Sometimes The Right Tool For Results Is A Classic

First-time home buying events a boon for business, partnerships

BY ERICA DRZEWIECKI, STAFF WRITER, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

Sometimes the ancient wrench that Granddad passed down — the one buried at the bottom of the Craftsman Tool Box — proves to be the best tool for a hard job.

In an industry flooded by new technology, amidst a challenging market for borrowers, loan originators and Realtors, the beginner’s course that’s been around almost as long as homebuying is more valuable than ever.

A gathering at the local banquet hall, online or in a hybrid format that caters to both types of attendees, First-Time Home Buying (FTHB) seminars are still a great way to educate — and score — new clients.

“If you don’t have any clients right now, I would be taking an all-of-the-above approach,” says Bill Mervin of the Bill Mervin Mortgage Team at NJ Lenders Corp. “All of your time needs to be spent talking to people who need to borrow money or people who talk to people who need to borrow money. That should be your sole focus right now in this business.”

Based in Greater Philadelphia, his firm hosts a FTHB event at least quarterly and usually sees up to half of attendees book one-on-one loan consultations afterwards. Their last event was in June.

“Almost exclusively these folks came in without real estate agents, so we got to refer them to our partners, which is ideal for us,” Mervin says. “We more than covered our event costs with the loans we closed.”

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Swim For Your Life

Eric Morgenson, director at large for the California Association of Mortgage Professionals, Orange County, says that in a challenging market, LOs need to look for any way possible to stay above water.

“We’re in this big holding pattern, so how are you going to make any money?” Morgensen points out. “All loan officers work on commission only — this is our quandary.”

For Mervin, the solution is continuing to provide that personal touch, the same kind that is fostered at FTHB events.

“I think the real battle for the heart and soul of our industry moving forward is educators, mortgage professionals, and advisors vs. the folks who want to uberize our business,” he says. “If we’re going to win that battle — and I think it’s important because consumers need that advice, guidance and expertise — then we need to frame and position ourselves that way.”

Than Outstretched

Not only is a FTHB seminar a place to meet potential borrowers, it’s also an opportunity for an LOs to help their real estate

“We do it as a way to add value to them without just coming to them with our hands out,” Mervin explains.

“I like to link arms rather than have outstretched hands with my Realtor partners.

“When I can have a part in helping them plan and execute and have a successful first-time buyer, I think it makes me indispensable versus the people who might also be good at doing loans but kind of sit there with a oneway expectation.”

Last year the Mervin team promoted its FTHB events on social media and used an outside vendor, sending notifications to those registered ahead of time. The theme was “six firsttime homebuyer mistakes you don’t want to make,” and the content was updated each time to reflect market changes.

“We were getting anywhere between 25 and 45 people registered, and half to two-thirds would pull through,” Mervin says.

Crafting Fresh Content

The intent is to have enough content that attendees don’t feel as if it’s all a promotion for the team, while still featuring booking information prominently throughout the presentation.

“Such a large portion of our job today is the psychology and dispelling the myths of what’s going on in the marketplace,” Mervin says. “Misinformation creates a lot of fear and uncertainty for our clientele and partners as well. We present a backdrop to create some confidence and dispel the fear and anxiety homebuyers have.”

The team reviews market data, loan programs, pre-approval vs. pre-qualification and other pertinent information with attendees.

“Those things are evergreen items that really stand the test of time,” Mervin says. “Those are the types of things I think add the most value and take you outside of the normal ‘let me tell you how great I am and how quick I can close your loan.’ That’s really providing the type of insight and guidance clients need and real mortgage professionals should be delivering.”

Concepcion Guerrero with Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. (MGIC) says her company offers seminar “kits” that package everything LOs and their team need to host a FTHB event.

“From the flyers to promote the event to the presentation they can use to host the seminar,” Guerrero says. “We have additional collateral as well that touches on various topics originators can use to hand out during the seminar to further educate potential homebuyers.”

MGIC’s products are available in both English and Spanish, she adds. n