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One way to make you stand out from the competition in the mortgage market is to create a good branding model that reflects the way you do business. Think for a moment: Are you very thorough with your loan process and never make mistakes? Are you extremely easy to work with? Do you have extensible experience? Identify the way you do business and try to incorporate that to get a good start on your branding. When it comes to sales, the majority of the closing process is satisfying the customer with some need that must be fulfilled. Therefore, focus on the way you do business and how it satisfies your customers in a way that he/she will go no where else for loans. This is a basis for your branding. Branding is creating a visual representation of the way you do business and how you can satisfy your customers. Think of the many colors, symbols, etc. you can use in your branding that represents this process. For example, if you are go-getter and have a reputation for someone that gets things done, you could use the color red on your mortgage website. This could communicate to your customers as "bold, energetic, will go out of your way for the customer". Another example would be someone that is friendly, always honest with their customers, easy to talk to, could use a more calming color like blue. This could portray to customers as "yes, I'm easy to talk to; I will listen to your situation; be completely honest with your options and fees, and will get the right loan for you". There are a number of mortgage tools that lenders provide for prospective homebuyers, current homeowners, and renters. The majority of mortgage tools that are available include online calculators for affordability, debt ratio, credit scoring, interest, and loan payments. The latest market information, mortgage rates in each state, and prequalification worksheets are useful mortgage tools, as well. Home affordability is the first mortgage tool that should be utilized. Prospective homebuyers can calculate how much the can afford to spend on a home, based on their income, and the approximate amount of down payment that may be required, usually 20%. The affordability mortgage tool also considers other factors, such as the current interest rate, loan term, closing costs, and mortgage insurance. The second important mortgage tool enables the client to estimate the amount of the loan payment over the term of the mortgage, the benefits in paying more or less down payment, and the effects of prepayment. The mortgage calculator tool estimates future payments, equity accrual, and interest decline over time. Another helpful mortgage tool helps in determining the best type of mortgage for each individual situation. This, of course, will depend upon how long you intend to live in your home, the future of interest rates, and your budget. There are fixed rate mortgages, usually preferred for long-term residency, where your payment remains the same for the entire term of the loan. Adjustable rate mortgages, with lower payments than fixed, allow some flexibility for a shorter period of ownership. Since interest rates often fluctuate widely from year to year, the mortgage tool calculates the payments for both types of mortgages, comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the two. Lenders include a discussion of mortgage points as a mortgage tool to assist borrowers. Points may be considered in loan origination fees or loan discounts, but are generally used to lower the interest rate on the loan. This type of prepaid interest takes off 1/4th to 1/8th of a percent from the current interest rate for each point you purchase, and as interest payments, are generally tax deductible. However, it takes at least five to seven years to regain the cost of the point and actually start benefiting from the lower loan payments. The mortgage tool will calculate whether an investment of the same amount of money elsewhere would be more worthwhile for the buyer. In addition, other mortgage tools are available, such as the pros and cons of renting vs. buying, options for financing and refinancing, and applicable tax advantages.
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