Monday 22 April 2013

Meet our members: Dan Hulme “sorted out James Bond’s mortgage.”





Dan is laughing as he explains to me how he arranged a mortgage for a Commander in the British Navy. “He wouldn’t tell me exactly what he did for a living but he gave me a secret number which concealed the detail from me while satisfying the system as to his employment. He said ‘Just put this code in’ and he got the mortgage. I couldn’t help thinking of James Bond – he too was a Commander in the British Navy. I am the advisor for 007!”



With his cheeky grin, stock of funny stories and a Family Guy calendar hanging behind his desk, Dan Hulme is not the kind of man you think of when you read the words “Mortgage Advisor”. 


Indeed his working life began very differently. 

Dan left school with no qualifications and no clear idea about what he wanted to do. He was a milkman, a Ford Part’s driver, a fork lift truck driver and worked in a British Polythene Industries factory up until 2007. 





It was when he was faced with redundancy that Dan really focussed on what kind of work he thought he would most be good at and enjoy. He thought about Plumbing and Tiling but really wanted to use his brain rather than his hands, he didn’t want a physical job any more. He assessed his talents and skills, recognising that he was good at mathematics and got on very well with people. He also knew he wanted to be his own boss in charge of his own destiny and so was born a plan to become a member of the Financial Services Industry.


He studied for the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice from the Institute of Financial Services and qualified in May 2006 while still at Ford. He needed to shadow someone competent until he was ready to operate on his own but by the time redundancy was finally confirmed in January 2007 Dan was ready to roll.  


Six months later there was a run on Northern Rock, the banks imploded and mortgage funding dried up overnight. Not the best of times to be starting on such a career path!


Undaunted, however, Dan found himself a position with Forces Financial providing financial advice to the Police and Armed Forces. They were a ready audience, the staff at the military bases in the North West like Preston and in Police stations, GMP mainly, would organise the appointments for him and he would simply turn up, advise and sign people up on the dotted line – including Secret Agents!


There was plenty of work and it was probably one of the few areas less affected by the crisis but for three months I was mainly based in Bristol and the daily commute from Childwall in Liverpool was getting a little tough and generally I was sick to death of being stuck on the motorway.”


In March 2012 Dan went to work with John Green at Green Mortgage Services Ltd, relying on referrals and repeat businesses to keep things ticking over. In August the Government released money for lending to push the banks to give mortgages which people were crying out for. Nat West started the ball rolling and others have followed, the work is now really picking up. “The demand had never gone away but there had been no willingness to meet it, particularly for first time buyers” Dan explains.


“Vendors are also becoming more realistic about selling prices and we are seeing more cases of the Bank of Mum and Dad releasing equity in their own homes to help their children with deposits. Unfortunately the banks are still very strict about who they will lend money to and they are still cherry picking the easiest and safest people to support but whereas in 2008/9 borrowers needed a 25% deposit to get on to the first time buyers ladder now  it is between 5 and 10% on lower interest rates.


"There has been a recent boom in first time buyers now that lending is easier and remortgaging is going to be a very big new opportunity in the industry because rates are now so much better than they were. Some really good deals are available for people currently on standard variable rates and I expect to see lots of people wanting to switch to a better deal.”


He also showed me how there were 3612 mortgage products available on his system – “There were upwards of 75000 of these back in January 2007, it is a totally different environment. Back then the Americans in the industry were recklessly engaging in Ninja mortgages – No Income No Job, Accepted! In England we called them ‘Self Certification’. There have been a lot of lessons learned since then.”


He says his Mum was his first customer and also is his worst, “She won’t listen to any of the recommendations I make and wants to do her own thing, choose her own products. She is very high maintenance and tells me what to do instead of taking my advice! Finally though, she has relented and defers to my superior knowledge but of course only within the boundaries of secured lending and insurances.”


I asked Dan about his involvement with the East Liverpool Business Forum. He told me that he had understood the importance of meeting other businesses because, although he was a Liverpool lad born and bred and still lived here, his work base had been outside of Merseyside for some time and he needed to make those all important connections. He had gone to an advertised networking event in a hotel in the city centre but found it cold, impersonal, unfriendly and not at all welcoming. Uncomfortable he was going to leave but his wife texted him urging him to stay, so he went and sat down with a small group of people and made the best of it. Sitting next to him was Louise Baldock, our Membership Secretary, and when she found out that he worked in East Liverpool she invited him to our next breakfast. A few weeks later John Green received the same invitation from Stephen Brine, a local solicitor and another member of our Forum. Dan was ready to give networking another go and came to his first meeting. Thankfully he found it friendly and intimate and he has been a member now for 6 months.


“I like it being local and there is loads of community spirit within the group  along with plenty of interest in the local economy. It is not ego driven, a nice environment and very welcoming. There is a real trust building between members and we are developing great contacts and long term business relationships. I think the group is developing credibility for itself and for its members and is doing great things for business in East Liverpool; ‘a rising tide raises all ships’.”


Dan’s offer:


ü     I aim to offer a holistic service – I am developing a network of trusted advisors to refer clients to, for services I don’t offer myself, for example pensions and wills. I do provide

  • Residential mortgages, remortgages and new mortgages
  • Buildings and Contents Insurance
  • Buy to let mortgages
  • Related insurances


J&M Green Mortgage Services Ltd is an Approved Representative (AR) of Personal Touch Financial Services Ltd (PTFS). 


The 4 advisers working within the company have over 65 years of industry experience between them


        Access to the Whole of the Market for Mortgage and Mortgage protection products and many exclusive deals through Personal Touch Financial Services Ltd (PTFS).

        Free Financial Review Surgeries. An on-site drop-in service offered to members of staff, courtesy of the employer.

        Trusted brokers for Local Authority and Government schemes such as Mortgage Rescue and Equity Loan Regeneration.

        Key Trusted brokers for Regenda, Homeshub & Arena Housing for Right to Buy & Shared Equity purchases.

        Strong pedigree – We have stood the test of the economic downturn over the last 5 years, whilst continuing to grow through our burgeoning reputation of integrity and great service.

        First time buyer Mortgages

        Re-mortgages

        Shared Ownership Mortgages

        Shared Equity Mortgages

        Equity Release Mortgages

        Right to Buy Mortgages

        Buy to Let Mortgages

        Commercial and Semi-Commercial mortgages

        Secured and Unsecured Loans

        Life Insurance

        Critical Illness Insurance

        Serious Illness Insurance

        Income Protection Insurance

        Unemployment / Redundancy Insurance

        General Insurance - i.e. Buildings and Contents & Accident, Sickness and Unemployment.

        Business Protection - Key Person

        Business Protection relevant life Insurance

        Business Protection - Share Protection

        Business Protection - Loan Protection

        We can help anyone who is over 18, from tenants wanting contents insurance and income protection, to business and home owners wanting insurance and finance.

 
Daniel Hulme
07743 357 419
J&M Green Mortgage Services Ltd
66a Mill Lane
West Derby Village
Liverpool L12 7JB



Tuesday 2 April 2013

A very successful "Open" breakfast!

Networking at the East Liverpool  Business Forum open morning event

Members enjoying a joke at the East Liverpool Business Forum event

Our special recruitment focussed "open" breakfast event was very successful and we have recruited several new members. These photos show some of the people who came and enjoyed the networking experience.

Friday 1 February 2013

Free invitation to Visitors Breakfast event: February 19th 2013

  • Do you want to meet other business people who work in East Liverpool?
  • Would you like to develop better links with local businesses that might be able to put more work your way, or work alongside with you on certain contracts?
  • Do you perhaps work from home and miss the camaraderie of colleagues?

Our network is opening up one of its fortnightly breakfasts to anyone in the city who operates in our area and would like to come along and find out more. We are really keen that lots of visitors should attend this special event, designed to showcase our great forum and encourage new people to join.

What's in it for you?

You will meet our friendly forum members, hear about the wide range of benefits they enjoy, have the opportunity to network with other local businesses and of course have your breakfast in great company.

And this event is free to attend!

Our Visitors Business Breakfast is on February 19th 2013 at 7am at the Devonshire House Hotel, Edge Lane, Liverpool L7 9LD (in the conference centre to the rear of the site) and should be finished by around 8.30am so that you can get into work without disruption to the working day.

If you are interested in coming along to this special open event, please contact our membership secretary and put your name down (so that we have enough breakfast to go round). 

We are really looking forward to meeting you

Wednesday 9 January 2013

Welcome to East Liverpool Business Forum

Members of the East Liverpool Business Forum enjoying a networking event




















Welcome to East Liverpool Business Forum
  • Do you run a business in the East Liverpool area?
  • Do you want to win more clients and customers?
  • Do you want to grow your business?
  • Would you like to spend time with like-minded people in your area, talking about your business and learning about theirs?

ELBF offers members the opportunity to spend a few hours once a fortnight with other local business owners: talking about local economic issues, getting to know each other, finding out about what everyone has to offer in terms of products and services, getting city-wide and local Liverpool business news updates from guests who are leading local business figures, we also regularly go out together socially.

Our aim is to recruit one member from each trade, business or profession in the East Liverpool area so that we can maximise the opportunity to share leads and recommendations.

Last year we passed each other nearly £200,000 of business.

If you would like to learn more, please email our membership secretary 

About Us

Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom
Welcome to East Liverpool Business Forum Our membership organisation has been set up to support local firms and businesses who network together so that we can help each other find new customers or clients. We meet once a fortnight, early on a Tuesday morning in Wavertree and informally network over breakfast. We also share news about the local economy, business opportunities and any economic developments we might want to take advantage of. We regularly have great visiting speakers too, so that we can keep our finger on the city’s economic pulse.