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Zillow Mortgage Marketplace: Changes Make It Better For Consumers

by Justin McHood

in Justin McHood, Mortgage Related Topics

I have found that few things in life separate the sheep from the goats men from the boys efficient from the not-so-efficient like the free market does.

Earlier this week, I received an email from the people at Zillow saying that they were making changes to their Zillow mortgage marketplace and were going to start to charge lenders for each contact with borrowers and my first thought was:

“Well, this oughtta be fun to watch”.

I think it might be the social scientist in me that casually enjoys watching people squirm whenever a perceived “big change” is announced – whether it is a global, national, corporate or maybe even just a marketplace change.

It has been my experience that whenever change occurs, there is almost always a group of people who thinks change is “fun” – no matter what it is – and finds a way to adapt to the change and continue on with life. It has also been my experience that there is also a group of people who resist change and can’t figure out why they never end up on the good end of the changes.

If you enjoy seeing both sides (and everything in between), be sure to follow the debate about the recent changes Zillow announced and how people are reacting to them.

What This Change Means For You: The Consumer

If you are a consumer, be sure to put Zillow on your Holiday greeting card list. They did you a big favor by making sure that lenders are valuing your contact – in fact… they are making your interest and qualifications a “market”.

If you are interested in a loan, have good credit, good income, good assets and want to buy a $500,000 house do you think you are more valuable to speak with than someone who has lousy credit, no money and wants to find out how to use the $8000 tax credit to buy a house?

Of course you are.

So now the lenders on the back end are going to be actually “bidding” for that interest and hoping that you contact them.  When you do contact them (hint: if I were you, I would contact one of the ones who has a stellar reputation), then they will be charged.

Just a hunch here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Zillow doesn’t start out segmenting you as a customer and assigning a different value to you based on certain criteria, they will over time.  Which will only help the process.

I know, I know – it still remains to be seen just exactly how much money Zillow will be willing to pay lenders to talk with people who have lousy credit and no down payment (that was a joke) but one thing is almost certain:

Now that there is a price-tag that lenders are going to be paying each time you contact them – you as a consumer have an even higher chance of getting the best service from your loan officers working right here on Zillow.

Or, maybe I should say it like this: It seems to me that if a lender has to pay $100 for you to talk to him, you have a better chance of getting his/her full attention than if they didn’t have to pay anything for you to talk to them.

Or at least that is where I always try to put my mouth… where my money is.

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The Top 10 Reasons Somone Shouldn’t Use ZMM To Shop For A Mortgage

If you found this blog, chances are that you are a consumer who is looking for more information about a mortgage. Maybe even more specifically, you are searching for specific information about how to get the best deal on your mortgage. So I thought I would take the time to list out the Top 10 Reasons Someone Shouldn’t Use Zillow’s Mortgage Marketplace to Shop for a Mortgage . Number Ten You much prefer filling out a form on the Internet somewhere that looks like this… because you wonder what will happen if you do. Number Nine When you fill out a form that looks like number ten, you also want to give your personal information – just in case someone needs it. Number Eight You sometimes get lonely. You like to get phone calls. From lots of different people. Forget it if they want to talk about your mortgage – you want to tell them all about how your garden is doing. You know that by filling out a form, you will soon have lots of different people to talk to from all over the country. And they sound like such nice people when they call. Number Seven Your Realtor’s brother seems like he is so smart about mortgages. You feel lucky that you found the World’s Best Realtor who has a brother who is the World’s Best Loan Officer on the back of the shopping cart at Safeway. Number Six You really don’t have all that much time to fill out any forms on the internet. Can’t you just sign a form or two and be done with it? Number Five Your sister said that she found her loan officer on MySpace and he was so cute – he even gave her a ride in his BMW to the title company. Number Four You can’t find any loan officers on Zillow who are offering you any cash-back-at-closing when you buy your house and you really need to find someone who can offer “creative financing”. Number Three Your mom used a loan officer that she liked before – and he said that he could “help you out” even though he has a side job now stocking shelves at Home Depot. Number Two You like the fact that you can go to the Realtor’s office and stop by the Loan Officer’s office right there in the Real Estate Office. Having them together makes it so easy . And finally, the Number One Reason Someone Shouldn’t Use Zillow’s Mortgage Marketplace to Shop for a Mortgage? You feel sorry for your brother. Who also happens to be a mortgage broker.

