Whenever we make a major decision, we like to personally talk to the people who are most involved. So, it makes perfect sense that mortgage borrowers still prefer person-to-person communication with their mortgage lender, according to Fannie Mae’s recent Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey.
Person-to-Person Communication with Mortgage Lenders Reigns Supreme
There is a disconnect between lenders and borrowers when it comes to the importance of person-to-person communication.
In the Fannie Mae survey, 90% of recent mortgage borrowers said they would like to use person-to-person channels in the future when communicating with their lender. It is unclear whether email is considered a direct contact at large, but the survey considered it to be on par with the phone-to-phone contact.
Lenders on the other hand, have a somewhat different view than borrowers about the importance of person-to-person communication. When asked about the future role of person-to-person communication, only half said person-to-person communication will be equally important as it is today, with nearly 40% of lenders expecting it to be less important.
Commenting on the disconnect between lenders and borrowers, Steve Deggendorf and Li-Ning Huang said in an article about the Fannie Mae survey, “In terms of communication channel usage and preferences, our survey results demonstrate that lenders’ evolving channel focus might not be well-aligned with consumer preferences. When asked to identify the channel most often used by their customers, lenders cited telephone and email as the most popular channel (44 percent and 42 percent, respectively). Only 13 percent of lenders cited local branches or offices. In contrast, for recent mortgage borrowers, in-person communication was rated similarly as the online or phone channel.”
The Future of Communication
While many millennials aren’t yet homeowners, it is a well known fact that those millennials tend to prefer communication using email, websites, and apps. It isn’t hard to predict that the numbers will change. Some 40% of lenders currently working with the homebuying public believe person-to-person communication will become less important in just a few years.
“Few lenders feel strongly about the future role of person-to-person communications (phone and in-person),” Fannie Mae said in the report. “Nearly 40% think it will be less important in the foreseeable future. In comparison, recent mortgage borrowers show a strong preference for person-to-person communication—almost all would like to use phone or in-person communication in the future.”
Marimark Mortgage
Marimark Mortgage is based in Tampa, Florida, and serves the mortgage needs of homebuyers and homeowners in all of Florida, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
We believe person-to-person interaction is important. Therefore, our office is easily assessible and open for personal visits. So, we often have homebuyers walk-in without an appointment, which we love. We also respond quickly to phone calls, emails, and all forms of communication.
We also believe that the digital experience is important to obtaining information, doing research, and communicating, So, we provide a world class website that is rich with information, and allows homebuyers to submit an entire online mortgage application with only 4 required items.
To get started with a mortgage to buy your next home, or to refinance your existing home, please fill out our Quick Mortgage Application, or contact us direct.
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