Meet the team | Emmanuel Asafo-Agyei

Emmanuel joined VM Finance with a passion for helping clients move confidently through a mortgage process that can often feel complex and overwhelming. With a background spanning lettings, sales, commercial property management and mortgage broking, he brings a practical, grounded understanding of the full property lifecycle to every client he supports.

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Tell us about your role at VM Finance

As a mortgage adviser, I’m involved right at the beginning of a client’s journey. Once someone comes into VM Finance, my first job is to quickly understand what they need. Is it a residential purchase, a remortgage, a buy to let, an investment? What’s their pain point? What are they hoping to achieve?

From there, it’s about gently explaining what their journey will look like from that first conversation through to completion. In practice that starts with a detailed fact find, getting a clear picture of their financial background, work history and broader circumstances. Then we have conversations about what’s important to them and how that ties in with their short and medium term plans, whether that’s career moves, family growth or where they want to be living.

Once I have the full picture, my role is to work through the entire lending market to identify which lender is the best fit. People’s lives are more complex than ever, so the mortgage path often comes with twists and turns. My job is to help them get from one place to another as smoothly as possible.

A big part of the role is also relationship driven. On the B2B side, I work with referral partners like agents and solicitors who deal with buyers and investors every day. It’s important they know we have the expertise to complement what they do and add value to their clients.

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What qualities do you think are most important in your role?

Empathy is number one. In any  customer/client focused environment, but especially in mortgages, it’s important to understand the client’s situation through their eyes. Some will have had difficult experiences with brokers before or feel anxious about the process. Part of my job is reassuring them that this time will be different, that if a solution exists, we’ll find it for them.

Communication is also crucial. Mortgages are heavily regulated and that can sometimes lead advisers to overwhelm clients with information that doesn’t matter to them. Clients need to trust that you’ll work in line with regulation, but they also need you to speak directly to their needs, not drown them in process.

And finally, you need the ability to build strong relationships with referral partners. Trust, transparency and consistency matter. Those partners need to know we can complement their work, not complicate it.

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Tell us a bit about your journey in the industry

I started in property right out of university. I studied business with marketing and then moved into lettings in South London. From there I moved through sales, investment sales and commercial management, dealing with multiple tenants and working across the central London market for about six years. That experience gave me a strong understanding of the language and day to day reality of landlords and investors, something many brokers simply don’t have.

When I moved into brokering, I joined Just Mortgages, an appointed representative of the national firm Openwork, one of the oldest advisory networks in the country. The level of training, compliance and process there was exceptional. It instilled in me the importance of analysing a case thoroughly from day one through to completion, and of getting every detail right. In mortgages, each transaction regardless of size matters.

That compliance mindset, combined with strong relationships with lenders, puts me in good stead to solve a wide variety of client problems. Lenders know the quality of the work I do, and that helps me advocate confidently for clients across different scenarios.

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What is it that makes VM stand out from the crowd?

VM is an energetic firm with a clear mission around home ownership and helping people progress in their property journey. At every level of the business there’s an understanding of both the homeowner market and the investment market. Landlords and investors face constant change, from legislation to tax to shifting demand. VM really understands that space deeply.

On the homeowner side, VM has been built on the principle of empowering people to own their own home. That’s been at the heart of the business for more than 140 years.

What really stands out to me is the energy and openness to embracing technology, all with the goal of helping clients. When you combine that with the heritage of a long-standing institution, it creates something quite powerful. The ingredients are all there to set VM apart; it’s now about making more people aware of what’s possible.

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Outside of work, what’s important to you? What are your hobbies and passions?

The truth is, once you have kids, they become your hobbies. I’ve got two boys, six and seven, and they’re a huge part of my life. Being able to pass down the things I’ve learned and the values my parents gave me is something I really enjoy.

I love spending time with my wife. We go on simple date nights, walks by the river, dinner out, a couple of drinks. I also enjoy catching up with friends, going to boxing events and getting out and about when I can. It’s all about balance and finding a bit of quiet time when life gets busy.

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