Almost two-thirds of homeowners who purchased homes in the past 10 years consider their home-buying experience ""excellent"" or ""very good,"" according to ""survey results"":http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/td-bank-unveils-mortgage-service-index-to-evaluate-consumer-experiences-with-home-financing-201048291.html released Tuesday by ""TD Bank,"":http://www.td.com/about-tdbfg/our-business/index.jsp based in Portland, Maine.
[IMAGE]However, among the positives, TD Bank did find some room for improvement in certain areas.
About 55 percent of survey respondents rated their ability to find a good real estate agent and their experience with the inspection and appraisal process as ""excellent"" or ""very good.""
Finding the right lender seemed to be a little more difficult than finding the right real estate agent. About 53 percent of respondents rated their ability to find the right lender as ""excellent"" or ""very good.""
The same percentage ranked the length of the home-buying process in one of these two top categories.
[COLUMN_BREAK]Banks fared relatively well in the survey with 66 percent of respondents saying their experience with their bank was either ""excellent"" or ""very good.""
When choosing a bank, respondents generally considered two banks or lenders before selecting one.
About 47 percent chose a bank where they had no existing accounts at the time, while about 34 percent worked with their primary bank.
Among those who rated their overall home buying experience as positive, 83 percent reported having ""very good"" interaction with their lender, which according to TD Bank reveals ""how critical banks and lenders are to customer attitudes toward creating a positive home buying experience.""
More than half but less than two-thirds of survey respondents said they were kept informed throughout the application process, said their lender ""showed adequate responsiveness,"" and considered their lender accessible.
Twenty-four percent considered the home buying process ""very stressful"" or ""extremely stressful,"" and another 45 percent considered the process ""somewhat stressful.""
TD Bank also found a majority of home buyers applied for their mortgages in person--about 65 percent--while the remainder applied online.
""Our Mortgage Servicing Index research showed that in today's low-interest environment, where most lenders can offer historically low rates, home buyers should be particularly focused on finding a home financing partner who is accessible, responsive and transparent throughout the home buying process,"" said Michael Copley, EVP of retail lending at TD Bank.