Communication – the be-all and end-all?

Why is it that communication is always the first thing that comes up in conversation when I ask estate agents what their biggest annoyance is of mortgage brokers?  Could it be because being an effective communicator is the most important trait of a mortgage broker, and could it be because when a broker fails at communicating effectively, it can cause the most amount of stress on the relationship between an agent and a broker?  That is most likely the reason.

 

Why is it then, to this day, most mortgage brokers are not taking it seriously enough?  Could it be because they are putting all their energy into speaking to their clients, family, maybe their friends too?  Is it that they are placing a low priority on the very people that are integral to their financial success?  Maybe an issue of complacency, taking for granted that the very people who are sourcing them, new clients, are actually the people who need the best line of communication, to understand exactly what is happening in the process. 

 

An estate agent is the glue that holds the house buying/selling process together, they’re artists in their own right, ensuring the right people know the right information at the right time.  Altogether too often, they are kept in the dark by mortgage brokers, causing anxiety, undue stress, and untold frustration, when they are not being given the full picture by the person holding information back, about where in the mortgage approval process their mutual client is.

 

Communication – what’s new?

We’re communicating more lazily then we used to, mainly because we have more means of getting our message across.  We’re using emails and text messages more often than we are picking up the phone.  An estate agent likes talking on the phone, and so do mortgage brokers, because we can hear someone’s tone, pace and pauses between sentences. They say only 7% of our message is in the words we say, the rest is in the way we say it.

The telephone was an amazing invention, but at Wise Mortgages, we know it is being phased out because it’s so much easier to send a message without worrying about dealing with a response quickly and on the spot.  This is the reason that things need to change.

A mortgage broker has a responsibility to communicate with solicitors, lenders, clients, colleagues and estate agents.  By far the one out of the list that gets most irate when communication breaks down in the house buying process is an estate agent when their broker won’t answer the phone, when they need to know when the valuation is being done, whether the client/buyer/seller isn’t being straight and when the mortgage offer is taking weeks, even months, to be issued.  Sometimes, we just need those sweet words, that everything is done and with the solicitor, to know that the buyer still intends to proceed and there is little in their way now, to stop the sale completing.

Naturally, the solicitor has a duty to keep parties in the loop too, but we know solicitors are moving to cheaper and more economical ways of working.  They are less about dealing with people, and more about dealing with paperwork quickly, and digitally, avoiding contact with humans wherever possible.  They are also notorious for finishing early in the day, never working weekends, and resorting to emails whenever they possibly can.

What makes us different?

1. We value you so much!

Firstly, we appreciate the relationships we have with estate agents, and we treat agents like the gold they are, just like our clients.  Agents don’t come as an inconvenience to us, as they form an important part of our business progression plan.  Estate Agents are great communicators, they have to be, and expect a lot from all parties for a good reason.  The buyer/seller doesn’t have a duty to be a strong communicator, but the stronger the communicator is, and the more determined a communicator the broker and estate agent is, the more likely things get done, and done properly.  No mucking about.

2. Honesty, transparency, and collaboration

Teamwork feels good, looks good and when done well, creates a bond between team members that leaves a lasting impact for a lifetime for those who took part.  It can also create an experience that makes people want to shout from the rooftops when their experience is the product of a smooth and impressive process.  We want to create unforgettable experiences for our clients with our estate agents, that makes word of mouth recommendations a frequent and inevitable occurrence, and that makes a difficult time for people hassle-free, and people go away telling friends and family ‘the agent and broker were so good, transparent and refreshingly honest, and took care of us so well’.

3. Experience

Whilst we are currently a small team of four, we are part of a financial services company that has been around for 17 years, and including our two mentors, have a combined experience in financial services of around 90 years.  Our two founding members have been in financial services from the beginning of their careers, working for large institutions that gave some of the best customer services training in the country.  When someone applies for a mortgage, there are things that can go wrong, however with our experience, we get it right first time every time.  Time is of the essence, so experience goes a long way to ensuring our clients complete on time, and the quality of our advice is second to none

4. We recommend you!

We aim to reciprocate, by registering active buyers in your area with you, giving you more primed buyers who are mortgage ready, creditworthy, with the added advantage to you the estate agent of getting more seller leads.  We build trust with our home movers so you get word of mouth recommendations, meaning you get more market appraisals, more listings and more profit.