Sakura Finance principal Sean Wroe says his partnerships with third party investment property experts allows him to support clients’ goals while providing a ‘one-stop-shop’ that encourages them to stick with his brokerage.
Wroe (pictured above left), who successfully transplanted his mortgage business from Melbourne to Byron Bay in the lead-up to the pandemic, said that his business focused primarily on first home buyer clients and millennials – he also advised on regular property investment deals for this market.
He said providing referrals to services such as those on offer from Prpty360, an investment property acquisition service focusing on generating property returns for customers, meant he was able to offer customers more value and position himself as a trusted guide on their property journey.
“What’s really good is I don’t have to wear the hat and say that I’m an investment property guru,” Wroe said. “I clearly say to them, ‘hey, these are the numbers, and this is what to look for in an investment property’ and then I can say ‘I want to put you in front of someone that is the expert’.
“That way, we can then explain to the service provider what the budget is and what the client needs for rent, and allow them to do the job of finding them a solid investment property.”
Wroe said this approach applied to conversations with clients who might become investors in the future.
“I can explain to clients, if you do eventually look at an investment property later down the track, I do have partnerships with people that can assist in sourcing properties for you.
“The customer may have time constraints or may not have the knowledge and resources to source properties themselves, and I can give them someone who can help them purchase a solid property.”
This also supported customer retention and reduced churn on Wroe’s existing loan book.
“It makes you a one-stop-shop,” he said. “Quite often you might have a customer thinking of purchasing an investment property and they might otherwise speak to a property investment adviser. That adviser might have a brokerage arm or referral broker they use, so you might end up losing that customer and their trail.”
“When you make yourself a one-stop-shop, you are seen as a trusted adviser – you are recommending people you would use yourself, and you are seeing results that build trust, so the customer is likely to stay with you longer and you build more stronger client relationships.”
Investing in relationships that provide investment property guidance
A former Olympian, Wroe regularly refers clients to property acquisition service Prpty360, and has seen a strong track record of results from past clients who have used the service.
For example, he said one pre-COVID first home buyer client had been frustrated in the investment property buying process, coming to Wroe for her second pre-approval after the first one lapsed.
“I was able to chat with her about her real goals – she was still living at home, still comfortable and in her early to mid-20s, but at the time she was getting priced out in the Melbourne market.
“We asked, ‘is the goal owning a property or having a property to move into?’ And because the goal was owning a property, we were able to change the focus to getting an investment property, so that she would be able to get a property under her belt and allow the market to appreciate.”
Wroe put her in contact with Prpty360, and because the resulting transaction turned out to have been “timed to perfection” because it was signed in early 2020, she was able to secure a second property 12 months after purchasing the second one – and may soon be looking at a third.
Prpty360 founder Julian Fadini (pictured above right) said the group’s broker network had been growing faster since 2021, and the business was now dealing with more mortgage brokers than ever before.
He said the business took an organic approach to broker channel relationships, with referrals to a range of mortgage brokers and brokers referring customers to its service.
“We receive business from brokers due to the research and philosophy we use to buy property,” Fadini said. “They know clients are in good hands, and it’s a win-win – the client is getting a good investment with a great yield and capital growth potential and the broker has a client that is actively pursuing the continued growth of their property portfolio.”
Fadini said that much of the value Prpty360 provided came down to experience in the market, which was hard to replicate, even if an investor had multiple properties in their portfolio.
“An active investor might purchase several properties over their lifetime, but only a small percentage actually do go on to do that, to build multiple property portfolios,” he said.
“We are pretty much buying houses on a daily basis – definitely on a weekly basis – and have been going solidly now for over 10 years, so when you consider what we do, then there is just no substitute for our experience and understanding of the market.”
“We also have a strong track record of picking locations that have outperformed the broader, general market – investment property can be potentially life changing in both a positive or negative way, and by using a professional you maximise the chances of that being a positive.”
Education a big value-add for first homebuyers and millennials
Wroe said his investment client volume had slowed down with rate increases, but often it was because clients did not understand how they could be using their property equity better to invest.
“We’ve increased our client education, especially for new clients who are looking at a better rate.
“If they have some equity, we can plant the seed, and say ‘it’s great you have this amount of equity, but did you want it to just sit there doing nothing, or would you like to do more to have that working for you? That can lead to asking some further questions and a discussion of what the options are.”
Wroe is looking at building an online educational program for first home buyers, based on the in-depth information he provides in client meetings, that would support pre-meeting education for Sakura Finance customers, and empower other customers looking at entering the property market.
“I want to provide value for our customers so that they see me as a value-add financially for them, and as someone in the background who is guiding them through their finances and getting them where they want to be in the future,” he said.
Do you think customers are better off seeking expert advice when seeking an investment property? Share your thoughts or stories on this topic in the comments section below.
