Manufactured Housing News

Specializing in lending to certain consumers, manufactured home lenders shouldn’t rely solely on conventional methods for collecting information and analyzing applications but also on direct interactions with loan applicants. Effective communication with each potential manufactured home borrower is key to the understanding and responsiveness required for a lender to better serve manufactured home buyers.

To understand your manufactured home borrowers and develop a solid interpersonal tie with them, you may want to consider the next seven essential tips.

Tip #1: Develop and implement a differentiation strategy.

If your loan portfolio includes different asset classes, developing a custom strategy for each category of borrowers delivers an effective way to proactively reach out to all of them. Given that the needs of a manufactured home borrower are somehow different from those of other borrowers, a strategy that focuses on targeting this group of customers can help you select lending solutions that specifically address their biggest pain points.

Tip #2: Adopt a borrower-focused approach.

Nowadays, many potential manufactured home borrowers are in the market for affordable housing alternatives. If your loan portfolio doesn’t include lending solutions for these borrowers, you may want to consider partnering with a lending institution that specializes in manufactured home financing, like Triad Financial Services. Our experienced financial experts can help you choose the right manufactured home loan programs that fit not only the needs of your potential borrowers but also the needs of your organization.

Tip #3: Address previous financial issues.

A recent report highlights “many signs of financial distress (...) and financial fragility” among U.S households as a result of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Since a prospective manufactured home borrower might have faced credit challenges in the past, you should prepare him or her for the terms available to applicants with not-so-perfect profiles.

Tip #4: Carefully analyze loan applications.

The financial section of loan applications provides important information about the monthly income and expenses of each potential manufactured home borrower. By getting a clear picture of the financial situation of applicants, you’ll be able to offer manufactured home loans that eligible borrowers can comfortably repay.

Tip #5: Employ different communication methods.

Each manufactured home borrower is unique. Therefore, you can’t expect to communicate with all borrowers using the same means of communication. While some people choose to get in touch with their lenders via phone, others prefer sending emails or using online contact forms. To encourage borrowers to contact your staff, make sure that you combine different communication methods and assess their effectiveness regularly.

Tip #6: Counsel potential borrowers.

Proactively communicating with a prospective manufactured home borrower can help you better understand his or her needs and wants. As a result, you’ll be able to direct him or her toward the right loan program. This has a two-fold beneficial effect: 1) it reduces your default rate for manufactured home loans; 2) it allows you to establish yourself as a trusted advisor, which may persuade more manufactured home buyers to choose your lending solutions over those of your competitors.

Tip #7: Implement employee retention strategies.

In the study, “Do Relationships Matter? Evidence from Loan Officer Turnover,” Alejandro Drexler and Antoinette Schoar explain that borrowers develop interpersonal relationships with the staff they get in touch with, and not with the institution itself. By retaining your most valuable employees and encouraging them to continue to nurture strong relationships with new and existing customers, you can get all the answers you need to make your product and service offerings more in tune with your borrowers’ needs.At Triad Financial Services, we have a team of dedicated experts who can help you set up the right strategy for listening to your potential manufactured home borrowers, identifying their needs more effectively and telling them more about your offers. For more information, feel free to contact our friendly professionals today.