How Borrower Communication Preferences Are Evolving
In fact, 85% of Americans are online daily, according to a recent Pew Research survey. Among them, 48% go online several times a day and 31% are online “almost constantly.”
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The mortgage servicing business has not been immune to these changes—but it has struggled with them, often due to the limitations of their technology platforms. Here are several ways borrower communication preferences are evolving – and how servicers should be accommodating them.
Online Options, Please
Not too long ago, when you really needed to contact a borrower, sending a letter or calling was the best way. Today, however, borrowers are paying less attention to these channels.
For example, according to J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study, only slightly more than half of people with mortgages still receive paper statements. Among those who still do, 43% don’t even look at them, preferring instead to view their statement through digital channels such as consumer portals and self-service mobile apps.
Mortgage borrowers at home reviewing their loan information using their servicer’s self-service online portal on a laptop computer.Being able to communicate with borrowers through online channels is not just about providing better customer service. There’s a compliance reason, too. During the Covid pandemic, the CFPB encouraged servicers to “use all available tools” in order to reach borrowers who may be struggling to make their payments. That includes email and texting, as well as providing online options.
Related: How to Keep Borrowers Happy in Today’s Digital Age
More Language Options, Too
The U.S. has long been recognized for being a melting pot of cultures and nationalities, and proudly so. And that melting pot continues to grow more diverse.
Between 1980 and 2019, the number of U.S. residents who speak a language other than English at home increased by three times, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Homeownership has grown more diverse as well. Over the past decade, Hispanic and Asian American homeownership rates have jumped by 4% and 5% respectively, according to the most recent research from the National Association of Realtors.
This means servicers that value customer retention should be able to communicate and provide information in multiple languages—both to better assist borrowers with limited English proficiency (LEP) and to serve the widest range of customers.
No One Likes to Wait
The way the Internet and mobile technology have sped up access to goods and services has changed consumer expectations as well. Nowadays, borrowers who call their servicers for assistance are less likely to stay on hold waiting for help to arrive.
This has become a real problem for some servicers. According to the CFPB, call metrics reported by mortgage servicers show average hold times of more than 10 minutes, while some servicers are seeing call abandonment rates of 30% or higher. What’s probably worse is the fact that some mortgage servicers were not able to provide these metrics, nor did they have the ability to track and report high-quality data.
Related: Understanding HUD’s New 40-Year Loan Mod Option
The rapid evolution in how borrowers prefer to communicate is why servicers choose MCC Mortgage Solutions’ cloud-based software, which enables servicers to communicate with their customers in all the ways they prefer. With user-defined criteria, our software can coordinate communications through multiple channels and can automatically prompt customer service representatives to contact borrowers at specific times and under specific conditions.
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MCC Mortgage Solutions also offers a comprehensive self-service, servicer branded loan portal that provides borrowers with their loan information and payment options. Plus our software offers the option to servicers to use their own translation services to create statements and letters in a borrower’s preferred language.
If you want to improve your borrower communications and aren’t sure your current platform is up to the task, give one of our team members a call at 248-350-9290 or email us at info@mccmortgagesolutions.com. We’d be happy to show you how MCC Mortgage Solutions can make all your customer interactions smooth, simple, and compliant—just as they should be.