THE BIG PICTURE
HOMEBUYER INSIGHTS
An Inside Look at Homebuyer Preferences Reports BANK OF AMERICA’S DAVE GORMAN BREAKS DOWN LENDER RESEARCH.
by Carole VanSickle Ellis
ational lenders and real estate investors have far more in com- mon than you might expect. One of the greatest areas of overlapping interest lies in homebuyer preferences: • How can we best reach buyers? • What makes buyers most comfort- able when working with us? • What business practices are likely to entice/scare off potential homeowners? For Bank of America Home Loan divi- sion executive David Gorman, these ques- tions are a matter of everyday concern. Think Realty Magazine sat down with Gorman to talk about the bank’s latest “Homebuyer Insights Report” and what it might mean for real estate investors. N THINK REALTY MAGAZINE Your most recent “Insights” report indicates people are more comfortable applying for a mortgage online than dating online. Is that translating to more transactions?
real estate can benefit from that kind of aggressive streamlining and simpli- fication in their own business to help potential clients feel less intimidated. Also, offering advantages to existing clients can help you generate more business from them. For example, Bank of America’s Digital Mortgage Experi- ence TM actually does most of the work for our existing clients because if they are W-2 employees or salaried em- ployees who bank with us, they can get authenticated without any work on their end. They are more likely to stick with us for future needs because the barrier to entry is so low. Pro Tip: Investors at every level should make it as easy as possible for existing clients to contin- ue working with them in the future. •
DAVID GORMAN I think the ability to access information ultimately does drive more volume. Pro Tip: As people become more comfortable with the home-buying process (online or otherwise) they become more com- fortable with the lending/borrowing process (online or otherwise). TRM How can other real estate professionals adapt their practices to leverage the advantages that come with increased access to information? DG In lending, specifically, previous barriers included the high volume of paperwork. You would hear people say, “Oh my goodness, I have to sign 50 pages of disclosures or provide you with 100 pages of tax returns? No thanks.” Today, with the right systems in place for security of course, you can up- load so many things online and we’ve streamlined our side of the process so aggressively the process is much less daunting. Pro Tip: Anyone working in
David Gorman is Bank of America's division executive at Bank of America Home Loans. Learn more about homebuyer preferences
at BankofAmerica.com or email David at David.Gorman@bankofamerica.com.
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