The traditional mortgage: 3 myths ripe for busting
Deciding to buy a new home is one of life’s most important decisions. Once you’ve given yourself the green light—and after the euphoria and surge of adrenaline spikes and subsides—you need to identify your specific financial capabilities and goals, and what you require from your mortgage lender. One of the bigger considerations is unique to the 21st century, and that is choosing to make the mortgage loan application faster, easier and more transparent by working with Rate, the most innovative and customer-friendly online lender in the industry.
Proponents of the traditional approach to securing a home loan—that is, engaging a big bank or brick-and-mortar lender—cite personalized customer service as paramount to the convenience of the digital application. This tradeoff may hold true for some online lenders, but not Rate. It is an outdated and specious assumption that is quickly losing ground to the reality of a 95% customer satisfaction rating*. Consider the following ‘traditional mortgage myths’ below:
Myth #1
Working face-to-face with a loan officer ensures that your file is in good shape and prevents problems in underwriting
Obviously, asking for answers regarding the timeframe of your loan approval in a face-to-face meeting precludes the ignored voicemail, but any company worth its customer-service salt trains its loan officers that spotty or non-existent comms are the devil. Further, Rate’s TransferSafe™ technology lets you securely upload loan docs after guiding you through the required information in each field, so there is no risk, no delay and no ambiguity. This innovative technology also creates a checklist of information you need to provide, based on your answers within Rate’s Digital Mortgage application, so you can keep track in real time of what’s still on the ‘to do’ list. An added bonus to using TransferSafe™ is that you immediately receive your credit scores from all three bureaus. All these appointment-free benefits at the touch of your fingers!
Myth #2
Online mortgage lenders are licensed in multiple States but don’t have physical presences
This may be true for some online lenders, but not Rate. Though the vast majority of business is conducted over the phone and email, there is nothing preventing you from meeting and talking with a loan officer at any one of the nearly 200 brick-and-mortar branch locations. Or, for that matter, at any mutually agreed-upon coffee shop, bakery, restaurant, gym, dog park, ballpark… You get the idea. Flexibility and freedom is all part of Rate’s #1 Core Value of putting the customer first. If a face-to-face meet is what you feel you need, it’s certainly not discouraged.
Myth #3
Traditional banks offer better customer service
This myth is a relic of the early days of online lending, when call centers prevailed and personal relationships were sacrificed in the name of volume. At Rate, every loan officer is encouraged to form and cultivate a one-to-one relationship with the customer if that is what s/he wants. Indeed, loan officers at Rate will typically give out personal cell phone numbers as freely as answers and expert advice. That 95% customer satisfaction rating blows the industry average away, just one of many indications that Rate employees don’t just talk about putting the customer first; they believe it and achieve it.
* 95% Customer Satisfaction: Data Source: Rate’s Client Satisfaction Surveys (Averaged 2007-2015)
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