Call us today 09 320 0847Paula Mason – Mortgage Adviser
Paula works closely with Cherie doing fixed interest rate rollovers. Where Cherie does the admin grunt work, Paula is the one who provides advice about what will work best for various client circumstances.
“I’m the first to admit that I like to talk, but I also like to listen. Talking to different people in different stages of their lives provides such variety – no two days are the same.”
That chatty and friendly nature dovetails nicely into the second part of her job which is to keep in touch with clients. Hastie Mortgages ensures they touch base with people every six to twelve months depending on their needs. Paula will make phone calls to check in and will often discover changes to situations – anything from a new family member, a relationship split, or the desire to purchase a second property – and find that the current plan they’re on, needs to be updated.
“You are always thinking on your toes, or outside the square, and I love it because I’m always learning.”
Paula’s first career was in home-based childcare. She would match nannies and home educators with families, and when you think about it, it’s not much different from her career now – matching financial products with families.
As she and husband James started their own family, she found flexibility around working hours became a huge priority and that’s one of the things she loves about her career in mortgages. Before coming to Hastie Mortgages, Paula worked for another established mortgage advisory practice on the Hibiscus Coast and that’s how she cut her teeth in the mortgage industry, where she worked in an admin role for several years. That mortgage practice was then absorbed into Hastie Mortgages and because the same level of flexibility with hours was on offer, she came along for the ride.
Never one to sit still, Paula took it upon herself to complete her Financial Services qualifications in 2021 so that she could give advice to the people she was doing the admin work for, and she is now a fully-fledged Mortgage Adviser.
In recent times, Paula has taken on the responsibility of training a guide dog puppy so a little black Labrador is a regular feature in the office too. She says Team Hastie have a relaxed office environment to work in. Professional but definitely not buttoned up.
Paula’s top piece of advice is to ensure you have the right people behind you.
“You don’t know what you don’t know. So, if you get people who know, that are in it every day, you’ll do much better than on your own.”
Paula has picked up valuable advice just by being in the industry every day, even just little tips that have helped her save personally, much more than she used to. When Paula got the house keys to her first home, she says it felt surreal, and she remembers putting the keys in the front door and thinking “this is the only part of the house we own!” as she and James had borrowed 90% of the purchase price. Now into their second home she felt like they owned more, and that progress felt so good.
As you can tell, Paula is family-oriented, so her time outside of work is dedicated to creating memories with her loved ones. They’ll take every opportunity to be outdoors – walking, cycling, or jet skiing. On rainy days, Paula will bake with the kids – muffins, cakes, slices, you name it.
Paula was born in Darwin, Australia but really, she is a Kiwi through and through. She is the youngest of three sisters. Her parents travelled around quite a bit but had reached a point where they wanted to be settled for the school years in Auckland, so they moved to NZ when she was just six months old. Paula and James live in Orewa which has quite a traditional community and a small school, so the kids all know each other and live in the same streets. All the mums work together and help each other out and it’s a great family lifestyle.
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