First:  A Note Of Empathy For The Philippines!

Before blogging about today’s main topic, we would be remiss if we did not mention the November 8th typhoon which devastated the Philippines.  Winds whipped up to 250 kilometres per hour (160 mph). The death toll mounts by hundreds every day, and currently stands at three to four thousand, but accounts still vary.

The government says about seven million people were affected by this typhoon named Haiyan; the UN says as many as eleven million. Everyone agrees on one statistic:  About 600,000 people have been made homeless.

The Price Tag Of  Tragedy

According The Economist, the economic cost of physical damages is currently estimated at about $15 billion. Why such a low number?  Typhoon Haiyan hit some of the poorest areas, and the lifestyle was rural.  Farms and small villages with underdeveloped roads and poor living conditions were standard, and now the infrastructure has been destroyed.

Television has shown us the hungry survivors holding up card board signs saying “Please Help.” the eyes and hearts of the world have been opened to the Phillipines.  “Aid is being flown in quite easily to the well-developed tourist hub of Cebu. But UN agencies and NGO

s are struggling to shift desperately needed food and medicines on to places where they are really needed.”

Large or small, we know your donation well help alleviate the suffering in this awful crisis.

Financial White Hats:  J.D. Power Brings High Praise For Lenders!

As we anticipate the end of 2013, we were interested to note that  J.D. Power has created a 2013 analysis of the satisfaction of borrowers. The survey showed that today’s borrowers “have become more satisfied with their mortgage lenders than last year’s borrowers.”

Overall customer satisfaction with loan originators was calculated at 771 on a 1000 point scale for the year. This was compared with last year’s satisfaction score of only 761. This is considered to be a statistically significant attitude improvement on the part of the lenders. To figure this average, J.D. Power surveyed 3,250 customers who had attained new mortgages or refinancing during the 2013.

How The Mortgage Lenders Improved

Craig Martin, director of the financial services practice at J.D. Power stated, “Two areas that improved the most were the application approval process and the closing process.” He praised lenders for improving their communication skills. We suggest that you research this site, where lending company names are ranked for the best and the worst lenders as nominated by the survey. There are some interesting surprises on both lists.

It seems to us here at Palm State Mortgage that some of the big banks and large brokers are beginning to understand what we have always known: The focus should be on the borrower, and communication is key. Every step of a financial action should be well explained and well understood.

That is the way of the good guys, the financial “White Hats.”  If you missed our most recent blog that compared bank loan officers to mortgage brokers, we suggest you read it as a guide to finding the “White Hats.”

Holiday Anticipation:  A Thanksgiving Thought For You From Palm State:  As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy