We hear his book recommendations and how he organises his days at work, along with his favourite— and least favourite— part about 5 AM. If you struggle with keeping your mind on the task, this is the episode for you!

Timestamps:
00:28 | ‘My Income Wasn’t There’
04:35 | Purchases Are the Priority
06:40 | Morning Routines Set the Scene
09:32 | What Kelly Slater Says, Goes
14:34 | An Avid Reader
16:36 | Trust Your Judgement
17:49 | Everything Happens For a Reason
21:32 | The Crystal (Foot)Ball
25:03 | Pressure and Performance Anxiety

Resources and Links:

[00:18:57] I used to say to my wife 'Oh, COVID, I hate this, I'm not busy'. She's like, 'Enjoy not being busy'. And now I'm at a point where I can't keep up, like, I'm so crazy busy, but I love it. I said to her last night, I've gotta work for a couple of hours tonight', but I love doing it. I'm passionate about it. And I love it. I'm helping people. 

This is Property Investory where we talk to successful property investors to find out more about their stories, mindset and strategies.

I’m Tyrone Shum and in this episode, we’re continuing our discussion with Jeremy Latimore— a name you may recognise if you’re an NRL fan—, who is working as a mortgage broker and loving every minute of it. Join us as we discuss how he relaxes after long days helping people achieve their property goals, the books that inspire him, and so much more!

Latimore begins by explaining what the biggest difference is when purchasing property from the buyer’s point of view, versus the mortgage broker’s point of view.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:00:28] I get people call me up and go, 'Mate, I've got so much equity in my property, and I've got so much savings'. I go, 'What's your income?' And they're like, 'Oh, I don't have that good an income'. This is the thing that gets me is the banks only care about serviceability and your ability to repay that loan. So you could have $500,000 in the bank, and you want to borrow $500,000. But if the income is not there, even though it's a 50% LVR, the banks only care about serviceability, and being able to repay that loan. 

[00:00:59] That's probably the biggest thing as a property investor, because I had, as I mentioned, for my first property I had really good savings, but my income wasn't there and I'm like, 'Why can't I borrow more money?' And now that I'm in the industry, I see it on a regular basis, when someone calls me and goes, 'I want to borrow this amount', I'm like, 'What's your income?' You try to prequalify people as you talk to them on the phone, and you're like, 'All right, leave it with me, I'll see if I can work it'. Because obviously, there's different banks you can help different customers with.

Living in a post-2020 world has changed a lot for everybody. Latimore describes how the pandemic has affected his portfolio, and how he sees Australia’s biggest markets at the moment.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:03:16] I've got a bit of money tied up in the stock market. So obviously, that's been a roller coaster the last 12 months, literally about this point last year, things were looking rosy and then it fell off a cliff. So a couple of the ones I'm invested in haven't bounced back how I'd like, but once I pull some of that out, it'd be trying to find... and I just feel like now I've got the finger on the pulse doing this every day. And listen to podcasts like yourself and other people who are talking about it, you learn so much. 

[00:03:44] I think Sydney market is cooking at the moment. But [the] Melbourne market, it's had a bit of a downturn because they've been so affected by all the lockdowns down there. Looking in different places, but just doing that research or going to someone you know, like Michael Martin from Investment Window, and getting an expert to try and help you out that way. Because they get all that data and can help lead you into a property.

He describes how banks often prioritise their customers depending on their current needs.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:04:35] The problem is with some of the banks, pre-approvals are taking forever to come through because they're not high on the priority list— purchases are. Then it's refinances and then the old pre-approvals get pushed to the bottom. Sometimes you can pre-qualify someone who's got a really strong borrowing, to give them the confidence to say 'Rightio, you've got the bat'. As long as there's nothing hiding behind the rock over there that you don't know about which they haven't told you, which generally, if you've done a thorough pre-qualification, you know that, but you can give them a little bit of confidence that they can go purchase. 

[00:05:09] But at the same time, I do like to have that pre-approval for my customers to go and purchase, because I'd hate to tell someone to buy something and there was something happening with the bank and you couldn't get that loan across the line. That's on you then and it's such an emotional thing, purchasing a property. And if someone was to put down money and to lose that property, because they couldn't get the financing...  touch wood, that's something I haven't experienced. And I hope I never do, because I do take my job very seriously. 

[00:05:42] I love helping people with getting their finances, because they are the lifeblood of your business. I've helped a couple of people settle loans this week, and they've already gone, 'I passed your number onto so and so'. That is pleasing, because that's how you build the business and you love people telling you that you're doing a good job, because sometimes you don't know if you are!

