A significant event in Matthew’s life was the purchase of his first home. “I was trying to purchase the home before auction to ensure a price that I could afford but I felt as if my Bank and the Real Estate Agent were not giving me a straight answer. I was unable to contact my mortgage provider, I luckily purchased the home but didn’t forget the poor service I received and the stress it caused”.

Matthew was a partner at a top 100 Mortgage Brokerage before opening Key Choice Home Loans P/L (KCHL) in 2002. He believes the best way to assist his clients is to know their needs, offer a solution and take any stress or uncertainty away. “From my very first transaction I promised myself that my clients would have access to myself and my staff, seeing KCHL as a resource that they can use as their very own finance team.”

I consider myself lucky that my work is very satisfying, from meeting new people to seeing their goals achieved. I get a buzz when you can see the genuine excitement that my clients show, when our team has made their dream a reality. We take pride in keeping things simple and hopefully we continue to transfer warmth to our clients but doing little things that you value, things that the banks have lost sight of.”

I was brought up in Bayside Melbourne and these days enjoy spending time with Romain, Conor (born 2004), Benjamin (born 2009), friends, sport or a good book and coffee is what I enjoy most.

Martin draws on his experiences working with two of the best-known loan operations in the country – Aussie Home Loans and Wizard.

“I wanted to work in a business that is a very useable resource for our clients, that does everything in a friendly, professional manner, and which has the best interests of the client at heart,” he says. “We think we’ve been able to translate the warmth and energy into the way we go about our business.”

Martin’s appreciation of the young family seeking to establish a home is underlined by the fact his first child was born in 2004. “I can appreciate what is going through someone’s mind when they are looking for the best opportunity to house their family,” he says. His home loan experience is backed up by many years in vehicle finance. “Whatever the type of finance, it doesn’t need to be made more complex than it is,” he says. “I think the best compliment we get is when people say that we keep things simple.”

When it comes to knowing Bayside, few could challenge the credentials of Teresa Liss.

In her 25 years with a “big four” bank she worked at Mornington, Brighton, Hampton and Bentleigh, with her last five years at Mentone. Such was the service she supplied at Westpac, former customers still ring her up for advice!

That’s because of the philosophy Teresa developed as a teller, lending manager and branch manager with Statewide Lending Society, which became RESI, which became the Bank of Melbourne, which was bought out by Westpac. “It’s all based on building a relationship with your customer,” Teresa says. Now she is enjoying applying that approach at Key Choice Home Loans.

“The skill is being able to consider the main loan options that will give the client what they need, and selecting the one that works best for them,” she says. “There are many variables to be considered – type of security, level of income, whether they are self-employed, documentation required, and so on. “Nothing is ever straight up, but I love the feeling when it all comes together. ”Another characteristic is Teresa’s ability to network. “I don’t sit in an office waiting for clients.”

She extends this philosophy into her personal life, where her love of travel – she has visited areas including Europe, South America and the Arctic - to the point that she acts as a tour guide into China and Vietnam. “It’s for the person who doesn’t want to go on their own, but who’s not really a ‘group’ traveller either,” Teresa says. This came via daughter Naomi, a travel agent, who recently married husband Damien in a beautiful wedding in Fiji. Teresa also has a son, Daniel.

In between, Teresa is developing her paddling skills for the dragon boat races in the 2007 Masters Games in Sydney. But it is her clients that are her first priority. “I want them to be my clients for life,” she says. “I’m comfortable that when it comes to a decision about their home, I’m the first person they think of.

I have been working in the mortgage industry for since 1993. I began my career with the Westpac and then was offered a job at Aussie Home Loans. I started at Aussie in the settlements area and moved into loan processing. Eventually I became the Lending Supervisor with Aussie. I stayed with Aussie for 5 years.

After spending 2 months overseas I returned from my holiday and decided I needed a change. I obtained a job with HLIC (mortgage insurer now Genworth). After a short stint with HLIC I was offered a job with Suncorp. I was a Credit Manager with Suncorp for 6 years.

Whilst working with Suncorp I met my husband Niall –who now funnily enough works for my old employer HLIC (Genworth). We were married in 2002. In 2005 we had our first child Emily Rose. I went on 12 months maternity leave and returned to Suncorp in a part time role as a Business Development Manager. Rather than taking up the offer to return to Suncorp, I took the opportunity to work with Key Choice Home Loans. I value the flexibility that the loan processing role offers, allowing me to use my experience in helping our clients as well as spending time with my growing family.