Realtors, Protect Your Relationships!!!

Whether you refer your client to me, a credit union, a bank or even the mortgage company spending big bucks on super bowl ads, I’m making a point to educate my referral partners as much as I can to improve their buyer’s experience. After all we are in a service industry.

There are some companies who can’t build their business through relationships or world class service and have increasingly been purchasing what are known as trigger leads. How often has a buyer told you that soon after they applied for credit they received 20, 30, 40, 50, 75 or more calls from random mortgage companies? Yes, no joke – I personally have had past clients who have received 60+ calls. This is becoming more and more common and a huge annoyance. The homebuying experience should be fun and exciting and the goal is to keep your client’s euphoric feeling of the homebuying process a positive one.??

Your client’s information is being sold as a trigger lead. Trigger leads are generated when a credit report is pulled and the code on the pull shows it’s related to a mortgage inquiry. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion (The 3 main credit repositories) take the information and sell them in bulk to mortgage companies, lenders and banks without the permission or knowledge of the borrower.

This isn’t just a lender problem… it’s a real estate agent’s worst nightmare too. An example: You’ve been speaking with a prospect for months and they finally decide the time is right to buy a new home. You do a warm introduction to a mortgage person or they contact their bank who immediately pulls credit. If your client is on the fence about buying there’s a good chance the multitude of calls dissuades them from being a buyer. Or worse, a mortgage company that has a real estate affiliation gets a hold of your buyer and steers them to a realtor other than you. Think that’s ever happened? Yep, me too! Mortgage companies who also own or who have affiliations with real estate companies: Rocket Homes, Open Door, Redfin and Zillow are just a few.

The credit bureaus are private, for profit organizations and sell your buyer’s information and a variation of their credit score. They are not government mandated and loosely regulated through the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The House Financial Services Committee proposed the Trigger Leads Abatement Act of 2022 but it didn’t go anywhere. The lobbyists for Equifax Experian and TransUnion are too powerful.

I get asked about pulling a soft pull and some of my competitors advertise that they do soft credit pulls that don’t create a trigger lead. We have the ability to do the same, however, when you get your client under contract and the file gets submitted for final underwriting a hard pull is done and the barrage of calls begins. Another solution that was proposed was leaving the client’s email and phone number off of the initial credit pull. The credit bureaus have massive amounts of aggregated data and easily match up your client’s name and address with emails and phone numbers from other sources. Everything is online. No different than if I looked your production and information up on Modex or MMI.io – it’s all online. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are skilled content aggregators and again, they are for profit non-governmental entities.

So, what’s the plan??

A long term pipeline strategy… Let me explain.

The two main ways to help avoid being added to a trigger list are optoutprescreen.com and donotcall.gov. Neither one is full proof, however I can tell you from personal experience getting on optoutprescreen lowered the amount of calls from solar panel company calls, extended warranty calls, life insurance calls and other solicitors by 80+%. Neither one of these actions costs a penny to your client and the only downside is they won’t get the offer for a platinum AMEX. (If your client want’s an AMEX card the application link isn’t hard to find).?

As an example I’ve been on the Do Not Call list for years but the calls didn’t noticeably decrease until adding myself to the Opt Out site. The Do Not Call list takes 31 days.?

Moving forward, I’ll primarily promote the Opt Out Prescreen site. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act your client’s can Opt Out from being solicited. The site is very simple to use and it seems to only take a few weeks for the client to be added to the list. https://www.optoutprescreen.com/

Purchasing a home is a big decision and buyers should use experienced, knowledgeable, honest, and licensed professionals. I have begun asking each of my clients what their timeline is for their purchase. If over 60-90 days why would I pull a credit report right now if the buyer thinks they have good credit and everything is relatively straight forward. Recent text message to client’s this weekend:

It was great speaking with you. Since your timeline to buy is later on this year let’s get you prepared. To avoid hundreds of telemarketing calls get yourselves on this list before I pull your credit report. https://www.optoutprescreen.com/ After I pull your credit report we’ll work on optimizing your credit score and make sure you’re getting the best financing on the planet.

I now have this buyer on my calendar to call in a week to see if they followed through with the plan and then again in two weeks to possibly pull a credit report.

Writing a loan for clients is a long term proposition. Sometimes it takes months if not years for them to move forward with their purchase. Timing of the market, timing of their finances, timing of their personal life all play a part. Being a true mortgage consultant is helping a client prepare for the future. That involves educating a client on how credit and credit scoring works, discussing multiple options based on the buyer’s situation, and even how to avoid unnecessary calls.?

If you have questions please reach out to me or any of my teammates. We offer accurate and honest mortgage advice.

#realestate #realestateagent #homebuying #homeownership #creditscore #credit #mortgage #mortgages #triggerleads My Easy Mortgage NMLS 1268485 Gilbert Bennett