You might not expect a blokey bloke to be into certain activities, but Latimore doesn’t shy away from the unexpected. He delves into his morning routine.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:06:40] I love this stuff. I'm an avid book reader, so I read every day. I've read Atomic Habits and different books along the way, which have helped me build this morning routine. And I feel that that just helps my mentality. So I mentioned read, meditate, journal— I try and do that four to five days a week. I don't do it every day, because on the weekend, I'd like to have a bit of a rest and not get up at 5 AM. 

[00:07:10] But by doing that, and then going in training— there was a period there— obviously COVID was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. And then after COVID, I just wasn't in a good routine. And I was in my first year retired from playing professional sport where I'm told to be here at this time, you've got to do this. Even playing footy you've got to run with the ball, get to this point, get equipped by the ball so your team can get to that point and hopefully set it up to score a try. So I just lost my way a little bit and that's what I developed this morning routine after reading the 5 AM Club and then Atomic Habits after that. 

[00:07:46] I just find my days I come into work I'm so much more productive in my days now, through doing this. An NRL player, Chad Townsend, he actually has a podcast and he's doing really good things. But that's something me and him were talking about, just having that morning routine to set you up for the day because I just find it makes me so much sharper and my mentality so much better. Because like I said, I was told what to do for such a long period of time. And that was probably something I had to adjust to, in my first year retired— and especially being self employed as a mortgage broker as well. I'll go to set my day out and that's still a day-to-day thing where I can't even talk to my wife because she'll come home and go 'God I had a productive day!' And then other days she's like 'Oh my God I didn't get [anything] done’. 

[00:08:35] I write down what I've got to do on this day, and I might set that by... generally I try and set it by importance, so I've got someone's loan who I need to lodge by tomorrow. So that's first cab off the rank, then I might have a mate who wants to refinance, but he's not in a hurry, so I'll push that down the list and just try and get through it. I literally cross them out as I do them and then that gives me a sense of satisfaction and I've accomplished that one, boom. And then I'm constantly adjusting and adding things so I don't forget. Thank God for mobile phones as well to organise just like I knew I had the 3:00 with you, mate!

He further explains the concepts in his favourite mindset books, and how he tweaks them to suit his lifestyle.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:09:32] Robin Sharma, he talks about... and I don't do it exactly how he says it. He wants you to exercise first thing so that your heart rate's up and you jump out of bed. So I'm different, I get up and I like to have a lemon with hot water because I read Kelly Slater does it, and he never gets crook! And then I just make a quick instant coffee because I don't want to wake the kids up. Then I'll go back in and I read. But generally with the 5 AM Club, it's meant to be you do that for 20 minutes. So, exercise, then the next 20 minutes is brain so read audiobooks, watch YouTube, whatever it is, just build your brain. 

[00:10:18] And then the other one is journal, I think it's just [those] two. But he breaks it into 20 minutes blocks and you do it like that. I do mine a little bit different, but you do what works for you, not follow everything to a tee. Then obviously, I go to the gym after that first hour. So I'm sort of doing a two hour 5 AM Club. It's what works for you. And then at the gym, I do weights generally. And then I have a sauna, or a steam and I find I come out of there feeling awesome and ready to dive into the day.

Latimore details how long he’s been involved in these rituals, how strict he is— or isn’t— with them, and the little 5 AM distractions that sometimes pop up!

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:11:01] It's obviously not ideal when the alarm goes off some mornings at 10 to five! Even last night, I obviously worked like I mentioned until 10:30 [or] 11, just on the laptop knocking over some things I needed done. So to be honest, I was 5:15 Club today, not 5 AM Club. I was a bit late to get up! But I still got up and made my coffee and had my lemon water and read my book on meditation, and then went to the gym. But it does take a while. What did he say... actually, I think James Clear, he said it in Atomic Habits. I think it takes 30 days to develop a habit. Is that right? Yeah, I think it's 30 days.

[00:11:37] So obviously I'm not doing seven days a week, but I've got a consistency in what I'm doing and I've really plotted my life and I feel like since I started it— it would have been September, August last year maybe— I've just been in a lot better headspace. So any listeners out there, I would highly recommend that, even yourself. Come back to me and give me some feedback. It's a bit harder with the kids coming in at 5:30 though, and I've been lucky— unless one of them wets the bed! I have the odd wet bed and I can hear him coming up the stairs and ruin my 5 AM. But hey, family duties take priority.

Coming up after the break, we dive deeper into Latimore’s meditation practises...

[00:13:07] But with mine... it will often tell you your mind will start to wander. And every time it says that I've wandered somewhere else. It just teaches you to come back and try and focus.

How COVID threw him some curveballs, but perhaps it wasn’t the worst thing...

[00:17:25] And even with our mortgage brokers been in the last 18 months for me, like I've had a few curveballs there last year, but now where I've ended up is the best place I could be for me to keep developing and keep learning the industry that I do love and see myself in for a long time.

How his NRL career prepared him for mortgage broking in ways he didn’t expect...

[00:25:54] So I had some great experiences in front of big crowds. And other times I didn't. That's just like coming to work— you have a good day mortgage broking one day, then the next day, I'm like, 'What the hell's going on here?'

And that’s next. I’m Tyrone Shum and you’re listening to Property Investory.

Latimore strengthens his mental focus by meditating, using an app. He discusses which app he uses and if it has been helpful for him.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:12:35] What I do [is] I have an app called the Smiling Mind. So you can download that if you want to. My old club doctor at St. George Dragons, Steffan Erikkson. I was telling him about what I was doing and he was like, 'Oh, mate, I do it!' But he sits in a chair and just focuses on his breathing for like 20 minutes. So just like breathe in, counts to four, then out, like six or seven. And he does that for 20 minutes. And he's a very relaxed dude, so it's obviously working for him!

[00:13:07] But with mine... it will often tell you your mind will start to wander. And every time it says that I've wandered somewhere else. It just teaches you to come back and try and focus. And then obviously, that helps you with life because you've got so many distractions, whether it's your mobile phone and getting on social media, or checking the stock market or getting on news.com or what's happening with the NBA scores and you're like, 'None of that, come on, focus, get back to working'. And then that's something I've gotten better at, not picking up my phone as much throughout the day. 

Tyrone Shum:
Back to books, Latimore is clearly an avid reader and a fan of the book Atomic Habits. He explores the habits he’s picked up from the book that are especially helpful for him. 

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:14:34] I feel like that's just me in general. Like I've always had goals through my rugby league career and writing things down and making things become a habit. But in saying that, I'm not the perfect person, I've got plenty of flaws! So I'm always trying to change bad habits. And some I have and some I haven't. I think life's a constant learning experience. And that's why I'm such an avid reader, because I feel every book I'd pick up I'd pick something out of it that I can apply in life. But more with me and myself is just my own habits and routines that I've developed through playing rugby league. 

[00:15:19] I'm a bit OCD and a bit of a stickler for how I do things. And I think that's just me as an individual. But, like you talked about James Clear and Atomic Habits, are you on the email list? I get them every Friday, I love reading when you go. And obviously, they're all generally quoted in the Google world, but I find Friday morning, get on there and refreshing on some of the things he puts out is always a good way to keep learning and reminding yourself what you're trying to achieve. 

If he could go back 10 years and tell himself one thing, what would it be?

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:16:36] Definitely— and especially this is a property investing podcast— just go back 10 years and trust my judgement. Don't listen to other people and do a bit more research instead of trusting people who I don't know. Like, I went off someone's referral. And that'd be the main lesson there. Even though it didn't cost me too much financially, it still burns me because I could have invested into Port Macquarie and had massive capital growth, instead of just coming out a bit behind by buying two properties in the Gold Coast. 

[00:17:14] So that would be my main piece of advice for myself. Football, like in terms of how that journey went— everything happened for a reason for me there, and where I ended up I was meant to be. And even with our mortgage brokers been in the last 18 months for me, like I've had a few curveballs there last year, but now where I've ended up is the best place I could be for me to keep developing and keep learning the industry that I do love and see myself in for a long time.

Tyrone Shum:
He mentioned he ran into a few curveballs during 2020, and goes into further detail on what some of those were.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:17:49] The first one where I literally just retired and my mate then told me he's gonna get out of the industry, and then into COVID, where I didn't have the base of a network, because everyone was refinancing. But I didn't really have that amount of people to refinance because I didn't have that network of clients to do it. But the catch-22 to that was I got to homeschool my little boy because he was not at school. And my wife's job, as I mentioned, was full on and she was at home. So that's why I always said to my wife, ‘Everything happens for a reason’. And I played for five NRL clubs across 11 years, I got told by football clubs that I wasn't wanted anymore. I had injuries and even still now I look back on it, and it's taught me so much about how strong I can be mentally. I've played in semi finals in front of crowds of 40,000 [or] 50,000 people and I've just learnt so much through what my journey has been. 

[00:18:49] The mortgage broking, how that went the early part of last year, that set me up to where I am now. I used to say to my wife 'Oh, COVID, I hate this, I'm not busy'. She's like, 'Enjoy not being busy'. And now I'm at a point where I can't keep up, like, I'm so crazy busy, but I love it. I said to her last night, I've gotta work for a couple of hours tonight', but I love doing it. I'm passionate about it. And I love it. I'm helping people. I mentioned that literally to her yesterday, going, 'I do know now what you mean about ‘enjoy it when it's quiet’, because I've got so much coming up!' Because I'm still doing stuff with the football club. And I've got to go to Mudgee next week. So I've got three days at the start of next week to try and lodge all these loans. And that's not if something else comes in in the next three days as well. More work. So be grateful! And that's something we do at home, practice gratitude and be grateful for what we have, and I'm grateful for what's going on at the moment.

