Script for Handling Call-Ins (Rate Calls)
Caller: Yes, I was calling to find out what your rates are (for....)
YOU:Sure, I can help you with that, if I can just get a little information from you?
May I have your name please? Great, [NAME], How did you hear about us?
REGARDLESS OF ANSWER
OK, tell me a little about your situation, are you buying a home, or refinancing?
IF BUYING A HOME: (If refi, go straight to presentation)
Great, have you found the home you want to buy?
IF YES: (If no, go straight to presentation)
When did you want to close?
PRESENTATION:
OK, Great! Now, getting back to your question about the rates, we have more than 40 different loan programs to choose from, most lenders have at least several, and the interest rate for each loan is re-priced twice a day, every day. So the prices are changing all the time. You are right to recognize that not all mortgage companies are the same, and that by shopping around a little bit, you can probably save yourself some money.
But when you call a bank or a mortgage company and ask them for their rates, they will probably quote you a rate for a loan that will close today, because that rate is going to be the lowest possible rate they can quote. But anyone who talks to you on the phone, including me, we’re not in a position to guarantee that you could close your loan at that rate, because no lender can make a commitment on a loan without taking a loan application and seeing your credit report first. Even then, the mortgage company’s underwriting department has to approve the loan before they make a binding commitment to you that they will loan you the money at the quoted rate. That process can take anywhere from several days to several weeks. And meanwhile you don’t have any guarantee of anything, do you see what I mean?
But your objective is to find the lowest-cost loan you can find, and we do have a way for you to guarantee yourself that you can do that: It’s called our Lowest Bottom-Line Cost Guarantee. We schedule an appointment for you to meet with [LOAN OFFICER] so he can get all your information; it takes about an hour. Whenever you’re ready to lock in an interest rate, we will give you a form required by the federal government, called a Good Faith Estimate. By law, our costs have to be accurate within 10% of what you close at. We will also issue you a commitment letter. At that point, you can shop around with as many other lenders as you like. If you can find one who will do your loan at a lower cost, just fax or bring their signed Good Faith Estimate and Commitment Letter to us, and we will either match or beat their offer, and if he can’t, he’ll give you a check for $100 for your time and trouble, and then you can still get your loan from the other lender! It’s the only way for you to be sure you’re comparing apples with apples, and you guarantee yourself the best price. It’s a little more work than calling and getting rates over the phone, but like I said, the rates they quote you on the phone don’t mean anything, does that make sense?
IF YES:
Great, what would be a good day for you to come in and see [LOAN OFFICER], our office hours are…