Potential borrowers eager to find lenders with superior service

Potential borrowers eager to find lenders with superior service

A poll by Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting Group found that more than a third of potential borrowers would be willing to pay a higher rate if the mortgage came with superior service. The survey didn’t say how much more the 34 percent were willing to pay, but it did find that this group is a frustrated bunch.

More than half think the process is too slow. A third find it impossible to track the status of their loan application, an equal percentage say it is too difficult to talk with their lenders, and a quarter don’t believe the advice they’re given.

A starting point for borrowers is to ask their real estate agent which lenders offer the best service. Agents know which lenders keep their promises and close quickly without incident. Another option is to ask friends, co-workers, and relatives about their experiences.

Beyond that, prospective borrowers should look for several attributes that will help them find a responsible company or accessible loan officer.

Borrowers should look for a consistent point of contact. Federal regulators have already settled on this as a requirement for loan servicers – the companies that collect payments, disburse funds to cover property taxes, and homowners insurance and otherwise administer loans.

Dealing with a company that provides up-to-date status information also is beneficial. There’s nothing worse than chasing down an unresponsive loan officer to make sure this document or that report has been received, or to find out whether underwriting has looked at the application.

More on this in this article by Lew Sichelman of the Los Angeles Times

Francis

Silicon Valley Real Estate

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Buy a home? Good time?

Consumer attitudes toward home buying shift.

More consumers may be looking to purchase homes with a shift in several key housing market indicators, according to Fannie Mae’s March 2012 consumer attitudinal National Housing Survey. More Americans now expect both home rental and home purchase prices to increase over the next year. Nearly 1/2 of consumers expect higher rental prices, the highest number recorded since monthly tracking began in June 2010. These trends may be providing Americans with an increased sense of urgency to buy a home as 73% of Americans now believe it is a good time to buy a home, up from 70% in February.

Highlights of the survey include:

- 33% of respondents expect home prices to increase over the next 12 months, a five percentage point increase from last month, the highest level over the past 12 months.

- On average, Americans expect home prices to increase by 0.9 % over the next 12 months (up slightly since last month).

- 39% of Americans say that mortgage rates will go up in the next 12 months, a five percentage point increase from last month.

- On average, respondents expect home rental prices to increase by 4.1 percent over the next 12 months, a significant increase since February, and the highest number recorded to date.

- 48% of respondents think that home rental prices will go up, a three percentage point increase from last month and the highest number recorded to date.

- 66% of respondents say they would buy their next home if they were going to move, up one point since last month, while 30 percent say they would rent, up one point versus last month.

More info on the FannieMae article in question.
Thanks for reading!
Francis

Silicon Valley Real Estate

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