Have you ever wondered why your phone starts incessantly ringing after you’ve applied for a mortgage loan? The answer lies in the world of credit bureaus, data sharing, and the evolving landscape of technology. We’ve teamed up with Mark Maimon (NMLS ID #3550), a seasoned mortgage loan officer with decades of experience, to shed light on the situation and provide insights into the surge of calls many borrowers experience.
The Lead Selling Game
Credit Bureaus make the majority of their revenue from selling data to parties who want to solicit you for products and services. According to Mr. Maimon, when you run a hard inquiry credit report with a mortgage company, the credit bureaus take this data and create a “trigger lead” that is then sold to roughly a dozen additional lenders who want to solicit you to do the loan with them instead the lender whom you’re already working with. Then those companies use technology to automatically blast you with offers for credit via email, text and phone/robo calls.
The Tech Factor
The spike in the number of solicitations you receive can be attributed to advancements in AI and bots. These technologies have made email marketing and information gathering incredibly precise. As a result, the companies purchasing these leads are armed with detailed profiles, enabling them to reach out to potential customers with tailored solicitations that can become quite annoying for the consumer who never requested them.
Addressing the Issue
Thankfully, there is a very easy way to minimize this inundation of calls and messages. Inputting your information on a registry at optoutprescreen.com allows you to remove your name from the list of individuals who can be solicited based on credit data. While this won’t completely eliminate the solicitations, it should help reduce the volume of them substantially.
Here are a few tips Mark shared with us on what you can do to overcome this annoyance:
1. Register yourself and your loved ones at optoutprescreen.com.
2. Create a separate email address to receive all the correspondence related to your mortgage application so the inquiries don’t go to your primary email account.
3. Register for the National Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov.
While the volume of calls can be overwhelming, borrowers have options to manage the situation and make informed choices. By understanding how to stop credit bureaus from selling your information, you can navigate the mortgage maze more effectively and stop unwanted solicitations. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg as it pertains to keeping your data private.
In the next blog post, we will cover how to remain anonymous while going through the home-buying process – and beyond.
If you want to reach Mark Maimon:
Mark Maimon
NMLS ID #3550
NJ Lenders Corp.
646-330-4735 (NY Office)
310-341-3106 (LA Office)
Markmaimon.com
mmaimon@njlenders.com
Licensed in CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, MA, MD, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA