Richard Harper, the broker who knows a mining payslip
By Broker Codex Editorial Team
Richard Harper has sat on the other side of the desk. He has been the first home buyer working out what a deposit needs to look like, and the investor deciding whether the next property stacks up. He knows what it feels like to hand over your bank statements and wait for someone to tell you what your life is worth on paper.
That is where his broking comes from. Richard runs Harper Mortgage Brokers and works with first home buyers, investors, self-employed borrowers, and people who earn their living in the mining industry.
How does his own experience shape the way Richard works?
Most people meet a broker at the point where they are slightly out of their depth. A rough number in their head, a savings account they are not sure is enough, and a list of things they have half heard from friends.
Richard has been that person, and he has been through it again as an investor, where the questions change and the numbers get harder.
It shows up in a simple way. He starts with the story before he goes near a product. He listens to your circumstances and your goals, then works out the structure from there. It sounds obvious. It is not how everyone does it.
What did Richard do before he became a broker?
He worked, hard, in industries where that word means something physical. A long stretch in mining, and time in printing and on the land before he moved into finance.
Mining is the one that shaped his broking. He spent years on a mine site payslip, which is a different thing from reading about one.
Three things pulled him into finance: an interest in property, an interest in lending, and wanting work where he helps people directly.
Broking is the one job where all three meet.
Why does Richard work with people in the mining industry?
Because a mining payslip is rarely just a base wage, and that trips people up.
There is the base, and then there is overtime, shift loading, site and travel allowances, penalty rates for nights and weekends, and often a bonus on top. A big month and a quiet month can look like two different incomes. Plenty of mine workers earn well and still get told their situation is complicated.
Lenders do not all treat those components the same way. Base income is straightforward. Overtime, allowances and bonuses are assessed differently from one lender to the next, and most want to see a history before they will count them. Two lenders can look at the same payslip and land on very different borrowing figures. Policy also changes over time, so the specifics always need checking at the time of application.
Richard has lived on that kind of income. He knows which parts of a payslip carry the weight, what a roster change does to a set of numbers, and what a mine worker is likely to be asked to produce. For someone who has already been told their income is too messy, that is a much shorter conversation.
Who else does Richard work with?
First home buyers, first and foremost. They usually have the most questions, because every part of the process is happening to them for the first time. Deposits, lenders mortgage insurance, government schemes, what a pre-approval does and does not mean. None of it is obvious the first time through.
He also works with self-employed and low doc borrowers, investors, construction and bridging finance, refinancing, single parents, and clients with adverse credit.
How does Richard work with his clients?
He describes what he wants to be known for in four words: honest, trustworthy, transparent, and client-focused. Those are the foundations he has built the business on, along with a fairly old fashioned view of customer service.
He is not chasing quick sales either. The business he wants is one where people come back for their next loan and send their friends and family, which takes longer to build and only holds up if the advice still makes sense years after settlement.
What would he tell someone saving for a first home?
Work hard, save hard, and budget. That is the advice he would give his younger self, and it is what he tells people now.
The reasoning is simple enough. A deposit is built out of what you keep, not what you earn, and that gap is the part you actually control. Every dollar that goes into the deposit is a dollar you are not borrowing, and it keeps paying you back long after settlement day.
What does Richard do when he is not working?
Rugby league, and the Bulldogs specifically. A cold beer. Camping and fishing whenever the chance comes up. In winter he cooks in camp ovens over an open fire, which tells you something about his patience. He travels when he can and spends his time off with family and friends.
His full profile, credentials and contact details are on Broker Codex here.