New JD Power Study Shows Mortgage-Holder Frustration

A recent study conducted by JDPower and Associates shows that many homeowners are frustrated with their mortgage situation and the inability to refinance their mortgages during these times when mortgage rates are at historic lows.

The survey asked more than 4,500 homeowners about various things like their opinion of the billing and payment process for their mortgages, their mortgage lender’s website and contact information and the handling of their escrow account. JDPower conducted the same survey last year and with this year’s answers, found that homeowner satisfaction had dropped.

According to the survey, many respondents were unsatisfied with the way their mortgage lenders handled their loan. Respondents reported that during the application process lenders asked for their information several times and they didn’t explain the details of the process very clearly. During the origination process, about 28 percent of those surveyed said they had to provide their information more than one time. The companies that service these mortgages, however, didn’t measure up nearly as well with 80 percent of those surveyed reporting that they had to provide their information “multiple” times when dealing with the mortgage servicer.

In addition, the survey also found that many mortgage servicers did well in the areas of improving customer service and decreasing the number of phone calls that they receive. However, mortgage borrowers who are not satisfied with the information they get from their loan servicer are 3.5 times more likely to continue calling until they get the information they need. Similarly, the study showed that call volumes decrease as customer satisfaction increases. And the fewer phone calls a mortgage servicer gets, the lower their operating expenses are.

David Lo, the director of financial services at JDPower and Associates, said that many of today’s homeowners who bought their homes between 2006 and 2008 are frustrated because the housing prices were at a peak and the credit standards were extremely flexible. Many of these homeowners want to refinance their homes at a lower mortgage rate. But due to the falling home values, most of those buyers do not have enough equity built up in their home in order to qualify for a refinance. And even if they could, the credit standards are so strict these days that they wouldn’t qualify for a refinance anyways because their credit is banged up.

Are you unsatisfied with the way your mortgage is handled through your mortgage servicer? Or have you had a good experience since buying your house?