This year, our business turns 25 years old.

It was way back in September 1999 that our founder, George Massouridis took the leap to leave his role as a bank manager and launch his own independent mortgage brokerage. George had unique insights on the industry from his years on the lending side, so knew he could help customers better navigate the system by working directly with aspiring homeowners.

The property landscape looked a bit different 25 years ago. The first loan we helped source was for a great two bedroom house in Newtown, for the princely sum of $465,000. The first home for them, the first loan for us.

With fewer lenders and the looming threat of higher interest rates, the manageable sales price can be misleading. Our client was still making a big leap in their financial lives and needed the right loan to make the home a viable starting point for their future portfolio. Working together, we found exactly that – the right loan to meet their unique situation and set them up for long-term success.

One of the most rewarding things about celebrating two and a half decades helping our community build wealth is to see just how much those customers have grown themselves. We’re humbled that after all these years, some of those first homeowners who trusted us in the early days are still with us today.

Whether it’s finding the right loan for their homes or managing their portfolio through Property Navigators, it’s so rewarding to see their confidence grow with every transaction, along with their portfolios as the years progressed. It’s easily the best part of our journey so far.

And it has been quite a journey. When we started, back in 1999, conditions appeared much like they do today. The market looked like it had plateaued and rates were headed up to around 5%. Looking back, knowing what we do now, we know it was an amazing time to invest.

We also know there was plenty more which was headed our way. Some we could anticipate and plenty we could not. The global financial crisis was a huge shock to global markets, with reverberations felt everywhere. Even in property across Sydney’s Inner West. Easy to say now, but it was a tremendous time to be investing in property. If you could cut through the fear and follow the lessons which have been hammered home to us over the years.

When we thought the world can’t grind to a halt again, we get hit with a global pandemic. Fear grips money markets and impacts homeowners, lenders and everyone’s capacity to access funding. Yet once again, we see that staying calm and staying true to your goals presented some tremendous opportunities to build life changing wealth and create real financial security.

It hasn’t all been a rocket ship for growing wealth, either. During our 25 years we’ve seen fantastic periods of 15% plus returns on portfolio values. We’ve seen outstanding rental yields bringing in excellent cashflows, funding lifestyles and supercharging wealth creation.

But we’ve also seen years where it felt the boom might be over. Where growth has tapered off, or fell and yields felt less than adequate. However those times don’t last and one thing we’ve consistently had reinforced to us over two and a half decades is that a well managed property portfolio is one of the most reliable, proven ways to create the kind of long-term financial security we all want for our families.

Fast forward to today and as much as the landscape looks familiar, a lot has changed. There are more lenders available offering a broader range of financial products than ever before. While a greater selection is always helpful, creating competition and allowing for tailoring to specific needs, it does make the landscape more complex. Finding the right loan from a much bigger selection to choose from will always be the challenge.

That’s why we make sure to use everything available to us in finding the right fit. Technology has progressed dramatically in our two and a half decades. The loan products may be many, but by combining the latest tools with our many years of expertise, we’re able to dig deep into the endless stream of options and uncover the right fit.

They say history doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes. We know because we’ve seen similar situations play out over the decades and the same lessons keep getting reinforced to us every time. The bad times won’t last, being disciplined and focused on your long-term goals will pay off and a well-managed property portfolio is one of the most reliable ways to build generational wealth and sustainable financial security for you and your family.

There are many avenues out there for achieving your goals, for building that wealth and financing your dream home. That you continue to choose us is a reward in itself and one we never take for granted.

It was an exciting day when we first ventured out on our own and we’re still excited every day to work with homeowners looking to build wealth for the long-term.

Thank you to those who have been part of the journey. We can’t wait to see what’s next.