Mortgage leads

See news and mortgage lead strategy daily at refiHOUSE.

Educating your Market

Education is Key to Market Survival.

We handle information requests on mortgage products, lenders and questions from first time home buyers in many low- to moderate-income households. By educating people on ways to be' mortgage ready' through news, blogs and market predictions from our own experts, Ed Rooney and Stockton Marquette, our origination services provide valuable information for the home owner/buyer and the mortgage professional. Freddie Mac credits the strength of construction and housing in general for the continuing low mortgage rates and looks twords a a bright future. With fewer people refinancing homes these days, lenders have to work hard to attract customers. If volume and effective use of funds are of any concern, offering a broader spectrum of mortgage products and services including low down payment products are key to survival in today’s markets. Fortunately, there are a number of mortgage programs available that incorporate low down payment options. Choosing a low down payment program is a matter of matching it to a buyer's personal situation, including his income level, outstanding debts, credit rating, job prospectus, how long he intends on staying in the house and such. When you have multiple programs available you can really gear them to an individual's needs, greatly increasing your ability to close many varieties of loans, which makes much more use of your available leads…more ROI is the bottom line. All rights reserved. Copyright 2005.

Pay attention to the DNC

The FCC recently acted against a mortgage brokerage firm for failing to comply with the Do-Not-Call (DNC) laws.

As we have previously talked about in these pages, the DNC laws were drafted so as to cover almost every business that sells products directly to consumers. This includes mortgage professionals. As clearly spelled out in the case against Dynasty Mortgage ( Order FCC 05-47) buying leads from a lead source does not mean that you are complying with the DNC laws – you're just hoping for the best. Few if any of those working as, or for, a loan originator, have a comprehensive system in place to comply with the DNC laws. Dynasty Mortgage didn't think that they were telemarketers, but the hard reality is that when calling consumers at their home, mortgage companies are in the same light as those calling at dinnertime to selling condo time-shares. So what does this mean? Even if you buy leads from a source that is “scrubbing“ their lists to insure that they are complying with the DNC (we vigorously check and comply with the DNC lists here at refiHOUSE), you, as the buyer of the leads, still must independently comply with the DNC laws in order to not be liable. Dynasty Mortgage may be fined $770,000 for making only 70 calls to people who had put their numbers on the DNC list, because the company apparently continued to make telemarketing calls after receiving a Commission citation warning it of potential penalties if it continued violating the DNC rules In order to comply with the DNC laws, originators must:

• Apply to the government to get a Subscription Account Number (“SAN”). Anyone making outbound calls without a having a SAN may cause the government to assume that you are breaking the law, even if you are calling people who are not on the DNC list.
• A system must be in place that checks to make sure that the number you are not calling someone that has been added to the DNC list in the past month. You must be able to show that you are not calling those on the DNC list.
• You should also have a written DNC policy and you must train your employees on how to comply with DNC laws. “No other industry is more affected by the DNC laws than lenders and real estate brokers. It's worrisome that the majority of professionals I speak with don't think the laws apply to them,” says attorney Barry Kaye, to be featured in free seminars by BEXT, INC. called the CanCallList Seminar. “Lenders and brokers absolutely need to educate themselves on the law and implement a total compliance solution like the one offered by CanCallList. And they need to do it today.” Being positively involved in this area would have saved Dynasty Mortgage a fortune in fines. Create a real policy, train those that work for you and don't trust others to comply with laws that will be enforced against you, not them. Story: Ed Rooney for Live With a Net© Publications. All rights reserved. Re-circulation of this publication requires prior written consent. Copyright refiHOUSE.net 2002-2005

Shopping for Leads

In the current world, you certainly only get what you pay for, if you’re lucky.

Nothing could be more true when it comes to mortgage leads. When a (traditional) lender picks up the phone, they value it exactly as much as they've paid for it, which is of course, nothing. But what happens if the phone doesn't ring? Crossword puzzles or surfing the net? Either way, if they work for you, or if it is you, it's probably time to become positively involved. Many companies rely heavily on web-based leads, "It's the lifeline of the business” said a branch manager for prominent mortgage company. “I spend a boatload of money every month on this, but it's OK, because the return is there." The bottom line is that because brokers pay money for these leads, they work them to death…and follow through. “There are so many different lead sources out there, and so many are bogus,” he added, sometimes it can seem like “like throwing away money." Internet or telemarketed leads account for 70 percent to 80 percent of his company's loans. How do you protect yourself from the pitfalls of the marketplace? Mortgage shopping over the Internet has become streamlined in recent years. Most leads don't turn into loans, but enough do to make the leads attractive. Research and really talking with the provider will usually let you know if they know their product. Do they:

• Do they have a web site that states all of the policies…including the return policy or any guarantees they offer?
• Offer advice and services to help those that haven't worked internet or telemarketed leads before?
• Offer to sell you anything , or do they let you know what products might work for you and which ones won't? Beware the lead broker selling telemarketed leads to the internet aggregator.

