The numbers don’t lie – banks are aggressively seeking out and capturing clients who are looking to renew their mortgage.
The numbers don’t lie – banks are aggressively seeking out and capturing clients who are looking to renew their mortgage.
According to a recent Maritz/CAAMP survey, only 56 per cent of borrowers negotiated their mortgage rate at renewal – and that means brokers need to maintain constant contact with the client to ensure they remain the first person the client calls when asking mortgage advice, says IMBA President Raj Babber.
“You need to make it seem that any decision on a mortgage should come from the broker,” says Babber, who hears from a lot of brokers about how banks are hitting up their clients for early renewals. “You need to keep in constant contact; even if the bank asks the client to switch from biweekly to weekly payments, you should be the first person they consult to see if it is in their best interest.”
According to the survey, when asked why clients who had used a mortgage broker didn’t choose to use one again, 42 per cent said that the lender had reached out to them directly (up from 36 per cent in 2012).
And to those who were “reached out” to, the rewards were rich for banks. An impressive four out of 10 clients accepted the first rate that their bank offered them.
Equally as interesting, 41 per cent of clients said that they “did not need the advice” when seeking out a renewal this year, compared to 24 per cent back in 2012. Matching the disparity in year-over-year numbers were those who felt that a broker couldn’t get them a better deal, with 28 per cent indicating this for 2013, compared to only 11 per cent the previous year.
For Babber, who along with his duties as IMBA president is also a broker with CLN Mortgages, reaching out to the client before the bank makes the offer is crucial.
“At least 18 months before the renewal, we initiate a conversation with the client,” he told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “It helps if you have a good CRM tool, sending you updates, anniversary dates, birthdays… every broker needs to keep on top of these things to keep in touch and have a constant rapport with the client. From my own experience, the client always comes to me whenever they have a question about their mortgage.”
Only seven per cent of respondents to this year’s Maritz/CAAMP survey said that a broker “did not contact me”, compared to 27 per cent in 2012.
And the campaign by brokers to spread the word to clients seems to be taking effect, as this year’s respondents indicated they were much more likely to use a mortgage broker for their renewal than in 2012. A full 42 per cent said they would use a broker, with 28 per cent stating they “definitely would” use one. This is up from the 35 per cent and 15 per cent respectively during the same spring sample period in 2012.
More than a third of first-time buyers “definitely would” use a mortgage broker (36 per cent).
