In my continued endeavor to embrace and emulate your popular culture here on Earth, I recently found myself listening to a music streaming service and enjoying what is commonly referred to as the oldies. The music from the 1950s is pretty cool—it makes me smile on the inside (if you hadn’t noticed, I don’t have an external orifice to physically show my sheer delight). The oldies also spur delightful memories I have of my ancestors and the stories about their adventures to Earth’s Area 51.
As I shimmied my tentacles to a relaxed and reclined position, I decided to be adventurous myself—I clicked on some different libraries of music and hit randomize. All of a sudden, I started hearing a choir of children harmonizing, “We don’t need no education.” Initially horrified by the use of a double negative, I was taken aback by Mr. Floyd’s blatant disregard of the importance of education, not to mention that he’s PINK! I once knew a Purple Percy on Amicitia, but never have I run across a Pink Floyd.
Education is something that we need—I think we can all agree on that. In credit union mortgage lending, education is a vital component in assisting our partner credit unions as you help the most members as possible with homeownership. To assist and prepare you for this scholarly path, myCUmortgage has a dedicated Training Team focused entirely on making you a GREAT mortgage lender through technologies that help you help more of your members. Kudos on the excellent work by our Partner Education Specialists, Angie, Ali and Danielle!
Once you’re ready to start helping members to become homeowners, your next step is to educate them. Something I’m always reminded of is that our members only venture into the mortgage universe a tentacle full of times in their lives. Therefore, they aren’t familiar with, for example, FHA versus conventional, debt-to-income or a Closing Disclosure, a.k.a., CD. To be honest, the first time I heard CD, I thought, “Oh wow, I get a home and some new music! What a great planet!”
While we live and work in the mortgage world day in and day out, our members are new or, at the very most, infrequent visitors to this realm. To help ensure their road to homeownership—from application through the life of the loan—is as smooth as possible, we need to pave the way using education as building blocks.
Prepare yourself and your credit union by having printed and digital collateral and FAQs that can assist members on their mortgage journey. Sharing educational insights in newsletters, emails and on your website is another great way to accomplish this.
Currently at myCUmortgage, I’ve been fortunate to assist with just such an educational project. What I realized after putting myself in the members’ shoes (which is really difficult if you have tentacles) is that each member has similar and unique questions about and along the mortgage journey. Be sure that your education materials are comprehensive yet concise. That way, you reach a broader audience with a full scope of topics in easily digestible bites.
What are you and your credit union doing to educate your members about the mortgage process? What channels or items do you employ to provide members with the insights they need to become homeowners? Please leave a comment here and let’s assist one another with some educational tips and best practices.
After writing this, I’m totally in the mood to get into some learning but not before I change the music back to some oldies. No more Pink Floyd for me… I’m sticking to Percy and the Purple People Eaters!