JD Power: Consumers Like Brokers Better

Consumers who use mortgage brokers tend to be more satisfied with the mortgage lending process than those who deal directly with lenders, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2005 Home Mortgage Study.The marketing information firm said the study found that 29% of its more than 11,000 respondents contacted a broker during the mortgage lending process. Those customers tended to be "substantially more satisfied" with broker personnel than respondents overall were with lender personnel, J.D. Power reported. Interestingly, however, the most-satisfied respondents were those who contacted a broker while shopping but then applied directly to an originating lender. "Brokers appear to perform significantly better in meeting customer expectations," said Jeremy Bowler, director of the firm's finance and insurance practice. "Brokers are perhaps more dependent on customer referrals than the direct lenders. As a result, brokers may be more in tune with the cause-and-effect of customer satisfaction and advocacy." Lenders who received the top rankings in overall customer satisfaction were USAA, World Savings, Branch Banking & Trust, Bank of America, and Cendant. J.D. Power, headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., can be found online at http://www.jdpower.com,