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Special Reports
Lead Generation
'Make Timely Calls'
By Brad Finkelstein
One of the problems the mortgage industry has always had, an executive with Low.com here explained,
is that originators do not always call their consumer leads in a timely fashion.
So Low.com created a warm transfer lead program. Thomas McErlane, general manager of the company,
said since the product was unveiled at the end of January it is going as well as it can given the current market
conditions. "One of the challenges that we are facing is still a cost standpoint. A lot of lenders right now
are really restricting their marketing budgets," he said. These leads are in the $70, $80, $90 range, and
originators are not as open as they would have been even just a year ago to spend that type of money.
It might be surprising to some that companies won't pay up for a lead that is
more likely to close. But macro industry conditions, Mr. McErlane noted, are playing a part. No matter how motivated
the consumer is, if there is no secondary market outlet for the product the borrower needs, the lender is not getting
the loan funded. "I think we've accomplished the initial intent of the program, which was to put motivated
consumers in front of the loan officer and establish that relationship for them. From that aspect the program is
working. I think where everybody is struggling is getting the loan completed," he said.
But as the market settles in the rest of 2008 and into 2009, Mr. McErlane thinks
warm lead programs from Low.com and some of its competitors (as well as Federal Housing Administration lead programs)
will become the dominant programs because they fill a need in the marketplace.
Originators are going to need a full range of leads going forward and Low.com has introduced
four new products in the past year so it hits every pocket of opportunity. "Our idea, as we started seeing
things slow down last March, was to move where we knew where the lender is moving to," Mr. McErlane said.
And it is looking to move into other areas in an effort to make sure consumers are serviced by the right originator
according to their needs. That program might not be a lending program right away, but some other program that could
help the consumer become a borrower in the future.
Another new program from Low.com is its Verified FHA Leads. There are other FHA programs in the market, where typically
the consumer provides the information, which is self-assessed without any verification by the lead provider.
He said with this program, the consumer provides a little information that would
indicate that they fit into FHA parameters. Low.com then goes further and verifies this through a partnership with an undisclosed credit repository.
It sees payment history, income, assets and other items that FHA is interested
in. "So we have verified data we can then pass on to the lender," he said.
Low.com
has adjusted its models to reflect the county-level loan limit changes that are part of the president's stimulus
package.
And unlike in the past, lenders are looking for FHA lead programs, Mr. McErlane
said, especially as more seek out and get their HUD approvals.
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