Change is constant in our mortgage businesses. Those of us who have been in the industry for a while have seen some significant changes: HOEPA and Section 32 loans, TRID, Dodd-Frank, etc. Change is a regular dynamic in our industry.

The originators who are the most successful and last the longest are the ones who continuously improve and adapt to the changes we have no control over. Currently, the industry-defining change we are facing is the NAR settlement and its impact on the mortgage originator role.

In light of the NAR settlement, and its impact on homebuyers and Realtors, the rate of change in our industry has accelerated massively. The fear of losing a potential referral source that has been reliable for years is becoming very real for mortgage originators who do a lot of business with buyer agents.

Is this just another obstacle? Was it inevitable? How can we use this shift to improve how we serve our clients and partners and emerge even more valuable?

Here are three opportunities we believe are going to be imperative for mortgage originators navigating the NAR settlement to take advantage of, so they can effectively advise their clients and Realtor partners through this transition.

Educate Your Buyers About the Changes

As a mortgage originator, you must know the ins and outs of the NAR settlement that went into effect on August 17th. If you are unfamiliar with the nuances of the settlement and how they are going to affect your buyers, the NAR put out a helpful document that clearly outlines the impact the changes will have on their home purchase transaction.

Call every buyer you have and make sure they are abundantly clear about what is changing and how their next home purchase transaction will be different.

This is an incredible opportunity to demonstrate transparency and build trust with your buyers. We as mortgage originators need to be proactive and make sure our buyers understand the questions.

Help Your Buyer Agents Communicate Their Value

The NAR settlement is an opportunity to build trust with your buyers, and that goes double for your buyer agents.

Your buyer agents are facing three main challenges in the wake of the NAR settlement:

1. Buyer-Agent Agreements: Homebuyers must now sign a written agreement with their agent before touring homes. This agreement outlines services, value, and compensation.
2. Compensation Clarity: Compensation must be predetermined, specific, and inevitably will become negotiable. No more open-ended terms or hidden compensation.
3. Transparency in Transactions: Buyer-agent commissions are now fully negotiable and can no longer be posted online via the MLS. This will increase competition and transparency.

There are estimates that up to 40% of Realtors could exit the industry once this new normal finds its footing in the market. This shift is also coming when the market is already experiencing a downturn.

You can turn this year into an opportunity by reaching out to all your agents and talking to them about what’s happening in the market. Find out how you can come alongside them in their time of change and need to help increase their perceived value. This is their time of need, and they need you and your collaboration – especially in how they’re going to pay for this compensation.

Even your listing agents can use your help navigating this transition. We are hearing more and more stories from listing agents about buyers who are reaching out to them directly to tour homes.

Prepare a Bulletproof Buyer Consultation

To help your buyer agents survive this transition, you need to reconstruct how the value proposition can be positioned to the buyer. Not separately, from the mortgage originator and the agent, but TOGETHER.

There is immense value in preparing a joint buyer consultation with your agent partners today. By showing the cumulative value and the problems you both are going to help solve, you bring unparalleled worth and transparency to the transaction.

If you can arm your referral partners with the scripts and presentations they need to build their value and justify their fees, you will go from an occasional referral partner to the MOST VALUABLE advisor your agents will ever have.

At The Loan Atlas, we’ve combined the decades of mortgage experience from our faculty to create a bulletproof buyer consultation that counters every possible objection a buyer could have about buyer agent compensation and the role of the mortgage originator during the NAR settlement.

Now is the time to show up for your referral partners as true PARTNERS; to help them in their time of need with ideas, scripts, and presentations that will strengthen their value proposition and show them how they can communicate that value to buyers.

Ready to go all in on implementing a bulletproof buyer consultation? Join us for the NAR 2024 Bootcamp on September 17th!