to slow down a bit.” If you knew my dad, you’d understand what a big statement that is coming from him. At the time, it made me smile, but I kept going like that for another couple of years, including taking calls on many Sunday afternoons – one in particular I remember, late on New Year’s Eve 2006.
Around mid-2007, it all started to pay off, and I couldn’t have been happier about joining the industry those four or so years earlier. The lesson I learned then, as a woman in her 20s: hard work and perseverance really do pay off. As a woman now in my 40s, that initial crazy-hard work, followed by years of continual discipline, means I can now enjoy a more balanced work/life existence than many; the knock-on effect has been unexpected and amazing!
Could you share any valuable advice for individuals aspiring to become brokers or those new to broking?
Don’t give up. Do the right thing always. Set boundaries. Quickly learn to recognise when someone is using you without intention of rewarding you – your time is valuable, and you can say “no.” Don’t work alone, join a vibrant office environment, and take every opportunity you can to network.
Broker in Focus is a weekly MPA feature spotlighting mortgage brokers from diverse firms and locations across Australia. Among those recently featured are Aimee Bergan of APC Home Loans, Alya Manji of Aussie Home Loans, Leon Ng of Zenith Home Loans, Martin Walmsley of NBS Home Loans, Cameron Conroy Atlas of Victorian Commercial & Home Loan Group, Randy Araya-Bishop of Sufficient Funds Home Loans, Rachel Slekenics of Low Rate Home Loans, William Chen of Pacific Mortgage Centre, Hayden Folbigg of Bigg Mortgage Group, and Russell Munfaredi of Mortgage Pros.
Are you a mortgage broker interested in being featured? Email the author with your details.
