Contact Your Customers for a Yearly Mortgage Review

As mortgage professionals, your role in conducting yearly mortgage reviews is not just a routine task but a crucial touchpoint that can significantly impact the financial health of your clients. This annual review is an opportunity to evaluate their financial health, build lasting relationships, and show your intention to be part of their lives for the long term. With many people sitting on equity, showing them how they can strategically leverage that equity proves that you are far more than a transactional loan originator.

Why the Yearly Mortgage Review Matters

A yearly mortgage review isn't just a routine check-up—it's a strategic tool offering significant advantages for borrowers and lenders. For borrowers, it provides a clear understanding of their financial health, identifies potential opportunities, and helps them avoid unpleasant surprises. For lenders, it's a chance to build stronger relationships, demonstrate proactive service, and uncover new business opportunities.

For Borrowers:

• Understanding Financial Health: An annual review helps borrowers understand their current financial position, including their home's value and equity. This understanding is crucial for making informed financial decisions, such as refinancing, investing in home renovations, or considering other investment opportunities. By providing this information, you can empower your clients to make the best decisions for their financial future.

• Identifying Opportunities: A yearly review informs borrowers about potential financial moves, whether it's refinancing options, home renovations, or investment opportunities. By staying updated on these opportunities, you can help your clients make the most of their mortgage and home equity, enhancing their financial well-being.

• Avoiding Surprises: Regular updates prevent unpleasant surprises by identifying issues like rising interest rates or changes in financial circumstances early on. During the review, make sure to discuss any potential changes in the market or the client's financial situation that could impact their mortgage. This proactive approach can help them prepare for these changes and avoid any unexpected financial burdens.

For Lenders:

• Building Relationships: Regular contact helps nurture and strengthen the relationship between lenders and clients, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. You can build trust and loyalty by showing your clients that you care about their financial well-being beyond the initial loan, leading to repeat business and referrals.

• Proactive Service: By offering annual reviews, lenders demonstrate a proactive approach to customer care, which can set them apart from competitors.

• Business Growth: These reviews can uncover new business opportunities, such as refinancing. By identifying these opportunities and offering tailored solutions, you can provide better client service and increase your revenue and market share.

How to Conduct an Effective Mortgage Review

Conducting a comprehensive annual mortgage review requires a structured approach:

Preparation:

• Gather the client's financial records and mortgage details. These should be ideally in your CRM notes, but if you are not using your CRM to keep notes, this is the best time to start. These records should include their current mortgage balance, interest rate, term, and any changes in their financial situation since the last review. This information will help you provide a more personalized and effective review.

• Prepare a personalized message to initiate the review process.
• Check to ensure you are connected on social media and also give their account a quick scan for easy warm-up questions like, “You were just in Florida! How was it?” or “Your baby is getting so big! What’s his favorite thing to do right now?” If you weren't connected before, this is the perfect time to follow or connect.
• If you are using Mortgage Coach , input their information so you can show them the equity they gained and any strategies for the future. Similarly, if you enrolled them in Homebot , check their report on their home equity. If you have FinLocker , are they using the app effectively?
• Setting Up the Call:

• Send a personalized email, text, or video message to schedule the review, but ideally, send a video via text with your calendar link. For example:

"Happy Home Anniversary! It’s time for your Annual Real Estate Review! I would love to schedule some time this week to talk about your home value, home equity position, and the market conditions in your neighborhood. We will also provide you with a market analysis before our call and can review any general questions you might have upon review. Go ahead and schedule at your convenience. I look forward to catching up with you!"

Executing the Call:

• Start with rapport-building by asking about their well-being and sharing something personal about you.

• Outline the agenda:

• Review Current Home Value: Discuss the current market value of their property. Ideally, you would have some branded slides to review with them to show the value of their home.

• Understand Home Equity: Explain their position and potential opportunities for renovations, investments, or purchasing another property.

• Address Questions & Real Estate Goals: Answer any questions and discuss their plans for the upcoming year, including vacations, family, and goals. Also, remember to be a resource and ask what partners they may need to protect their assets, like a CPA, Financial Advisor, insurance agent, etc.
• Asking for the Business:

• Conclude with a proactive question to uncover future real estate goals:

"Several of our clients are discussing selling their home in the next year, and this is another reason for our call today – I want to be proactive for you. Do you have any real estate goals or plans for the next year that you’d like to discuss today?"

• Who else do they know in the market for a home? Are their neighbors or friends moving? Do their parents need to downsize?

Take notes and set the next follow-up

The Role of Technology in Streamlining Reviews

Digital tools can significantly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of mortgage reviews. Here's how technology can help:

• Automated Reminders: Use your CRM to set annual reminders for mortgage reviews, ensuring no client is forgotten.

• Data Analytics: Leverage data analytics to provide personalized insights and recommendations based on the client's financial history and market trends.
• Homebot: Enroll them in Homebot if they would like to receive an ongoing report on their home equity.

An annual mortgage review is not just a formality—it's a strategic touchpoint that benefits lenders and borrowers. For borrowers, it offers clarity and opportunities, while for lenders, it builds stronger relationships and uncovers new business prospects. And this isn't just for mortgage- coach your real estate agents up on calling their past clients to check in to see their future plans using the same strategy!

Make yearly mortgage reviews a regular part of your client interactions. Start scheduling those calls, and watch your client relationships and business growth flourish. If this is not a current practice for you, this is the time to call every closed loan from the past three years!

Ready to elevate your customer relationships? DM me or schedule a call with Octo Strategies , and we'll create support for your business development at every level.

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