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Zillow Mortgage Marketplace: Setting Expectations Will Make or Break You

Today, I thought I would take a minute to cover the fourth rule of negotiation and how Zillow’s Mortgage Marketplace puts the consumer in control of shopping for a mortgage and simply arms them with every advantage possible when it comes to the rules of negotiation . Previously: We learned that the first rule of negotiation is the first one to talk loses . The second rule of negotiation is that when you are explaining you are losing . The third rule of negotiation is the person with the least interest controls the relationship . And the fourth rule of negotiation? It is vital to set expectations and then over-deliver on under-commitments. In every negotiation… in every relationship… each party will have numerous opportunities to set the other parties expectations. This applies across life , not just when shopping for a mortgage. Become astute at under-committing and over-delivering and you will become known as reliable. As competent. As trustworthy. As someone who can be “counted on”. Fall into the habit of over-committing and under-delivering and you will become known as just another ordinary, every-day average idiot. This subtle -but-not-so-simple skill of being able to set and manage expectations and then over-deliver on those expectations is one that every lender on ZMM knows all too well — they absolutely * must * be stellar at setting expectations and then over-delivering on those expectations or they will simply go buh-bye . If you are a lender and you somehow manage to hose up this rule of negotiation, you will soon be marked with the digital equivalent of the Scarlet Letter thanks to Zillow’s feedback mechanisms available for consumers to report “how you did”. For example: look at a few of these top lenders on Zillow. Look at how many people they have helped. Look at their feedback scores. Think they know how to under-commit and over-deliver? Yes. And you can take that to the bank. And if you happen to somehow become one of those lenders who hasn’t learned how to set your client’s expectations by under-committing and over-delivering? Here’s your toaster, have a nice day. Toaster as in parting gift. Parting gift as in: you won’t win any of the “grand” prizes here. Sure, everyone still loves you, but it is back to cold-calling and LendingTree for you because no one that uses ZMM is going to want to be seen with you and your well deserved big, bright, shiny red “A”. Lastly: a personal note to anyone who is thinking of using ZMM to shop for a mortgage: Today, more than ever before (in my experience at least) it is difficult to get a loan done for a client. If your loan officer says to expect something and it doesn’t happen *exactly* in the time frame that he said – believe me when I say that there are crazy, crazy things happening regarding lending guidelines and turn times. So when leaving feedback – just keep that in mind. Maybe even give your loan officer the benefit of the doubt. Or hand him a toaster, tell him thanks for playing and maybe – just maybe it will be the thing that helps him become suddenly stellar at the fourth rule of negotiation: Set expectations clearly, then get busy under-committing and over-delivering.

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Zillow Mortgage Marketplace: 3 Day Rule?

Are you still asking yourself “what exactly is so special about the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace anyway?” Previously, we learned that the first rule of negotiation is the first one to talk loses and that the second rule of negotiation is that when you are explaining, you are losing . Ready for the third rule of negotiation? Wait. Before we get to that, let’s forget about mortgage-related stuff and think about something sunnier — love . Let’s think about love for a moment. Think back to the best first-date that you have ever been on. You know, that once-in-a-lifetime kind of date that happens only once or maybe twice in a lifetime. You met that special someone for the first time in a date-setting. You really liked the other person, had a fabulous time and fell asleep that night wishing the feeling would last forever. And then you woke up the next morning and wanted to call your date just to tell them how much of a great time you had… but you just couldn’t allow yourself to. Why? Because of the three day rule. You know, that unspoken rule that everyone seems to know about but yet never speaks about with other people. The one rule of dating that you wouldn’t dare breaking for fear of messing something up. The one that you are absolutely positive would jinx the entire relationship and could possibly lead to sudden cardiac arrest. The three day rule is a very real rule because it follows the third rule of negotiation. The third rule of negotiation is: The person with the least interest controls the relationship. How Zillow Mortgage Marketplace Puts You In Control Everyone has been chased by a rabid, commissioned sales person before. When shopping for a mortgage on Zillow’s Mortgage Marketplace, you fill out your information and immediately you get phone calls and emails from up to 150 rabid, commissioned loan officers who have too much time and not enough to do, right? Wrong. You won’t get a single phone call or email once you submit your information on Zillow’s Mortgage Marketplace because the lenders never see any of your personal information so they have no way to contact you or even know who you are . To the lenders on Zillow’s Mortgage Marketplace, you are just a set of numbers. Important numbers, yes — but just numbers that are only related to your mortgage. However — once a lender submits a quote to you, you are able to not only see their “numbers” (notice how I didn’t use the word measurements ) but you will also be able to see their lender profile, see what other clients have said about them and probably even a picture or two of them along with a profile and short bio. Put quite simply: there are two ways to shop for a mortgage online. One way is to submit your information to a company and that company sells your information (yes, even your phone number) to up to 8 rabid, commissioned loan officers with too much time and not enough to do… Or You use Zillow’s Mortgage Marketplace and collect all of the information about “what the lenders can do for you” without them ever even knowing who you are. Back to the Third Rule of Negotiation — The one with the least interest controls the relationship. Say that you don’t feel like calling (or emailing) your favorite loan officer for three days after you get their quote because you don’t want to get the relationship started off on the wrong foot? It is your choice — assuming you used Zillow’s Mortgage Marketplace and not some other way to shop for a mortgage online. And I am sure the loan officer will understand — after all, you have to wait at least three days according to legend or the relationship may be cursed!

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