Ginny English, Residential by Foundation

This week, Mortgage Solutions is speaking to Ginny English, regional area manager at Residential by Foundation.

Which locations and how many advisers and broker firms do you cover in your role at Residential by Foundation?

I work within the Residential by Foundation brand, covering the East of England and approximately 800 brokers.

What personal talent/skill is most valuable in doing your job?

Approachability, reliability and the desire to help.

What personal talent/skill would you most like to improve on?

Pretty much anything to do with technology.

What’s the hardest part of your job?

Having to say to a broker that we can’t help them. Thankfully, this is a reasonably rare occurrence.

What do you love most about your job?

Talking and engaging with brokers and being able to offer solutions to meet such a wide variety of borrowing needs.

What’s the best bit of career-related advice you’ve ever been given?

There is some debate on whether Mahatma Gandhi actually said this or not, but I’ve always been inspired by the quote: “Be the change you want to see in this world.” It helps me be bold enough to be different and to make a difference.

How do you keep up to date with developments in the market?

I do lots of reading and also get the inside scoop from speaking directly to brokers and colleagues.

What is the most quirky/unique property deal you’ve been involved in?

This tends to be more customer-led than property-related. We get a lot of people who have been rejected by high street lenders but, thanks to their mortgage broker, they connect with us. We have helped many self-employed people who have made the jump to start their own business but don’t fit mainstream criteria. I get an enormous amount of joy from helping someone to get onto the property ladder or be able to continue to afford their family home.

What was your motivation for choosing this career?

I wanted to make the change from being an internal business development manager (BDM) to a regional area manager because I wanted to be able to connect with more intermediaries, meet them in person, and really understand the drivers behind their business growth plans.

If you could do any other job in the property sector, what would it be and why?

I’d love to be involved in interior design to channel my creative streak.

What did you want to be growing up?

A TV presenter, which would lend itself nicely to hosting an interior design TV show, I think.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Teleportation. Imagine how many more brokers I’d be able to help if I could just pop between meetings with the snap of my fingers.

What is your strategy for tackling challenges?

Keep calm and remain focused.

What is your greatest skill(s), either work or non-work related?

Empathy and care.

And finally, what’s the strangest question you’ve ever been asked?

“Haven’t I seen you on the telly?”