Hi, I’m Mark. I’ve been involved in financial services for 24 years, having started out at the old Norwich Union in an admin role. I eventually became a Financial Consultant with them in 1999 and spent 14 years helping customers, especially those who applied directly to Aviva for equity release.
In 2013 Aviva decided not to have their own in-house advice team, so I took the opportunity to become an independent whole of market adviser. I was delighted to join an innovative company like Equity Release Supermarket. Unlike some of the larger equity release brokers, the company is fully independent and not linked to any specific provider.
Equity Release is a fantastic product. It gives me a great thrill to hear how it changes my client’s lives overnight. There are so many flexible options these days, so it’s still important to get advice from advisers like myself about equity release. I initially check whether it’s suitable, and discuss all alternatives with you, such as downsizing, utilising savings plus I’ll check the impact of any means tested benefits.
My customer reviews regularly tell me that I offer a fantastic service and I like to keep in touch my clients and help service their plan in the future, such as reminding them about voluntary payments, or advice when needing more money or moving house in the future. This accounts for the large number of recommendations that I receive to friends and family.
Equity Release products have improved dramatically over the years, such as lower interest rates, lower fees etc, while some providers also offer the ability to make flexible voluntary interest payments and offer fixed early repayment charges. I think that these new features will grow the market even further over the next few years.
Some people are quite apprehensive about equity release. I like to think that I spend time listening to what my clients are looking for, before explaining how the plan works. You might just want information at this stage and need to know how things work, so I’m happy to help every step of the way.
I live near Sheffield but enjoy travelling to meet new clients. I usually work from home so you might hear by 2 daughters in the background during phone calls!
