I was not able to locate material that is specific to your
geographical area, but I've found some good data that applies to the
United States in general.
Here is an interesting excerpt from a 1997 Senate hearing regarding
the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Truth in Lending Act,
and problems surrounding the mortgage origination process:
"Recently, MBA [Mortgage Bankers' Association of America] commissioned
an independent, consumer study to determine how borrowers regard the
overall settlement process and the lending information they receive
during settlement: In other words, whether they understand the
information they are provided by law or regulation; whether they find
it useful; and, if they find it to be timely. Yankelovich Partners, in
telephone interviews, conducted the study with 500 consumers who had
either financed or refinanced a home during the previous year. The
study revealed that, while most homebuyers report receiving many types
of information relative to the home lending process that are helpful,
more than four out of ten borrowers indicated they get too much
information to comprehend.
Simplicity is the key. MBA estimates that some three million
households a year would benefit from clearer, more concise information
on the home lending process. The survey shows that consumers want
straight-forward, comprehensible information. In addition, they want
less paperwork, documents that are written in plain English, and a
thorough explanation of all fees. Consumers would find it helpful to
receive all mandatory documents related to the loan process as early
in the application process as possible. For example, nearly all
borrowers in the study reacted positively when asked whether they were
interested in receiving a firm cost commitment prior to the start of
the application process. Ninety-eight percent reacted very positively
when asked if they would like to receive a detailed statement of all
mortgage costs prior to applying for a loan. In addition, most
expressed a preference for receiving all information documents
associated with their loan before the loan process actually begins."
Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee
http://banking.senate.gov/97_07hrg/070997/witness/mccord.htm
Each year, Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey focuses on a different
aspect of home ownership. I've found some useful statistics for you in
two of these surveys:
"The research firms Peter D. Hart Research and Coldwater Corp.
conducted the Fannie Mae 2001 National Housing Survey. The sample
comprised 1,001 randomly selected adults ? with an oversample of 303
credit-impaired homeowners ? interviewed between May 8 and May 11,
2001. The survey?s accuracy is plus/minus 3.1 percent for the
representative national sample and 5.7 percent for the oversample of
credit-impaired homeowners...
Top 4 reasons why people used lenders other than banks or credit unions:
Offered best interest rate: 32%
Recommended by family or friends: 25%
Offered loan with little or no money down: 14%
Gave quick decision on loans: 10%...
Why borrowers chose their lender:
They offered the best interest rate.
Credit-impaired borrowers: 10%
All homeowners: 32%
They were recommended by friends or family.
Credit-impaired borrowers: 20%
All homeowners: 25%
They offered a loan with little or no money down.
Credit-impaired borrowers: 18%
All homeowners: 14%
They gave quick decisions on loans.
Credit-impaired borrowers: 12%
All homeowners: 10%
They offered a loan with low monthly payments.
Credit-impaired borrowers: 11%
All homeowners: 9%
They were conveniently located in my neighborhood.
Credit-impaired borrowers: 7%
All homeowners: 5%
They approved most loans.
Credit-impaired borrowers: 15%
All homeowners: 4%
They did not discriminate against people.
Credit-impaired borrowers: 6%
All homeowners: 3%
None/other.
Credit-impaired borrowers: 11%
All homeowners: 9%
Not sure.
Credit-impaired borrowers: 5%
All homeowners: 7%"
Fannie Mae: National Housing Survey 2001
http://www.fanniemae.com/global/pdf/media/survey/survey2001.pdf
Also from Fannie Mae, here's some good information on what borrowers DON'T want:
"The 1999 Fannie Mae National Housing Survey was undertaken by the
survey research firms of Peter D. Hart and Robert Teeter. The sample
comprised 1,812 adults, and was taken between April 30 and May 10,
1999. Among this sample were 878 adults who had recently been through
the mortgage process. The survey?s accuracy is plus/minus 2.9
percent...
What bothers consumers about the mortgage process:
Recent Purchasers
A Amount of documentation that
you have to provide......................32%
B Unexpected or hidden costs
during the application process...........17%
C Application fee...........................9%
D Amount of time it takes
to get approved...........................9%
E Understanding the mortgages and
the mortgage application process..........9%
F The uncertainty of not knowing whether
you will or will not be approved..........7%
G All equally...............................6%
H None of the above........................10%
I Not sure..................................1%
Recent Refinancers
A Amount of documentation that
you have to provide......................29%
B Unexpected or hidden costs
during the application process...........18%
C Application fee..........................11%
D Amount of time it takes
to get approved...........................8%
E Understanding the mortgages and
the mortgage application process..........6%
F The uncertainty of not knowing whether
you will or will not be approved..........4%
G All equally...............................7%
H None of the above........................14%
I Not sure..................................3%"
Fannie Mae: National Housing Survey 1999
http://www.fanniemae.com/global/pdf/media/survey/survey1999.pdf
A recent study by CFI Group provides info that I think will be of
considerable interest to you:
"The process of financing a house intrudes upon privacy, produces
blizzards of baffling paperwork and costs thousands. Maybe worst of
all, the costs can change from the time the lender commits until the
loan closes several weeks later. So it's no surprise that a study of
borrowers by CFI Group of Ann Arbor, Mich., finds dissatisfaction.
Mortgage lending and health insurance rated equally low in terms of
consumer satisfaction ratings. Each lagged behind the ratings for the
financial service industry as a whole.
Maybe the most important insight: Customer dissatisfaction is focused
mainly at the front end of the mortgage process. In interviewing 359
recent borrowers for Mortgage Banking magazine, CFI Group found the
biggest gripe to be the inability to comparison shop before committing
to a loan."
Mpelembe Network: Republished from "USA Today"
http://mpelembe.mappibiz.com/Archives_03/Mortgage.html
"A new survey of recent mortgage purchasers by the international
consulting firm CFI Group, co-sponsored by Mortgage Banking Magazine,
shows that mortgage lending ranks relatively low on customer
satisfaction among financial services organizations... In the CFI
study, U.S. homeowners gave the mortgage lending process a
satisfaction score of 69 on a 0-100 scale... At its current ranking,
mortgage banking trails all other financial services measured in the
ACSI except for health insurance, which also scores a 69. By contrast,
retail banking scores 74, and life insurance leads the sector at 79.
Responses to the survey indicate that this low score is due in part to
the often-confusing steps required to obtain a first mortgage or
refinance a home.
Mortgage purchasers were in broad agreement with the idea that the
mortgage lending process is too complex... According to CFI Group's
analysis, the three factors with the most leverage on customer
satisfaction were the overall time it takes to process a mortgage,
their lender loan officer's or representative's role, and the
convenience of processing and closing the loan. Mortgage lenders will
increasingly need to differentiate themselves in these areas to meet
with success in the marketplace as the era of 'how low can you go'
interest rates and huge refinancing volumes draws to a close. The
findings are based on a nationwide sample of recent mortgage
purchasers who were interviewed by phone in late July.
Details of the study are reported in the October 2003 issue of
Mortgage Banking magazine, who also sponsored the study. Mortgage
Banking magazine is the trade journal of the Mortgage Banking
Association of America."
HomeBound Mortgage: Mortgage News
http://www.homeboundmortgage.com/Mortgage_Info/Mortgage_27_03/Mortgage1_News27.htm
You can view the entire CFI Group white paper online. You'll need to
fill in a brief form in order to access the material:
CFI Group
http://www.cfigroup.net/cfisurvey/cgi-bin/qwebcorporate.cgi?idx=FJFAUS
I hope this information will be useful. If anything is unclear, or if
a link does not function, please request clarification; I'll be glad
to offer further assistance before you rate my answer.
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
