Over this past weekend, I was one of the millions watching the Super Bowl. It was such a spectacle, and I love this game of yours you call football. On my home planet of Amicitia, our top sports (roughly translated) include vlarp racing, orb toss and my personal favorite, ping pong (no translation needed—it’s the universal sport!). We don’t have any contact sports, as our slime coats tend to stick to each other.
I hope you enjoyed the game as much as I did. Speaking of which, I want to send some positive telepathy to one of our myCUmortgage experts who is a diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan. On the flip side, congratulations to the Tampa Bay fans! I know of at least one myCUmortgage leader who was pulling for Tom Brady, because she supports everything that is Michigan! Plus, we have another expert who THINKS he’s Tom Brady. I won’t mention any names, but “hairs” to you, Mr. Brady.
While many of you tuned in for the game, a lot of people watched to see the annual parade of high-priced ads running over the course of the game. I must say, this year was actually pretty good with one exception—don’t be fooled by the aliens NOT coming in peace and blowing up the city! I’ve been from one end of the universe to the other, and all the species I’ve interacted with are, indeed, very friendly. But it’s all in fun, right?
It is this ad, in particular, that prompted me to write this blog post. It’s from another mortgage provider that shall remain nameless. The gist of the commercial was that “certain” is better than “pretty sure.” As most of my readers would agree (if not all of you), the mortgage industry is anything but certain.
One of the things we strive for at myCUmortgage is providing transparency to all our stakeholders—our partner credit unions, your members, our experts and our parent credit union. Our partners do the same for us and their stakeholders as well. Taking the message of this commercial into account, while most of us in credit union mortgage lending don’t see it in the literal sense, it’s quite possible that potential borrowers, especially first-time home buyers who have never been through the process, may interpret it to mean that a home loan is a “certainty.”
It is our duty as credit union mortgage lenders to be transparent to our members and partners. Leading potential borrowers to believe that by submitting a home loan application online or through an app that a home loan is “certainly” in their future is not the credit union way of doing business.
Your members go to your credit union because they trust you, and that’s just the tip of the meteorite. Credit unions are popular choices for individuals with lending and financial needs—including mortgages—for many reasons, including:
- A True Member Focus: Since every credit union is modeled the same and members are all equal stakeholders, everyone in that model stands for the betterment of and to serve each other.
- Excellent Service: This is something we take to heart at myCUmortgage, and we know other credit unions follow suit. The focus is as much on building relationships as it is finances.
- Flexibility and Forgiveness: With a true member focus, credit unions can work more closely with members to achieve their financial goals. While we can’t always be “certain,” we can do whatever it takes to better assist members—they are more than just credit scores.
- Community-Based: A credit union’s roots are in the community in which it serves and generally have a commitment to be a positive influence and contributor to that community.
- Educational: One of the ways to best serve members is to educate them on money and credit matters. Credit unions take this to heart and offer a variety of educational opportunities for members and the community—or educate their members individually.
While none of us can (or should) promise “certainty,” what we can promise as credit union mortgage lenders is that we’ll work with our members to help them in any way we can with home ownership. Share how you and your credit union are making the dream of home ownership possible for your members. I’m “certain” we can all learn from each other!