Are you working on building trust with your customers?

Building trust with customers is an ongoing challenge in the mortgage industry. Many home buyers have been burned by hidden processes or fees in the past. Others don't feel that lenders have their best interests at heart.

Trust, or lack of it, is at the core of how customers feel about you. It determines how likely they are to use your services and recommend them to others.

The good news is, a mortgage calculator is a great way to build a stronger bridge to your customers. With a few simple keystrokes, it clearly breaks down the different costs that make up a loan payment. It's a powerful and flexible tool that provides clarity and money-saving insights as clients approach a housing purchase.

Here are some important ways that using a mortgage calculator can help you build greater trust with your clients.

#1: Mortgage calculators provide instant clarity

“Can we really afford that?”

Home hunting can be an emotional rollercoaster. Nobody wants to set their heart on a home only to discover it's financially out of reach. To avoid disappointment, it's important for buyers to understand what they can afford before they go house hunting or apply for a loan.

That's where a mortgage calculator can help.

By simply entering a few numbers, such as home price and down payment, an immediate loan payment picture emerges. Potential buyers can quickly and easily see what their monthly payment will look like and what they can realistically afford.

Customers can also play with the numbers (e.g., home price, down payment, a one-time lump-sum payment, extra repayments, and interest rate) to see how the monthly payment moves up or down. These handy features of a mortgage calculator make it easy for buyers to compare different homes and loans and weigh up the different options.

#2: Mortgage calculators can save your clients big money

Many buyers may be pleasantly surprised to learn that their payments and total loan cost can be drastically lowered with a few simple changes. For instance, increasing their down payment, making a one-time lump sum payment, or even making bi-monthly payments, can all have a massive impact on the total cost of a loan.

This kind of valuable "insider" information could save your clients hundreds or even thousands of dollars down the line. Yet, many home buyers still don't understand the huge money-saving benefits these small changes can have on their wallet over time.

A mortgage calculator makes these savings instantly clear.

Trying to understand these figures without the use of a mortgage calculator would be impossible for the average person. A mortgage calculator removes the guesswork and makes it easy for clients to understand loan payments and potential savings at a glance.

#3: Mortgage calculators can prevent payment traps

Everyone has different needs in a mortgage. Some people may prefer the predictability of a fixed rate loan where payments don't change over time. Others may prefer the greater flexibility and options of an adjustable rate mortgage. It really depends on a person’s individual budget and lifestyle.

Unfortunately, too many home buyers have fallen into the trap of signing onto an adjustable interest or honeymoon rate loan they didn't really understand. The payments looked great in the beginning—but over time, buyers fell into a panic as rising interest rates pushed their monthly payments out of reach.

Nothing causes a greater lack of trust than when a client feels a lender steered them toward a loan that wasn't in their best interests. A mortgage calculator shows how payments can dramatically increase based on rising interest rates. For your client, this valuable information could prevent serious financial losses down the line.

#4: Mortgage calculators demystify loan payments

Many home buyers may not understand that many costs make up a loan payment—it’s not just principal and interest. There are also property taxes, insurance, and other fees. Without understanding why these costs are there, it can feel confusing or overwhelming to borrowers.

A mortgage calculator makes it easier for a client to understand the different costs that make up their monthly mortgage payment, such as:

• Principal: Clients see how much of the monthly payment is going to the original loan amount and how much equity is accruing each year.
• Interest: Clients see how much of their payment will go to interest every month and, conversely, how much interest they can save by making more frequent and/or additional payments.
• Taxes, insurance, and other fees: Clients clearly see how much they're paying toward the maintenance and security of their loan, so there are no hidden fees or a sense of being misled.

For these reasons and more, a mortgage calculator is a powerful tool that should be part of every lender’s customer service arsenal.

Transparency = Trust

Building trust with clients represents both a challenge and an opportunity for lenders. We believe that overcoming this challenge involves empowering clients by placing them in control of a totally transparent experience at all times.

Even today, the title and escrow industry tends to be segmented, with a greater focus on separate transactions rather than a smooth, cohesive process. At Timios, we believe that taking a more holistic approach from start to finish benefits both lenders and buyers.

By taking a bird's-eye view of the entire process, it’s possible to facilitate all areas of the home-buying transaction—not just those related to title and escrow. We aim to bring it all together into a fully integrated process that allows you to customize your workflow to your needs.

To learn more about building trust with your customers, please visit our landing page. There you can learn about how to create greater transparency with your customers, resulting in better relationships.

With over 250,000 transactions and $40 billion in total closings, remaining true to our values has made Timios one of the fastest growing title and settlement services companies in America.

‍Legal Disclaimer: The information provided on this document does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information and content available on this document are for general informational purposes only.