What does your role entail and how long have you been doing it?
I joined the MT Finance buy-to-let (BTL) team in September 2024 and have had a few roles since then. I started off as a case manager before moving to a trainee underwriter position. A few months ago, I joined the business relations and enquiries team. I now spend most of my time speaking to brokers about any enquiries they have and presenting our product offering.
What attracted you to working in the mortgage/property/finance sector?
Finance has always fascinated me as it affects literally everything in our modern world. Combine that with my passion for urban planning and design, and it’s a match made in heaven. This sector is constantly evolving, with major government reform bills, changes in rates, and local market shifts. There is always something to hook your attention and new angles to provide solutions.
What were you doing in the five years before starting here?
Five years ago, I was finishing high school in Washington DC and getting ready for university. I went to the University of Toronto for astrophysics, though I ended up changing my degree to urban planning and finance. In my third year, I studied in Osaka, Japan, and completed a consulting internship there. I recently graduated in summer 2024, then worked as a baker for a few months before moving to London.
Conversations you need to have with landlords before the Renters’ Rights Act
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What personal talent/skill is most valuable in doing your job?
Data analysis was one of the most tedious skills to master, but it has had the largest payoff. Specifically, not just collecting and analysing data, but writing reports in simple English that anyone can understand; using logic combined with the figures to come up with real-world conclusions. This analytical mentality is something I now use every day and has proved valuable in my role.
What personal talent/skill would you most like to improve on?
I would like to further strengthen and expand my network of relationships. Ultimately, the people involved in all our transactions are exactly that, people. In my view, it is important to know them and work with them as a team. The personal element of this job and speaking with some of our regular brokers is genuinely one of the best bits.
What is the most interesting/memorable property deal/case you’ve been involved in?
A client had been denied funding several times from other lenders before coming to us. They wanted to refinance a development, so placed one case with us. After understanding their situation in more detail, we decided we could lend on the entire development and were able to provide a solution where others had failed. Following the success of that deal, the client has since placed their entire portfolio with us.
Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
If you had told me five years ago that I would be working in property finance in the UK, I would not have believed you. While I have a plan for the next five years, I also know it’s impossible to plan with certainty in our uncertain world. Whatever I end up doing in five years’ time, I hope I am still in London, as there is no place like it.
If present-day you could go back in time and tell yourself something five years ago, what would it be?
You’ve looked up your whole life, now look at what is right in front of you. I was so enamoured by space and physics growing up that I never really paid attention to the world we live in. I was very hesitant to change my degree and knew I was opening the door to far more risk. Looking back, it is one of the best choices I ever made.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve tackled so far in your career?
Starting my career on the other side of the Atlantic. While English is the same (for the most part), there are differences in business culture, documents, formatting, etc. None of those individually have been challenging, but the sum of these fundamental changes is a perpetual mountain that I continue to climb.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
The power to fly. Since I was a kid, I’ve always been enamoured with flight and space travel. I would love to fly to work or go on a vacation at a moment’s notice. There’s something so calm yet adrenaline-pumping about racing above the clouds, looking below at the beautiful landscapes as they roll by.
And finally, what’s the strangest question you’ve ever been asked?
“Oh, I must have called the wrong number, sorry, but what is the number for your London office?” They were under the impression that they had called the New York office, given my accent. Just to note, we don’t have a New York office. It still makes me laugh to this day – especially after telling them, no, I just live in London.
