Reputation is everything in a business such as mortgage originating, where the consumer needs to trust the person they are doing business with.
And according to a recent survey of 300 people conducted by FreeScore.com, banks and credit unions are trusted the most. Banks were seen positively by over 33% of the respondents while almost 31% selected credit unions.
Mortgage brokers got just an 8% positive response, while "government lending institutions like Fannie Mae" received a 7% approval rating.
But what might be the most telling result of all is that 21% of the respondents said "none of the above." This is reflective of the negative sentiment regarding all types of mortgage lenders in the wake of the housing crisis, FreeScore.com said.
Independent mortgage bankers were not listed in the results table.
But there is an opportunity here for mortgage brokers, and that comes from the question the survey asked. A significant minority, 23% said they did not know their credit score before they applied for a mortgage, while 29% claimed to know their scores from all three repositories. Knowing the score from a single repository was claimed by 14%, while 8% said they knew their score from two repositories. (Another 27% of the respondents to this question said they never applied for a mortgage).
The opportunity here is to educate the consumer about the function of credit scores in general and their credit scores in particular. That message has been said many times by many sales trainers, with some of them adding you should give the consumer a copy of their credit report when they attend or after they attend a seminar that you offer.
From the point of view of this article, it is not merely a sales tool to talk to the consumer about their credit score. It is a way to help gain their trust, especially because you can teach them and show them ways to improve their personal finances.
Carrie Coghill, director of consumer education for FreeScore.com is quote in the company's press release as saying to consumers "before you trust a lender, put trust in yourself first to know your financial situation."
Producers who truly care about their clients might take a slightly different view. They would say that they are there to help the consumer learn and understand what his or her financial situation is before they apply for a mortgage.
