Many loan officers don't have an online presence, and a lot of those who do have neglected to correct errors and inaccuracies in key information, technology vendor Yext finds.
The study of 5,849 loan officers by the company, which Wednesday launched mortgage-specific automation through which lenders can manage loan officers' online presence and reviews, found 64% of loan officers listed online had incorrect addresses. Also 46% of loan officers had errors in their businesses' names listed online. Almost 58% of the loan officers studied had no online presence at all.
These are concerns for lenders because growing online shopping by consumers and loan officers' key role in the origination process are collectively increasing the importance of loan officers' online presence.
"The mortgage industry is experiencing large-scale disruption as homebuyers use in-depth online information and reviews to find lenders and decide on a provider to trust," said Marc Ferrentino, chief strategy officer of Yext, in a press release.
At the same time, "Consumer lending is still done person-to-person, so clients are looking for personalized and accurate information on the individual loan officer they are considering working with," he said.
Loan officers and lenders also have to be careful about business information they online because it is
