Most homebuyers are happy with their lenders but many others feel that they have been left in the dark during the homebuying process, according to a new survey.
The survey, which evaluated consumers' experience with mortgage financing, found that 66% of buyers rated their experience with their lenders as "excellent" or "very good," generally giving them high marks for responsiveness, accessibility and honesty.
But the survey results also showed that there is room for improvement. Only 58% of borrowers said that their lenders helped them understand the mortgage process and roughly four in 10 said their lenders showed only "adequate" responsiveness.
The survey was conducted by the research firm Angus Reid Public Opinion on behalf of TD Bank, which released the results Tuesday. TD, a unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank, said it commissioned the report "to gain insight into consumers' homebuying experiences, with specific emphasis" on financing.
Overall, 64% said rated the buying experience as "very good" or "excellent," and two-thirds gave lenders equally high marks for the loan approval process.
Still, even those whot had positive experiences say buying a home can be stressful. Nearly one in four borrowers found the process to be "extremely" or "very" stressful and another 45% acknowledged that it was at least "somewhat stressful."
Among the survey's other findings:
- Most buyers do not use their primary banks when it comes to obtaining a mortgage. Only 34% received a mortgage from a bank where they have their main checking account and 47% obtained a mortgage from a bank with which they have no relationship at all.
- Eighty-two percent of respondents said that now is a good time to buy a home and 90% said they expect the market for home buying to stay the same or improve in the next six months.
Angus Reid conducted the survey over a six-day period in early March. It surveyed 1,519 consumers who bought homes within the last 10 years.
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