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The experience of two banking and mortgage broking careers is behind the new Wellsford business Finance Wise, run by directors Nicci Shirley and Christine Legge.
Both women have financial backgrounds and have been involved in local businesses through their partners.
Originally from the UK, Nicci worked in domestic and merchant banking before moving to NZ in 1989 where she became a foreign exchange dealer. She and husband Andrew shifted north from Auckland 15 years ago to buy the Omaha Timber Yard at Matakana. In 2007, she went back to finance and was a home lender for Wizard, then Westpac in Warkworth.
Christine worked in social welfare before starting a family. Later on, she worked in real estate and banking, and for the past 10 years she has been working in home lending as a mortgage adviser with the local ASB and Westpac branches. Her partner Peter Thomas is a local painting contractor.
“As well as our career experience, we both bring a lot of life experience to our work, which helps us understand that every client has individual needs,” they say.
“We work under the umbrella of the NZ Financial Services Group and use top of the market software to assist analysis of each client’s specific set of circumstances. The umbrella also gives us buying power to ensure access to the best lending rates.”
Nicci is quick to point out that a poor lending history isn’t the end of the world.
“Sometimes it’s just a matter of stepping back and looking at where the money is going and setting up a structured budget. If they can wait a few months and demonstrate that they can meet savings and repayment targets, then it is possible to get people back to a clean sheet.”
Christine says although they work with most major banks, they have the independence to seek funds outside mainstream lenders.
“We can also assess a loan quickly and effectively, and our fees are paid by the lenders, not the home buyer.”
