Helping Your Lender Customers Manage RESPA Reform Change

 A Settlement Agent recently asked me what the future of their company would look like after RESPA Reform.  It was a good question, and there seemed to be a lot of implied fear behind it.  This settlement agent wondered if RESPA Reform would lead to his Lender Customers recommending one single settlement agent to their borrowers.  Because fees estimated to the consumer on the new GFE form become subject to new change tolerances from GFE to Hud-1 final charges, this settlement agent was concerned that price was going to become the only thing that mattered to his Lender Customers.  If the market begins to view price as the sole determining factor of provider selection, he was afraid his company would be forced to cut quality (and perhaps staff).  He knew that the “bargain basement” providers in his market do little to insure the integrity of a transaction, but he didn’t know how to compete with that in a post RESPA Reform environment. 

The fee tolerances established under RESPA are flexible enough that quality providers shouldn’t feel constrained in the areas of quality service.   The limits on fee increases are simply intended to provide borrowers with assurances that drastic fee increases will not surprise them at the closing table. 
Fundamentals of customer service do not change in a post-RESPA Reform world!  If you’re passionate about customer service like I am, you’re familiar with Dr. Tony Alessandra.  On the topic of quality service he says:  Being on par in terms of price and quality only gets you into the game. Service wins the game.  I would add “every time”.  What does that really mean and how can you put it to work in the context of RESPA Reform? 

Your Lender Customers have many new responsibilities and guidelines impacting their business.  Ask yourself, “What do they need?”  They need the same things they’ve always needed, Solutions!  They need Quality Partners whose pricing won’t wildly vary between loan application and closing.  They need exceptional service, because low price doesn’t matter if the deal doesn’t close.  They need to know that you understand the pressures they face and that you can give them one less thing to worry about!  Is that your company’s value proposition today?  If so, then you can choose to remain that kind of Quality Partner tomorrow.  RESPA Reform does not change the rules of quality customer service. 

RESPA Ready Action Item: Open a dialogue with your Lender Customers about how your business’s quality care will help them to ensure their RESPA compliance.