Pauline Johnson

My first job after school was a remittance clerk at the Midland Bank in Hall Green, Birmingham. I enjoyed my time there, however, I had a passion for travelling and took advantage of the £10 scheme, yes a £10 Pomme, and with a rucksack and £200 emigrated to Australia on a travelling working holiday for 30 months, a wonderful life learning experience. After 30 months back in the UK, I returned to Perth, Western Australia. One of my occupations was a cellar sales assistant at Houghton Wines outside Perth. In 2019 it was purchased by Nikola Yukich and now known as Nikola Estate. My colleague and I offered wine tastings to tourists and visitors - try before you buy, and I would host a tour of the winery. On my return to England I started my wine merchant business. Wearing all the 'hats' this involved sourcing the wines, arranging tastings, order taking, delivering, invoicing. Thoroughly enjoyable, however, with no desire to employ staff, after 10 years it was time for a change. I received my Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP) in 2002 and Chartered Insurance Institute Equity Release (CII ER1) in 2018 and am a member of the Equity Release Council. As my business name suggests, I deal with all kinds of mortgage enquiries, and my client base is very diverse, however, my focus is on Lifetime Equity Release and Lending in Later Life for the over 55s - with no upper age limit. This is a hugely innovative area of lending and highly regulated. It is particularly attractive where equity is far greater than cash or when there is an Interest Only mortgage and no facility to repay it apart from selling. My oldest client was 83, and I know of a lender whose oldest customer was 92 and purchased her 'dream home'! In a nutshell, my work enables me to make a positive difference in people's lives that enables them or their family to move on no matter what age they are. Out of working hours, I play drums for a wind instrument band based in Shrewsbury and drum for a 'rock' band, although it's not all rock that we do, 60s/70s numbers and some with a Country feel. I'm quite practical, and like 'getting my hands dirty' with various DIY jobs.