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How Satisfied are Borrowers with the Origination Process?

applicationBorrowers appear to be much more satisfied with the mortgage process than the industry may think—and borrower satisfaction has been slowly increasing each month for nearly a year, according to the inaugural monthly STRATMOR Insights Report for July 2016.

According to STRATMOR’s MortgageSAT Satisfaction Index, which covers the borrower satisfaction rating for lenders over a 12-month look-back period starting with the preceding month, that borrower satisfaction crept up by an average of about 0.54 points from May 2015 to June 2016 (from approximately 85 up to about 90 out of a possible 100).

Not only that, but recent borrower satisfaction scores have averaged about 90, which STRATMOR found noteworthy.

“This strikes us as remarkably high for a financial product with a complex process. It also runs contrary to the much maligned image of the industry,” the report said.

The report also found that borrower satisfaction remained somewhat steady for the second half of 2015 but then rose sharply during the first part of 2016, “which, as we have noted elsewhere in industry media, was just when the new TRID closing disclosure requirements came into effect,” according to the report.

7-13 STRATMOR graphThe report found that Hispanics tend to more satisfied with the overall mortgage process than non-Hispanics. On the MortgageSAT Satisfaction Index, Hispanics posted a score of 92 compared to 90 for non-Hispanics. STRATMOR also reported that Hispanics reported fewer problems in the mortgage origination process than non-Hispanics, and that Hispanics remain more satisfied with the process than non-Hispanics even when there were problems (such as asked for the same documents repeatedly or asked for documents not on the lender-supplied checklist).

Moreover, the report found that when lenders engaged Hispanic borrowers in their own language, those borrowers were likely to return to the lender again, recommend the services of that lender to friends and family, or comment on social media about the lender.

“While offering a satisfaction survey in a borrower’s native language is not the same as guiding that borrower through the entire origination process in that language, it does stand to reason that doing so can create much more satisfied, loyal and vocal customers,” the report stated.

Click here to view the entire report.

About Author: Seth Welborn

Seth Welborn is a Harding University graduate with a degree in English and a minor in writing. He is a contributing writer for MReport. An East Texas Native, he has studied abroad in Athens, Greece and works part-time as a photographer.
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