Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Solutions. Read the original article for full details.
Fleet Mortgages BDM Claire Graham Covers South Wales and South West
Mortgage Solutions has profiled Claire Graham, a business development manager at buy-to-let lender Fleet Mortgages. Graham covers South Wales and the South West, working with a broad network of adviser firms specialising in BTL across the region.
Career Background
Graham has 12 years' experience in the mortgage industry. She began her career as a mortgage adviser, later became a whole-of-market broker and then moved into a field BDM position. She says this background has been a significant help, as she understands what brokers want and need from their BDM, having worked in that role herself. She also knew many lender BDMs through her previous work, which made the transition straightforward.
Challenges of the Role
Graham identifies rate pulls as the hardest part of her job. Beyond that, she says the most challenging aspect is balancing the demands of such a large geographical area, covering both South Wales and the South West. She notes that while Wales is geographically close to England, it has its own culture, making it important to adapt. Given the size of her patch, she says there are not enough hours in the day to see everyone, with phone calls, broker meetings and events making it difficult to be everywhere at once.
Skills and Development
Graham says relationship building is one of the most important skills in her role. She has always been comfortable presenting, but delivering market insights is an area where she had limited experience before becoming a BDM, and one she wants to continue developing, noting that it is something Fleet does frequently.
Advice and Working Style
The best career advice Graham received came from one of her first managers at NatWest: 'people buy from people'. She says that is how she tries to do her job, making herself available, contactable and always willing to help.
Staying Up to Date
Graham keeps up with market developments through a mix of communications from Fleet, webinars, networking events and conversations with brokers, as well as LinkedIn. She says brokers are good at keeping themselves informed, making those conversations particularly useful.
Relevance for Letting Agents and Brokers
For letting agents, inventory clerks and broker firms operating in the BTL space across South Wales and the South West, the profile offers a useful introduction to a lender contact covering their region and insight into how BDMs support adviser firms.
Source: Mortgage Solutions