As a mortgage professional, you need to be keyed into the real estate market just as much as the agents showing your new clients their forever homes.
Because when the process of buying and selling slows – when interest rates climb, when listing prices soar, when inventory dries – all of this impacts the healthy roster of prospective customers you need to keep your doors open.
And we won’t sugarcoat it for you.
The past five years have been tough on the housing market.
This means it’s more imperative than ever that you have your own strategy to generate leads.
We’re here to help.
And we’re going way past mass outreach, car banners, and voicemail marketing. We’re targeting hyperlocal segments of clients just right for you and your business – and we’re going to show you exactly how to connect with them.
We want you to succeed. So, let’s review the information you need to get there.
In this complete guide, we'll cover:
Before we dive into the strategies you’ll need to establish your own lead generation machine, let’s review the basics of your business.
A mortgage is a loan used to finance the purchase of a home. This loan allows a new homeowner to pay that hefty price tag off over time (usually 15 or 30 years).
A mortgage is made up of multiple parts – all of which come together for that monthly payment your homeowner will be making to compensate their lender or bank for their initial cash upfront. For review, let’s break down each of these parts.
We know homeowners have options when considering what mortgage is right for them. Let’s recap a few of the most popular:
While not utilized as often, let’s not forget USDA mortgages.
Want more details? Read our full breakdown of mortgage types and how to find the right fit for your clients.
Along with the differing types of mortgages comes the reminder that there are fixed-rate mortgages and adjustable-rate mortgages.
Adjustable-rate mortgages feature interest rates that can move (whether year over year or after a certain period of being initially fixed). This can impact the total cost of monthly payments.
Mortgage rates are tied to the price of mortgage-backed bonds. As Wall Street sees fluctuations, so can the rates offered to prospective homebuyers. When inflation is low and there is more stability – typically, rates will be lower. When inflation is high, or there is instability within the market – you can count on those rates to climb.
Post-COVID years have seen some of the highest mortgage rates in decades.
Now we’re at the important part. As you consider how to grow your mortgage business, you may wonder how to reach more customers, especially if said customers may not be in the market to buy right now.
The answer? Proactivity.
Another perk? Even for homeowners who don’t intend to move, proactivity can win you clients. Starting a conversation with a potential customer around their existing mortgage and the potential of refinancing can pay off. You just need to know who to reach out to…and how to find them.
A homeowner can request to cancel their PMI once they hit the threshold of 20% equity in their property. Until then? Homeowners may be burdened with extra monthly payments.
Alternately, when a homeowner’s loan-to-value ratio (aka LTV ratio) reaches 78%, The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 requires PMIs to be removed.
That’s where you step in.
You can target PMI elimination prospects – homeowners whose homes have gone up in value and who may be in a position to refinance their loan (therefore eliminating their mortgage insurance).
Wondering how to find this new segment of potential customers? We’re here to help.
Mortgage records can be found via public records in your local county office and on their related websites. Real estate software, such as MLS, can also be leveraged to look up property loans.
But be warned, if you can easily find a residence on MLS, so can each and every one of your competitors.
We highly recommend opting for a more data-driven approach, such as lead generation platforms, that allow you to layer-specific criteria over a hyperlocal search radius, permitting you to seamlessly search for any customers with, say, a minimum LTV of 80% and a maximum CLTV of 80% within a customized area.
As most mortgages carry 15 or 30-year terms, we have to assume the homeowners’ financial position, as well as stability within the economy, would change during those periods, whether with improved homeowner credit scores or with lower mortgage rates available across the country.
In these cases, homeowners may choose to take advantage of economic shifts and refinance in order to better their mortgage and lower their payments.
As we mentioned above, you can access mortgage records via public records at your local county office. Compare this against the current mortgage rates nationwide in order to determine who may be stuck in a high-rate mortgage and who could use a way out.
However, if you want to look for multiple prospects that may apply to your above criteria versus going house by house, we suggest leveraging data-driven lead generation platforms, such as PropertyRadar. You can find thousands of relevant leads with a few quick clicks, save your relevant lists, and suddenly have a fresh segment of individuals needing your type of financial support.
Looking for additional relevant segments of leads that go above and beyond PMI Elimination and Rate & Term Refinance? That’s why we’re here.
Eager for more? View all of our recommended lead lists for mortgage professionals.
