You may not have aspired to being a teacher when you were growing up, but as a title, escrow or closing agent, you may find that the ability to teach is a must-have skill in your toolbox.
Most first-time homebuyers focus first on choosing a home they love and second on acquiring a mortgage. These two ventures are the obvious necessities to buying a home, but as anyone who works in the settlement services arena knows, the title, escrow and closing process is an aspect homebuyers rarely contemplate in advance and often find to be a mysterious and arduous experience.
It becomes a major part of your job to explain the complexities of title insurance and communicate the step-by-step process that must take place to finalize the transaction.
Here are three advantages to making education a high priority in your agency.
Smoother transaction
Enough cannot be said about how much easier a transaction will progress if the clients – real estate agents, loan officers, buyers and sellers – understand why title curative work, escrow processing, closing and recording take time. Historically, title agents were like the Wizard of Oz; no one knew what was going on behind the curtain.
The problem with clients not understanding the process is that they drag their heels if they do not comprehend how critical it is to provide timely information so you can move forward.
Educating your clients about the scope and progression of your work enlightens them to their own responsibility. To make this education more seamless, Alanna automates this process for you so that you can be assured your clients are receiving information uniformly and in a timely fashion.
The bottom line is that an educated and prepared clientele is more collaborative in the process and more transactions are concluded without incident.
Customer satisfaction
You can’t respect or appreciate what you don’t know or understand. We know we have to educate homebuyers, especially if it is their first experience. But real estate agents and loan officers are also sometimes in the dark about the effort it takes to manage the endgame of the transaction.
Providing your clients with a road map that explains to them everything you need from them, and all the steps involved in the transaction will build an understanding over time that can raise their awareness and their appreciation for what you accomplish in those critical weeks between contract and closing.
The moment you receive a title order, they should be getting the blueprint in the form of a checklist, a timeline, a spreadsheet or a marketing piece that helps them follow the trail to closing. Automating this process also saves staff time, as it reduces the need for clients to check in with you via phone call, email or text message.
Referrals
Clients who walk away from a transaction confused are probably not giving you a referral.
But those who truly grasp the process and feel like they were kept in the loop and knew what to anticipate at each juncture are going to walk away feeling empowered by the process.
They are going to brag about the experience and share their newfound knowledge with their friends who are buying houses or their fellow professionals who may still be feeling in the dark about this aspect of the transaction.
It’s a little mind boggling to think about the time it takes to manage hundreds of details of a closing, and adding education to your to-do list may seem overwhelming. But in the end, it can save you time and money to invest in developing an educated and collaborative clientele who wants to work with you because they truly understand what you do for them.
From walking your clients through the title process to answering general or file-specific questions, Alanna provides the education your clients require. Call us today to learn more.