Top producers get their clients to feel a sense of urgency about financing a home sooner rather than later. To succeed in a competitive marketplace, the best loan officers get each client to understand that the overall value of buying NOW—to that person or couple—will never be better.
You can’t do that if the buyer is focused mainly on interest rates. The interest rate should only be one factor in deciding the time is right to buy a home. That is especially true in today’s market, where interest rates remain relatively low and steady as inventory of both new homes and resales is getting tighter every month.
“When people call, the first thing they want to talk about is interest rates,” one broker told me. “I have to tell them upfront that we do not sell interest rates. I offer high-quality mortgage products that enable people to acquire homes they love to live in and that will grow in value over the years.”
But it is easy for both consumers and industry pros to be distracted by interest rates. That seems to be all that both the Main Street and mortgage industry press focus on.
The big challenge both for real estate agents and lenders is convincing hesitant buyers that homeownership is affordable and delivers long-term value. Consumers are unlikely to build wealth by waiting for interest rates and/or home prices to fall.
For example, prospects not qualifying for the lowest rates are too often advised to wait to buy until their credit scores improve. However, non-QM loans enable millions of generally overlooked consumers to afford a home now. These people can create wealth immediately and are usually able to lower their payment by refinancing within two years of their original purchase.
Loan officers must be evangelists for homeownership, not simply financial services providers. Whenever prospects say they are just shopping for rates, change the subject. Why do they really want a new home? Have them share their dreams and their concerns. Once they know that you can help them live better and build equity, the importance of interest rates will fade.
As a pioneer and the leader in non-QM lending, Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions helps loan officers prove the value of homeownership to consumers. To learn more about proving long-term value to rate sensitive borrowers, contact
AngelOakMS.com/MAP/ or call (866) 837-6312.
Tom Hutchens is executive vice president, production at Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, an Atlanta-based wholesale and correspondent lender licensed in more than 40 states and operating in the non-QM space for over five years. Tom has been in the real estate lending business for nearly 20 years. He may be reached by phone at (855) 539-4910 or e-mail [email protected].
This sponsored editorial appeared in the August 2019 print edition of National Mortgage Professional Magazine.
