Decoding Alternative and B-Lending Options with Mike Ayoub of Home Trust

Real Life Mortgage Solutions

In this episode, Len Lane, founder of Brokers for Life Inc., sits down with Mike Ayub from Home Trust to discuss the ins and outs of alternative lending. With over 30 years in the business, Home Trust specializes in serving clients who don’t fit traditional A-lender criteria, such as self-employed individuals and those with unique income sources. Mike dives into the competitive rates that Home Trust offers, sometimes even lower than A lenders, and highlights their popular products like stated income mortgages and rental property loans. He also shares insights on Alberta’s booming rental market and stresses the importance of exit strategies for clients using alternative lending solutions.

Mike also discusses the impact of rising interest rates on borrowers and how Home Trust has adapted to these changes while remaining a leader in the alternative lending space. Brokers are encouraged to understand the value of alternative lending and how it can be a critical tool in helping clients achieve financial stability. Tune in to hear more about Home Trust’s unique offerings, the evolving market, and how brokers can better serve clients by incorporating alternative lending into their portfolios.

About Mike Ayoub

Mike Ayoub is a seasoned professional with 16 years of experience at Home Trust, where he began his career in Halifax managing the Atlantic Canada division for 14 years. Now based in Alberta, Mike continues to oversee Atlantic Canada operations while contributing to Home Trust’s success in the alternative lending market. Established in 1989, Home Trust has been a leading player in alternative lending for over 30 years, offering specialized solutions to a diverse range of clients. Mike's expertise reflects Home Trust’s commitment to its core business, focusing on its classic alternative lending products while adapting to market changes.

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Contact Len Lane | Brokers for Life:

• BrokersForLife.ca
• Linkedin: Len Lane
• LinkedIn: Brokers for Life
• Facebook: Brokers for Life
• X: @Brokers4Life
  
  

Contact Mike Ayoub | Home Trust:

• Website: HomeTrust
• Linkedin: MikeAyoub
• Instagram: @hometrustco
• Facebook: HomeTrustCo
• X: @hometrustco
  
  

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Transcript

Len 00:02

Welcome. My name is Len lane, and I am the founder and president of Brokers for Life Inc, and we are Dominion Lending Centers in Western Canada. The topic of our podcast will be about what we consider to be real-life mortgage solutions. Welcome back today. We're in session three of talking about the different types of lenders in the market. We've talked to some of our mortgage lenders on the A side, as we call it. We've also talked about CHIP-type mortgages. They're called reverse in some of the different parts of the industry. CHIP is probably the most famous, but Bloom was our last guest. So today, my guest today is Mike Ayoub, a long-time employee with one of our lenders called Home Trust, quite large in the B side of the market. And so we're going to kind of get rolling today and welcome Mike Ayoub to the studio.

Mike 00:57

I want to thank you so much for allowing us to come today. Lane as I mean, home trust has been a part of the alternative side for over 30 years now. A little background on myself and the company, of course. I mean, Home Trust started back in 1989 back in Toronto. I mean, we're across Canada now myself, I'm going into my 16th year with Home Trust started in Halifax, took care of the Atlanta Canada division for about 14 years, and been in Alberta now for another two, stil,l actually taking care of Atlanta Canada by a weird coincidence. But I think it's one of those situations where, you know, I think the alternative side has always gotten that interesting, I don't want to say stigma, but it's always kind of got that part of it that, you know, people think it only belongs to a certain client, where we know that that's different. You know, you yourself, has even mentioned it this year. It's changed a lot, couple of different things. I mean, the market has definitely changed. That's the biggest part of it, with Home Trust, you know, with us dipping our toes a little bit into the insured business there for a little while. Of course, with the sale going through to Smith Financial last year, we went back to focusing basically on our bread and butter. As you know, when you do submit a deal to Home Trust, it is Home Trust classic. It's our classic business, which is alternative side. So I think that's where we find ourselves. I mean, we have an interesting niche in the market, and it's been extremely successful for us, for, you know, three decades now. So,

Len 02:24

Yeah, it's, it's hard to mess with what's been working right? We've seen it more times over the last 17 years of doing this, actually 18 years as of last week, wonders more, I guess, if you want to call it that, into trying to do other things when, when they have a base like, what, what Home Trust had in on the B side, soft B side, as I call it that. You know, it's hard to try and make yourself something else in the market when the market already loved what you were doing on the other side, right? So, so Home Trust around a long time, a lot longer than I realized when I did some research. So maybe a little background on how they how they ended up in the B side. Do you, do you know that part?

Mike 03:09

Yeah, of course. I mean Jerry Soloway, which is our, you know, our founder, you know, started a law firm, got into home loan and savings back in 1989. Started out when he realized there was, there was a need in the market back in the late 80s, and then started a small, little office in Toronto, which is now, you know, obviously grown to branches all across Canada. We're big in the industry, and I'd say probably the premier alternative lender, and we have for over 30 years. The other part of the industry is that the background has always become… We've always basically focused on finding those clients, homes, is the most important thing. And I think with us, we've always decided that that was our opportunity, because there was a form of the industry or part of the market that just wasn't being fulfilled when it comes to, you know, the quote, unquote mainstream financial institutions, and I think that's where alternative lending has come into place. Over the years, it's changed a lot more. It's morphed into a lot more. So, as we've grown, we now we have branches in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, you know, Calgary and Vancouver, because we want to localize all our underwriting to those clients. And when I say our clients, I mean our clients, our mortgage brokers. But we want to make sure that the understanding of the of what's going on in the industry, and how much you know we become a niche type of lender. Because when you do alternate business, you are a niche lender. And that's what we have been from the beginning. I think that's the type of lender Ho...