Consumer Satisfaction Research

Leading Lenders Use MortgageSAT Over 66,000 surveys completed for closed loan borrowers in 2015 alone Survey invitations sent to all closed loan borrowers Surveys completed by borrower online All surveys identical, which facilitate benchmarking and deep insights All employees and all steps of the process are “scored”

9% of Borrowers are Very Dissatisfied Over 66,000 surveys, MortgageSAT lenders generated average aggregated borrower satisfaction scores of 87 out of a possible 100 80% gave their lender a 9-10 individual satisfaction score out of a maximum score of 10 (on a 10 point scale); however: 9% of borrowers --- that’s 1 out of every 11 borrowers --- gave their lender an individual satisfaction score of 6 or less(out of 10), with the average score for these borrowers coming in at a very low 24 (100 point scale). These unsatisfied borrowers represent potential CFPB complaints for lenders along with negative comments on social media and to friends, relatives and referral sources. Net promoter score (Highly Satisfied less Highly Dissatisfied) is 71

Failure to Provide an Upfront List of Required Documents Dramatically Hurts Satisfaction Failing to provide mortgage applicants with an upfront checklist of required documents has a dramatically adverse impact on Satisfaction When a document checklist is provided up-front, Satisfaction is 89 But when a lender fails to provide such a checklist --- 3.6% of the time in our sample of more than 66,000 loans --- these scores drop to 51 Providing borrowers with an up-front checklist of required documentation should be standard operating procedure and part of an overall strategy of improving borrower communications and managing borrower expectations

Accurate Checklists Drive Higher Satisfaction Customers are much more satisfied then they are NOT asked for additional information that was not part of the original checklist When customers are NOT asked for additional information, customer satisfaction increases to 94, compared to 84 when asked for additional information This points to the critical need for lenders to provide an accurate and complete checklist if possible Lender QC process should balance the need for underwriters asking for too MANY conditions as well as too few conditions

Borrowers Prefer Proactive Status Average borrower satisfaction ratings when the lender proactively provides the status (score of 89 or higher for calls, emails, text message or mobile app) are much higher than when the borrower has to call the lender (64) or log into a lender website (82). Borrower satisfaction is highest when the lender calls the borrower (93), however Electronic notification methods, e.g., an email, a text message, etc., achieve almost the same borrower satisfactions scores at lower cost

Single Point of Contact Drives Higher Satisfaction Customers appear to value a single point of contact during the mortgage process Borrowers who worked only with a loan officer reported average Satisfaction of 90 vs. 84 for borrowers who also worked with someone else This result underscored the tradeoff between efficiency and borrower satisfaction

Everyone in the Process Matters Despite the fact that underwriters don’t interact with consumers, they can impact customer satisfaction In this example, customer satisfaction for some of the underwriters is substantially less than for the others at the same company

Meet the Borrower on Their Terms for Satisfaction The chart below shows that satisfaction increases when borrowers complete the survey in their preferred language The satisfaction score on the right, 97.2 shows a 6 point increase when Hispanic borrowers complete the survey in their preferred language When you meet the borrower on the terms they prefer (in this case their preferred language) you are accommodating their perceived needs. This engenders satisfaction which builds loyalty and brand preference

Not Contacting Borrowers Prior to Closing Hurts Borrower Satisfaction Failing to contact mortgage applicants prior to closing has a dramatically adverse impact on Average Satisfaction: When the lender contacts the borrower, average borrower Satisfaction is 91 But when a lender fails to do so --- a surprisingly high 12% of the time in our sample of more than 66,000 loans --- these scores drop to 59 Such poor scores are relatively likely to result in adverse comments and/or postings to regulators, on social media and to friends and relatives

TRID Impacts Longer turn times, but now higher satisfaction? Average time to closer went up after TRID was launched, but is now declining in early 2016. There has been a steady and substantial increase --- from 85% to 91% ---- in the proportion of borrowers being contacted by their lender about the closing process prior to closing. As a consequence of these change, overall borrower satisfaction with the origination process has increased by 3% and now stands at 91%, a record high since MortgageSAT was launched in 2013.

Thank You garth.graham@stratmorgroup.com (954) 325-7816