PIPA Member Profile | Raj Sarin, Equity Finance Solutions
Oct 2023Karen Millers
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Raj Sarin has a long history of helping people secure finance and became a QPIA to further enhance his property education and expertise.
| CAN YOU PLEASE TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS? |
| Equity Finance Solutions specialise in strategic planning utilising advanced analytics, strategies, and data to help our clients purchase, hold, and grow profitable property portfolios. We are accredited buyers’ agents and hold licences nationally to source, negotiate and purchase high performing properties. Most of our properties are sourced through entrenched relationships, some spanning over a decade, and typically purchased below market value using various negotiating strategies. We can source any type of property, but really focus on what is right for our client’s goals, their current portfolio composition, their lending restrictions, and the like – we are planning 2, 5 and 10 years into the future. We don’t wish to deal with 20 clients a month, adopting an inch wide mile deep approach is where we do things differently. We do absolutely no marketing and at present 100% of our clients are WOM and referrals from existing clients. Life is not set, cannot be predicted with any reliability, and so having a robust strategy that is flexible enough to manage risk through an ever-changing environment is key to everything we do. We are also experts in investment finance and advanced strategies to help investors create large property portfolios. This sets us well apart from our competitors who might only focus on buying properties and outsource the rest. |
| | HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A PROPERTY INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL AND WHAT WAS YOUR PATHWAY INTO THE PROFESSION (INCL. OTHER CAREERS)? |
| I have been in the finance and property industry for 18 years. Straight after completing a bachelor’s in business, majoring in finance and marketing, I joined National Bank of New Zealand (ANZ). I was interested in property from an early age, and started investing in my 20’s. I spent around six years with ANZ and then around seven years with Westpac in Australia helping clients purchase and fund residential and commercial property and leading business units. Then taking on a State Manager role with a national mortgage broking business I grew that business in NSW from the ground up, then worked for another buyer’s agency for 5 years, and then wanting to bring my vision to life I started my own business, Equity Finance Solutions, in December 2022. I think the name says it perfectly, we deploy equity and advance finance strategies to solve life’s problems. A big believer in constant incremental self-improvement I completed the QPIA requirements. So, you could say this is all I’ve ever done! |
| | HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT PIPA WHEN YOU FIRST JOINED? |
| We know a few of the leading members of PIPA and we finally made the decision to become corporate members. |
| | WHAT ARE SOME OF THE REASONS WHY YOU ORIGINALLY DECIDED TO JOIN PIPA? |
| I believe that having some regulation is a good thing for everyone, and too much can stifle an industry. PIPA is working to achieve this balance by eliminating some of the frowned upon practices in the industry, such as not disclosing commissions, and inflating the prices of properties. I am very passionate about getting this right for the client. Further to this, the course is interesting and reinforces the fundamentals I live and breathe every day, so, it was nice to be professionally recognised and be part of a body looking to create a better property investment advice industry. |
| | WHAT WERE SOME OF THE MAIN REASONS FOR BECOMING A QPIA? |
| People that look to us for advice deserve a minimum standard of professional education from their adviser, not dissimilar to any other industry. The QPIA qualification is another well-regarded qualification and, hence, as a business we decided that we would become full members and maintain the necessary ongoing educational requirements each year. |
| | HOW DO YOU BELIEVE BEING A QPIA WILL SUPPORT YOUR CAREER? |
| It was not so much a career move than it was something I felt was right. Still, I think it will help clients connect with me knowing that I am part of a forward-thinking professional body that is looking to lift the bar across the industry. |
| | HOW WOULD YOU LIKE PIPA TO SUPPORT YOUR BUSINESS AND ITS GROWTH? |
| Continue to represent us by providing the media with factual fundamental information on the hundreds of markets across the country instead of treating the entire market as one as they (the media) often do. This helps create awareness and benefits us all. I also like the newsletters and these profiles so you can learn more about other members. A way to connect with other professionals once every six months for drinks, nibbles, and networking would be brilliant, too. |
| | WOULD YOU RECOMMEND OTHER PROPERTY INVESTMENT PROFESSIONALS BECOME QPIAS? WHY? |
| If you value everything I’ve already spoken about, it is a very good idea! |
Originally Published: PIPA Adviser Issue #19