And if you’re looking for additional resources to help, read our Top 27 Resources For Your Mortgage Business.
Now that you’ve found your leads, let’s break down just how to reach out to them…and what your messaging should be to get through.
In a world where the average consumer sees 10,000 ads per day, receives 100 emails per day, and spends nearly 7 hours online per day…you need to be exceptionally intentional if you want to stand out and break through the noise.
Your messaging needs to be targeted. You need to find the right people and be precise in just who you’re reaching out to. Narrowing your search, adding specific filters to your search criteria, and ensuring all communications are personalized will be the key to your success.
You should be leveraging outbound approaches. This will ensure your messaging comes across as supportive versus spammy.
Be relevant. Successful messaging isn’t one-size-fits-all. It’s perfectly suited to your recipient. Remember, it’s about them (not you). Tailor your messaging to the unique issues they are facing. Relevancy is all about knowing your audience well and using insights where big businesses won’t.
Always be neighborly. A kind, community-centric approach is always going to score you points. Don’t align yourself with aggressive and invasive practices. Using empathy immediately makes you a team player, and that sensitivity will go far in securing you new clients.
Read more about how our TORN approach equates to an innovative hyperlocal lead generation strategy sure to scale your business.
A custom audience is a group of individuals who know about you or who have engaged with your business.
As you can imagine, it’s a powerful advertising technique, as you can choose to spend ad dollars against custom audiences, knowing your recipients may have a higher likelihood of engaging (or re-engaging with you) given that they are already aware of who you are and what you can offer.
So…how do you go about making a custom audience? Easy. You’ve got options.
From Meta (Facebook and Instagram) to Gen Z favorite, TikTok, you can opt for one or more platforms to find your custom audience and ensure they get your personalized messaging.
Want step-by-step instructions on leveraging a custom audience for your online marketing? Read our Online Marketing 101 Guide.
Outside of custom audiences, there are other outreach methods at your disposal to successfully connect with prospective customers.
By Email: With an average open rate of 46-50%, email marketing shouldn’t be ignored. 71% of buyers are open to emails when researching new solutions, after all. Looking for templates to make your email marketing a breeze? Read more on our 7 real estate marketing email templates you can create.
By Direct Mail: Think traditional post is old fashioned? Think again. 80-90% of direct mail is routinely opened, with 42% of recipients actively engaging with their direct mail. Read more about our tips and tricks for direct mail marketing and how you can use it to scale this year.
You want to find your next leads? You need hyperlocal lead generation.
Hyperlocal lead generation is all about breaking the mold and standing out – doing things differently. Heck, it’s playing an entirely different game! You’re stepping away from intrusive, aggressive practices and reaching out to hyper-targeted segments of consumers you know you can help.
And the first step in the hyperlocal lead generation approach is finding the right people.
That’s where we come in.
PropertyRadar taps into the expansive power of public records, boasting over 150 million properties, 250 million people, and over 1 billion phone numbers and emails in a robust database, intricate and innovative – and yet accessible enough to access via desktop and mobile applications.
PropertyRadar also delivers the most extensive filtering criteria of its kind, allowing each user to layer complex search possibilities, targeting filters, and specific parameters in order to reach the exact people and properties they need.
With this magnitude of targeting power, it’s no wonder why PropertyRadar is the world’s most powerful property and property owner platform.
And get started now with a free PropertyRadar trial, and grow your mortgage business today.
References:
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, What Is Private Mortgage Insurance?
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, When Can I Remove Private Mortgage Insurance From My Loan?
Rocket Mortgage, How To Get Rid of PMI
Rocket Mortgage, What Is A Rate And Term Refinance?
Investopedia, Rate-and-Term Refinance: Definition, Examples, Vs. Cash-Out
Investopedia, Combined Loan-to-Value Ratio Definition and Formula
Homebuyer.com, Mortgage 101: Basics Every Home Buyer Should Know
Homebuyer.com, What is a USDA Mortgage?
Central Bank, Mortgages 101: Understanding the Basics
HomeLight, Mortgages 101: A Crash Course for the First Time Home Buyer
American Pacific Mortgage, A Guide to Mortgage Loan Officer Marketing
Freddie Mac, Mortgage Rates
Bankrate, How to Get Rid Of Private Mortgage Insurance
Better, Can Refinancing Help Lower or Remove My PMI?