[00:20:14] Even though in saying that, I don't know if my son went backwards when I was homeschooling because a few English questions thrown at me were curveballs! Nah, that was actually really cool. We'd go and play footy most days, like we'd knock over his schoolwork and we'd go down and play footy at the park and it was awesome. 

Tyrone Shum:   

The pandemic can definitely be described as a blessing in disguise in certain ways, including giving us more time with our family, which Latimore has relished.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:20:49] I've touched on ‘everything happens for a reason’. And again, it's thrown me a few curveballs with investments last year and work, but looking back... we'd get my mates to come to my house and we'd have a few beers instead of going to pubs because you couldn't go to pubs. It was a nightmare. You had to book in and you had to sit down the whole time. So at least at your own house, you can have a beer and enjoy yourself and stand and walk around. Yeah, it's definitely changed how we live forever, I think.

Looking to the future, where does he see himself in terms of his career, his property investment, and his family in five years’ time?

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:21:32] It's a really good question because obviously I do look 12 months ahead, five years ahead, 10 years ahead— and all of a sudden I retired from footy a year and a half ago into full time work and it feels like it's been 10 years! So who knows what's gonna happen in the next five years but I see myself as going really well in mortgage broking. I hope that I'm still doing work with a football club because I love that job. The kids are going to be growing up, I'd be coaching my little boy's footy team. I'm actually playing footy again this year, but I won't be playing footy in five years, I can guarantee you that! And I'll probably, by that point, be looking to purchase another investment property.

Tyrone Shum:   

[00:22:13] Fantastic. So, hold on, you told me you're looking to play footy again this year— what's going on?

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:22:23] Down... I don't even know what group it is, group six, the Mittagong Lions. I'm playing with a few of my ex teammates from the NRL, we've got a few boys down there playing together. So this would be the... well, I might play next year, one or two games for my Port Macquarie Sharks team, because I've always told them I'll come back and play some games. Give back to where I grew up. That club gave me so much to take me on the journey I did, so I am very grateful for that.

Success can generally be determined by four things— skill, intelligence, hard work, and luck. Latimore contemplates which factors have been the biggest contributors in his case.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:23:07] I think if you asked most people I've played footy with I didn't have a great amount of skill! I had a decent offload, that would be the skill I had. But it all was hard work. I do work every inch of what I had to get to where I did. Perseverance was a big one for me. I never give up and I could have a couple of times, but I hung in there. And that skill now alone is what's helped me in my post-football career. 

[00:23:37] I just feel any professional athlete from a team environment has a skill set if they're willing to do the work in a post-football career because it's such a unique skill set. You're in the fire every week, whether you're playing a game of football, you're getting judged on your performance, you get judged by fans, your coach, even when you go home, your mum and dad are going 'Oh, you didn't play that well today!' Like, you're getting judged everywhere. And that's something I feel, that skill set is so unique. 

[00:24:12] My main thing was hard work. I've had a little bit of luck at the same time. I haven't been able to do what I have without having a bit of luck. There's been a lot of guys I played with who were way better players than me and I played a lot more football than them, but they had injuries. Even growing up in the bush, there were some blokes out there who are way better footballers than me who never even played a game of under 20s in Sydney. But that's where my persistence and a bit of luck and the hard work came into it, I feel.

Playing in front of 40,000 to 50,000 people must be daunting. He explains how he does it and if it’s difficult, or comes naturally to him.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:25:03] I've done it for so long. Public speaking is something when I was a kid I used to get so rattled about, whereas now because I've done it, talking to kids at schools or in front of crowds at presentation night, I've gotten a lot better at that. But rugby league is something I've done forever. So obviously, there's a bit of performance anxiety— I was like, 'I've got to play well, this is a big game'. You put pressure on yourself to play to a certain standard. Especially the last few years in my career, I saw myself as a larrikin and I played that role. So I'd just embrace it for what it was. 

[00:25:40] But there'd be times where— I wouldn't lie to you, I was nervous, going out to play. There's a lot riding on football games, whether it's you putting pressure on yourself, or you've got fans at the football club who want to see you play well and win. So I had some great experiences in front of big crowds. And other times I didn't. That's just like coming to work— you have a good day mortgage broking one day, then the next day, I'm like, 'What the hell's going on here?'

Thank you to Jeremy Latimore, our guest on this episode of Property Investory.