Some lead sources don't always tell prospective customers the full story on rates and fees. There are costs that might not be disclosed. Make sure you know if any additional charges are related to your purchase/delivery of leads. That includes the returns also. Many lenders feel it's a lot easier for customers to determine the full cost of a mortgage if they sit down with a loan officer. But online lenders say the concerns are overstated. Indeed, customers who want face-to-face transactions usually get them. Service remains the most important part of any business. It's all about talking to people and finding out what their goals are. Though online lenders say they offer better service, they also could be helping to drive down the costs of getting or refinancing a mortgage through comparison shopping. A lead customer is a shopper now, not a buyer. You are more demanding. You know a competitive product when you see one. Finding a real person who can provide for your real daily needs in a cost effective fashion is the goal. Story: Ed Rooney for Live With a Net© Publications. All rights reserved. Re-circulation of this publication requires prior written consent.

Do Not Call List

When it comes to do-not-call laws, be safe not sorry.

At the same time that good leads are getting scarcer, the newest issue for mortgage originators is the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) “do-not-call” list. Can you call the leads that you are getting? According to the recently passed federal laws, if a person is on a “do-not-call” registry and you do not have an existing business relationship, nor their express written permission for you to call them, you could face a fine if they are on the list. Although the aggregator receives authorization from the borrower to contact them and passes it on to you, the problem is that the aggregators aren't the ones the government is going to go after if the borrower was on a do-not call registry: You called the borrower against his wishes, not the aggregator. The point to remember in this is that the laws are very new, so new that in fact these do-not-call issues, as well as many others, are still untested. Untested is not good because it means there really is no assurance that you as the purchaser of a lead, from any source, are indemnified. Reputable aggregators offer generous return policies, but in fact, no one can offer a guarantee that someone not on the do-not-call list today won't be tomorrow. So in these uncertain times, the only prudent thing to do is to check for yourself whether or not the lead you just bought is on a state or federal do-not-call registry before picking up the phone. In addition, you should have a plan for insuring that all the sales calls you and your colleagues are making, regardless of the source, are in compliance with both the state and federal guidelines. And the best way to do this is by working with a reputable company that will not only screen all of the phone numbers you call but also provide you with safe numbers, and obtaining and dutifully checking the do-not-call registry yourself. Because when it comes to these do-not-call laws, you are really the only responsible party in the end. Story: Ed Rooney for Live With a Net

Effective Marketing

Subject: Effective Marketing for the Mortgage Broker

Our unsurpassed Lead Generation Network provides substantial improvement in:

• Communications
• Productivity
• Profitability
• Marketing
• Campaign Management
• Market segmentation optimize
• Analyze existing customers for re-marketing opportunities
• Standardized marketing and sales communications
• Mortgage Marketing & Lead Generation

In order to reach the largest amount of consumers interested in your products, refiHOUSE.net makes use our network of internet sites, along with the finest Outbound Telemarketing Centers who are located in the USA only. Customers acquired from the Internet fill a form out similar to the one shown here. Consumers who are contacted via our Outbound Call Centers are first interviewed by the call agent, then transferred to a supervisor where important information about the customer is verified and recorded. The information is then filled into the same web page that the consumer uses. Proactive Lead Acquisition Increasing your bottom line is simplified when you have a reliable source of motivated customer data at your finger tips for making productive marketing calls. Regular arrival of motivated customers means that no opportunities are missed. No more waiting for the phone to ring. Proactive acquisition of Mortgage customers will revitalize you business, giving you reliable and effective production increases to lift your brokerage closing rates to new heights. At refiHouse, we provide lead generation services to the Mortgage Industry for simplifying and streamlining their business processes. Call now for a quote on your desired market area. See how we can increase your company's effectiveness in lead procurement and segment targeting. Story: Ed Rooney for Live With a Net © Publications. All rights reserved. Re-circulation of this publication requires prior written consent.

Copyright refiHOUSE.net 2002-2005