Comments on: Consumer Reports, LowerMyBills

By: LowerMyBills.com Improving Quality Despite Pundits « Better Closer Blog

LowerMyBills.com Improving Quality Despite Pundits « Better Closer Blog — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 16:11:16 +0000

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By: LEAD CRITIC : Uncategorized

LEAD CRITIC : Uncategorized — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 12:35:43 +0000

[...] Hot TransfersNew Lead Generation Start-UpLowerMyBills President, Entrepreneur of the YearConsumer Reports, LowerMyBillsCavs, Predictive Indicator of Quicken Loans?Where Will Lead-gen Be Tomorrow? [...]

By: dan

dan — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 22:04:42 +0000

TY Critic. I’m also wondering… perhaps the LMS community could help leadgen nuture the consumer through the various stages of the sales cycle and address the issues that were defined in the kaleidico leadbuying.com blog here: http://blog.leadbuying.com/index.php/2007/03/30/generating-mortgage-leads-differently/

It seems to me that it would make sense for leadgen to do this.

By: Lead Critic

Lead Critic — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 03:10:20 +0000

Dan,
Great comment and thanks for the link and quotes.

By: dan

dan — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 21:46:19 +0000

Bill,
You’re right on… most consumers only visit our industry for about a month every 7 years, give-or-take, and they don’t want a loan, they want what the loan gets them, a house, lower payments, etc. But they also want the best deal and they want it handled competently… that’s where they need help… leadgen could help them determine the best loan and a few of the best companies for their scenario… get the offers in black-and-white for selection in a no-pressure environment… they could provide customer service ratings (like amazon.com), track and provide lender performance stats (like a quote-to-close variance on cost and rate), and even refer out to other verticals if a home loan isn’t the right option.

Look at this comment by PeggyAnn McConnochie, vice president of the National Association of Realtors in an article today by Tracy Byrnes on TheStreet.com (URL: http://www.thestreet.com/s/what-to-do-if-your-mortgage-lender-goes-bust/newsanalysis/opinion/10375737_3.html )
“Just don’t go on the Web! Lendingtree.com and Ditech.com may offer ridiculously cheap loans, but then they hit you with exorbitant fees and penalties that are barely disclosed in the offerings. “They’re like the slimy car salesman,” says McConnochie. “Too many people get loans on the Web without knowing the whole story.”
Start with your local bank, and get a real person in front of you. Ask questions. Make sure you understand the specifics. Get a good-faith estimate and compare it with your other offers. “

My sense is that even LendingTree holds back from the consumer because there’s just so much money to be made… better to leave the consumer on their own to figure out which deal is the best. That is why they entered retail lending instead of focusing on the consumer and developing a more competitive model.

By: Bill Rice

Bill Rice — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 10:32:03 +0000

I think one of the missing pieces to make this happen:

“1. Controlling to whom/which lenders their information is sent.”

Is that, believe it or not, borrowers don’t know who to chose or don’t care.

I equate it to lenders choosing lead providers. They don’t know the difference between their methods and performance. It is all trial and error.

I think there is another missing piece. We need to not only give them tools to build there mortgage file/folder, but also to intelligently chose their lender.

As for Dan’s comment:

“I bet some consumers could make it all the way to the decision to purchase without ever talking to a loan officer”

We proved it at DeepGreen Bank to the tune of $1.5 billion/yr and not a single LO in the building.

By: Lead Critic

Lead Critic — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 02:36:12 +0000

Dan,
Exactly! There are already products out there that allow the consumer to price their own loan with out speaking to an lo. I am not sure lead gen would ever get to that point but now we are thinking alike.
With regards to your last comment and question. I think it is possible for a consumer to receive offers from banks or brokers with out ever talking to them. However this would really change the landscape and could increase domination of a few banks or brokers that could out price all the competition. If this happened it could be counter intuitive to improving the customer service level. Companies would only focus on price and not service. So I think a line would need to be drawn somewhere.

By: dan

dan — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 00:59:51 +0000

Perhaps… I’m just wondering how far into the sales cycle leadgen could possibly take the consumer… I bet some consumers could make it all the way to the decision to purchase without ever talking to a loan officer… and leadgen could track the variance of the initial offer to the actual closing to weed out bait and switch lenders with a high variance… why stop improving the consumer experience at reducing the number of annoying calls?

By: Lead Critic

Lead Critic — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 22:42:26 +0000

Dan,
possibly. Would you?

By: dan

dan — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 21:44:45 +0000

Critic- Would you login to a leadgen site and post full disclosures for the consumer to review – based on a credit report, full application and appraisal viewable on the leadgen site?