For many years, mortgage loan officers touted the value of attending closings out of a belief that doing so helped build relationships with the borrower, real estate agents and title companies. At the National Mortgage Lending Conference, the STRATMOR Group’s Senior Partner Garth Graham shared new data calculated from more than 150,000 home loan experiences to learn the truth behind this activity and whether it impacted borrower satisfaction. The result? A resounding yes – there’s a direct link between borrower satisfaction and whether loan officers attend mortgage closings.
While attending the closings does bring better relationships for referrals from real estate agents and title companies since they see a smooth closing process, the overall borrower experience is better when the loan officer is there to communicate through the closing. Survey results showed a satisfaction level of 93.6 percent when the loan officer attended the closing and a satisfaction rate of 88.2 percent when the loan officer did not attend the closing. These satisfaction ratings were higher for first-time homebuyers and for those who were not first-time buyers.
“What we learned through this survey is when a loan officer is able to attend the closing the mishaps that they are easily blamed for are no longer an issue because the loan officer is there able to defend themselves and explain,” said Graham.
By attending the closing and being able to communicate with the real estate agent, title company and – most importantly – the borrower, the loan officer makes the closing smoother and the borrower feels more confident. Borrower satisfaction is directly related to attending closings and can greatly assist members by closing the deal with strong communication.
