Strengthening Client relationships during COVID

The ongoing pandemic has been challenging for all but provides excellent opportunities to build stronger relationships with clients, team members, and stakeholders. Here’s our take on how you can go about doing this.

#1 Assure your clients of no decline in service quality

• Assure your clients of no change in service levels.
• Proactively, reach out to them and make this practice a part of your and your team’s schedule.
• Ensure optimal remote working arrangements for clients and your team.
• Invest time to walk clients and team members through virtual collaboration tools and technology and be patient. Everyone is unique with their own learning and technology adoption curve.

#2 Stay atop your clients’ financial situation

• Proactively assess client finances.
• Closely monitor clients who are likely to be financially hit by the pandemic, especially those working in impacted sectors like hospitality and travel.
• Prep them for the right course of action in case you expect their financial situation to reach a stage where they are not able to keep up with repayments

 #3 Help them act fast if they’ve been financially hit

Urge clients who’ve seen a substantial dip in income to seek assistance before they default on home loan repayments.

• Government Assistance: State and federal governments have been offering financial relief to small businesses and individuals who have seen a decline in income due to the pandemic. In case you anticipate your clients’ finances to worsen, encourage them to check their eligibility for receiving support and get them to register on their respective state government websites to ensure that they receive financial at the earliest.
• Lender Relief: Lenders are allowing impacted borrowers to pause home loan repayments. However, this time around, borrowers are facing a significantly higher level of scrutiny. The turnaround time with a hardship support application is therefore likely to be longer. It is, therefore, best to prep your clients accordingly and encourage them to act in time.

#4 If your clients haven’t been financially impacted

You still have a great opportunity to help your financially secure clients capitalise on some saving opportunities.

• For existing borrowers: Remote working has resulted in fewer recreation opportunities leading to a healthy boost in savings for most households. Further, lenders generally whet a prospective borrower’s ability to make loan repayments against a ‘test rate that is usually 1-2% higher than the rate at which a home loan settles. Due to this gap, most borrowers can afford to pay more into their mortgages. Therefore, the lockdown allows you to work with your clients on a strategy that will let them make larger repayments and pay off their home loans sooner.
• For prospective borrowers: For financially secure clients looking to get into the real estate market, buying a property during the lockdown could be a great idea.

1. The current lockdown has restricted access to many buyers due to accessibility to the property. Many buyers have also postponed or put their purchases on hold due to the adverse financial impact of the lockdown. This puts financially secure buyers in a slightly better negotiating position due to fewer buyers in the market.
2. However, do make sure that they haven’t compromised on proper checks and due diligence despite the lockdown. This includes
   • Property inspection-pests concerns, structural soundness, council approval etc.
   • Contract evaluation: professional evaluation by a conveyancer or solicitor
3. The lockdown is unlikely to impact the processing time of home loans as banking is an essential service.

Finally, you can make a massive difference to any borrower’s property purchase journey with the right loan. In addition to a competitive rate, Resi has a straightforward application process and low turnaround time. To reach us for a discussion, click HERE.