Borrowers Want More Transparency in Lending: Survey

Just how important is disclosure to American borrowers? Very important, if the figures from a recent Harris Interactive survey mean anything.

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""MortgageMarvel.com"":http://www.mortgagemarvel.com/ commissioned a survey of 2,214 American adults 18 years or older to learn that one full-quarter of Americans take disclosure into account when considering their next home loan.

After disclosure, 20 percent of survey respondents ranked anonymity as their second most-valued quality in the lending process.

Sixteen percent wanted an easy comparisons process, 10 percent affirmed their interest in protection from unwelcome offers, and 7 percent cited their desire for ""accurate, real-time"" quotes for interest rates.

""It's revealing that across the age spectrum, so many online users cite full disclosure of fees and privacy as their top priorities,"" Rick Allen, COO of Mortgage Marvel, said in a statement.

The figures suggest that age and gender play a role whether someone wants more transparency or less. For example, 27 percent of men desire ""full, accurate disclosure"" when it comes their mortgage fees, compared with 23 percent of women.

Twenty-seven percent of borrowers between ages 45 and 54 value privacy when it comes to questions of personal information. A scant 14 percent of borrowers between ages 18 and 34 desires the same for their home loans.

Not all answers fell uniformly down the same lines. Asked the same question about privacy and personal information, 23 percent of women and 18 percent of men called for anonymity.

By the same token, borrowers between ages 18 and 34 want protection from unsolicited loan offers, whereas 8 percent of those between ages 35 and 44 and 10 percent of those between ages 45 and 54, respectively, feel so inclined.

The survey arrives as federal regulators consider new mortgage disclosure and transparency rules. The ""Consumer Financial Protection Bureau"":http://www.consumerfinance.gov/ has proposed simplifying disclosure forms for home loans by creating a uniform document for borrowers.

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