How can a “Mortgage Trigger Lead” affect your Loan Application?
How can a “Mortgage Trigger Lead” affect your Loan Application in Florida, Texas, Tennessee, or Alabama?
Most likely, you’ve probably never heard of the term “mortgage trigger lead”, but as a homebuyer or Realtor, it is important to know the facts and how it can impact a loan application.
In today’s short video, I will discuss “mortgage trigger lead” details and the proactive steps that can be taken to avoid potential problems!
However, before we get started, don’t forget to take advantage of our Second Chance Service.
This is a great way to get access to an expert second opinion which can be especially helpful for those recent loan denials or if you are just in need of guidance on how to make the most out of your home loan qualification.
What is a Mortgage Trigger Lead?
When applying for a mortgage, a credit report is processed which takes information obtained from the national credit bureaus. One or more of the bureaus then converts the fact that you are shopping for a mortgage into a commercial product — a mortgage trigger lead — which is then sold to competing lenders. This allows multiple lenders, whom you have never even spoken to or known about, to solicit you solely based on the fact that you
had inquired for a mortgage.
As a result, you would then be subjected to an onslaught of phone calls, emails, text messages, and regular mail from the competing companies who had purchased the “mortgage trigger leads.” This has the unwanted effect of generating mass confusion at the beginning of a mortgage loan inquiry. Chaos and confusion at the beginning of the process combined with unscrupulous practices by the trigger lead purchasers, which can include false claims that they are affiliated with the original lender, may lead to the consumer providing their personal information to a source that they had not intended.
Because the primary objective of mortgage trigger leads is to “convince” consumers into applying with their company, many individuals have been tricked into allowing these lenders to pull their credit and reveal financial information unwittingly.
Many times, trigger leads are created and sold almost immediately after your credit inquiry has occurred, and within minutes your phone may start ringing, texts being to arrive, emails being to appears, and within days offers may even start arriving by mail which may include enticing terms that may be be extremely deceptive in substance and appearance.
How can a Mortgage Trigger Lead be stopped?
Because of the deceptive nature of these mortgage trigger leads, there has been a push by industry advocates for an outright ban on trigger leads sold by the national credit bureaus due in part to the inevitable risk of identity theft and the disruption it causes to consumers during an ongoing mortgage transaction.
Although we have seen little traction in this area, H.R. 2656 was recently introduced “To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit the creation and sale of trigger leads, and for other purposes.”
We will have to wait and see, but at least this is a starting point for much needed reform and regulation in this area.
How can you be protected from Mortgage Trigger Lead harassment?
Until meaningful legislation is passed, here what you can do to help protect yourself from mortgage trigger lead harassment:
- Register through the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) National Do Not Call Registry. This will have the effect of reducing the amount of telemarketing calls you will receive at home.
- Sign up for OptOutPrescreen through the Federal Trade Commission site if you don’t want to receive prescreened offers of credit and insurance. Please note that it may take up to 60 days before those prescreened offers stop, and if you have joint account, both parties would need to opt out
Metroplex Mortgage Services has been in business for over 22 years and is here to help make the mortgage process successful!
Just call or email to discuss your scenario and let us show you the “Metroplex” difference.
800-806-9836 Ext. 280
Call/Text: 863-593-2001
As always, I want everyone to make it a great day, and look forward to seeing you right here for the next tip of the week!
