Fears. We all have them… some people fear heights… others are scared of spiders… in my case, I’m afraid of artificial turf. It’s like, I’m just sliding along and suddenly, I’m there, in a patch of fake grass. It looked so real yet is anything but. The consistency of the turf dries up the slime coat on my tentacles and I literally get stuck to the turf. It takes someone with a snow shovel and handcart to get me to safety. How embarrassing, to say the least.
There is another fear shared by many individuals, Earthlings and Amicitians alike: Metathesiophobia. That is the fear of change. I can sense many of your craniums nodding in agreement. When the word change becomes part of the conversation, people and aliens both get a little uneasy, dare I say scared. But why, especially when so many individuals view change as a positive thing and strive for it?
In many respects, we’re all creatures of habit (I’m just a creature, but let’s not get off track). We have daily patterns we follow, and that sense of consistency is comforting. To that, I give you the year 2020.
Last year, due to circumstances beyond control, change was afoot. The entire planet was taken aback (a pandemic can do that, for sure!), and it had a significant impact on the credit union mortgage industry. While most credit unions already incorporated online mortgage applications and related digital services, a staple of working with a credit union is the personability and face-to-face interactions with members, and the pandemic put this in jeopardy. If we were to sustain the credit union way and our mortgage businesses in 2020, we had to (you guessed it) CHANGE!
And change we did. From digital applications to virtual home buyer events to incorporating electronic signatures, credit union mortgage lenders exceeded expectations and were responsible for getting 9 percent of all home buyers in the United States into homes. Add in the refinance boom and you have probably the busiest and most successful year ever for credit union mortgages.
Change is not always easy, of course; 2020 and the workload it delivered was not easy either. But because of the drive and passion to help members with home ownership, the credit union mortgage industry persevered. We looked change right in the eyestalks and embraced it rather than fight it. Fighting it, in my humble alien opinion, is like trying to orbit your moon in a space vehicle designed for planet side exploration. Or, as one of my Earth colleagues put it, “You’d be better off hitting your head against a brick wall than fighting change.”
In 2020, historically low rates during a pandemic when Earthlings weren’t moving far beyond their front porches caused more members to access to their credit union’s services online. As it oftentimes does, technology led the change. And those technological changes led to process improvements, new communications channels and general efficiencies across the board. If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because those types of improvements are what myCUmortgage is looking to make to help our credit union partners become GREAT mortgage lenders while providing a thrilling member experience over the life of their loan. They’ve been doing it for over 20 years now and continue to help their partner credit unions and their members succeed and grow, no matter what the unpredictable and often erratic real estate market throws at them.
Bottom line: It’s time to truly welcome and seek out change to the credit union mortgage industry, all in the name of helping members with their home ownership needs. When doing so, always remember that you’re not facing it alone when you have a partner like myCUmortgage at your side. Together, in true credit union fashion, we’ll embrace change and the positive advancement it represents.
What changes have your credit union mortgage operations made to help more members, both pandemic and non-pandemic related? Please share them here so that we can celebrate your successes together.
In the meantime, I’m taking a trip over to the Lucy Booth, which you may recall from Charles M. Schultz’s Peanuts cartoons and comic strips—I encourage you to Google it to jog your memory. While I’m not suffering from metathesiophobia, I have a few irrational fears to discuss with Lucy around black holes and mynocks.
By the way, can anyone spare a 5-cent piece?