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Page E of the 1003
Written By: Karen Deis
The headlines in the USA Today, November 24, 2003 issue say “Mortgage Lenders Rate Low on Customer Service” with the lead in saying, “Move over HMO’s. A first-of-its-kind study of recent borrowers finds that the mortgage lenders match health insurers for the lowest customer satisfaction ratings among financial industries.”
The survey was performed by the CFI Group, Michigan and commissioned by the Mortgage Bankers Association. (To obtain a copy of the results and copy of the article appearing in Mortgage Banking Magazine, go to
www.cfigroup.com and select “mortgage lending white paper.)
This is the rating as it appears in the report: (The ratings are from 1-100, with 100 being the highest).
| Financial/Insurance Sector Overall Rating |
74 |
| Property & Casualty Rating |
77 |
| Life Insurance Rating |
79 |
| Commercial Banks |
74 |
| Healthcare Insurance |
69 |
| Mortgage Lending |
69 |
A verbal survey was taken of 379 recent mortgage customers asking them to answer 40 questions. All areas of the country and both purchases and refinances were rated.
I personally think it’s unfair to compare the mortgage lending process to the insurance industry and commercial banking because people have contact with the companies on a regular basis. People go thru the lending process maybe 5 to 15 times during their lifetime. Each time they go to the bank, or file an insurance claim, or pay a premium, the process remains relatively unchanged. In the mortgage lending industry, there is a natural frustration level because of the substantial length of time between mortgages and the changes that occur within the industry year after year.
In analyzing the ratings, many of the lower ratings are NOT within the realm of the loan officer’s control—things like guaranteed closing costs, customer’s ability to compare interest rates, length of time for loan approval, convenient location of your office—most of which you have no influence over.
As a loan officer however, the report revealed that there are some areas that you have a huge amount of control over—but customers gave loan reps an extremely LOW rating.
| Degree to which you felt that you could control the "process" |
63 |
| How close the home financing experience comes to your ideal |
64 |
| Your ability to find a lender |
64 |
| Degree to which you felt you had some control during the "closing" |
69 |
The glaring problem here is that originators are not doing a good job of knowing what our customers expectations are in the first place; and secondly, telling clients if we can meet them or not.
I am sure you have heard of the Page 5 of the 1003 (See archived article). I propose that loan officers have a Page E (for EXPECTATIONS) of the 1003. It’s a list of questions to ask your clients prior to completing the 1003 so not only you know what they expect of you—but what you expect of them.
Going back to the survey rating above on the things you CAN control as a loan officer, you may even wish to consider asking some of the questions on PAGE E of the 1003 over the telephone, prior to them making an appointment. This could eliminate their frustration with their ability to find a lender because I will bet you that no other lender will take the time to ask them the “expectation” questions.
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Subscribers can download Page E of the 1003 for free (click on read more at the bottom of the article and scroll down to the download) - the list of 17 very specific questions to ask clients even before you begin the loan process. If you are not a subscriber, you can purchase it for $69 (CLICK HERE) or subscribe today, www.LoanOfficerMagazine.com
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Here are some of the topics you can address:
- The Communication Process (preferred form, day, time, who to contact)
- How to Lock in your interest rate
- Status reports (how often, how delivered)
- Title Company and Location
- Document Requests (When can they deliver to you?)
- Who will be involved in the processing of your loan?
- What to expect from each person (involved in the transaction).
- What do you expect from the real estate agent?
Page E of the 1003 contains 17 “expectation” questions, which you can add to, or delete (if it does not apply to your area of the country).
I am not saying that you will be able to meet every expectation. What Page E of the 1003 is designed to do is give you an idea of your client’s expectations. If you cannot meet that expectation, here’s your chance to explain why you cannot do so.
You are making the client aware that there are some expectations of them too.
If there is a real estate agent or builder involved, share the client’s expectations with them. Getting the agents involved communicates that you are serious about customer service—and hope that they buy into the program to provide the Ultimate Lending Experience.
Control the things you CAN control - by learning your client’s expectations (perceptions) which gives you the chance to explain the reality.
Raise the satisfaction level of each and every closing by starting each loan application with Page E.
Copyright, 2003, LoanOfficerMagazine.com
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