December’s broker of the month is James Ashe, Co-Head of Enness International. James is a multi-lingual force to be reckoned with; he brings passion, energy, and unrivalled knowledge of the French property market to his team, and has been instrumental in the growth of Enness International’s influence since its launch in February.
How did you get into mortgage brokering?
I have spent my whole career post-university working in international real-estate finance. I have always been fascinated by the financial services sector, and was keen to pursue a career that combined my passion for engaging with clients, like-minded professionals and colleagues alike, as well as the technical aspects of the industry. Further, I was adamant in pursuing a career whereby I could use my language skills daily. For that reason, international property finance appeared the perfect fit; I got cracking in a small international London brokerage straight after university, before lending my hand to the high net worth market by joining Enness in April 2016.
Language proficiency is key in your role – what do you speak, and how did you get into languages?
I studied Russian at the university of Bristol for my undergraduate degree, and also speak fluent French – as my mother hails from the Dordogne. Linguistics were always a key passion of mine at school, and remains so to this day.
What are your key strengths as a broker?
When it comes to brokering any case, fully satisfying the wishes and aims of my clients, whilst also satisfying the requirements of my lenders, is a very delicate balancing act. It requires good negotiation skills and a keen eye for detail when thrashing out terms – both attributes of which are key strengths of mine.
If you weren’t broking mortgages, what would you be doing?
Outside of finance and languages, my principal interest in life is music – particularly composing. Had I not become a mortgage broker, I would’ve loved to have tried my hand at producing electronic music.
If you could buy a house anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I would live in Bordeaux. The south-west of France ticks every box in my book – culture, weather, food and quality of life.
