Of Baggage and Borrowers
Mary Kay Scully is Director of Customer Education at Enact, leading the development of the company’s customer education curriculum. In this role, she trains over 35,000 professionals per year on a wide range of topics, including tax return review, fraud, updates to process improvements and how to navigate and adhere to evolving compliance requirements. The statements in this article are solely the opinions of Mary Kay Scully and do not necessarily reflect the views of Enact or its management.
You’re not just carrying work – you’re carrying baggage… and it’s more than just your gym bag and your lunchbox. We all have psychological baggage that we bring to the workplace, including bias, habits, conflicts and thought behaviors. As much as we’d like to think our baggage stays invisible, it actually influences how we communicate, collaborate and serve others. In our industry, these assumptions can cost real dollars and real opportunities.
What is psychological baggage?
It is important to define this clearly. In this context, baggage includes prejudice, bias, habitual thought patterns and emotional weight. These issues are not always obvious and can show up in different ways, like assuming who can afford a home, avoiding certain networking relationships or projecting your own fears about rates or affordability onto others. These thoughts don’t always stay in your head, even if you don’t say them out loud. They are often far more subtle as they shape how you treat others and collaborate professionally.
The hidden price of carrying baggage
Carrying baggage around both in and outside of the workplace can lead to emotional and physical effects, including anxiety, nervousness, distraction and even demotivation.
In your business, it can look like missed connections with borrowers or business partners, lost loans or revenue, communication breakdowns, workflow inefficiencies, damaged workplace culture, strained interpersonal relationships and mental roadblocks that keep you from creative or customized lending solutions.
Are you letting bias cloud the facts around who can afford a home?
According to the NAR’s 2024 Profile of Buyers and Sellers, only 24% of buyers were first-time homebuyers – the lowest number since 1981 – and their average age rose to 38. Of those buyers, 91% used financing. 29% utilized FHA financing, down from 55% in 2009, while 52% used conventional financing. The average first-time homebuyer is not who they used to be, so the picture you have in your mind likely needs to change.
It’s important to ask yourself if your assumptions about who can buy are getting in the way of who might? Many would-be buyers aren’t waiting because they can’t afford it – they’re waiting because they think they can’t. Social media and the news are painting a bleak picture for them. As their lender, it’s up to you to educate them on their available options. Help them let go of the baggage they carry that says homeownership is not an option for them.
How to break free from bias
There are several things you can do to help you break free from personal bias so you can then help potential buyers shake their own biases.
First, self-reflect. Ask yourself where your assumptions are coming from. Are they rooted in fact, or are they opinions?
Educate yourself and your clients. Don’t rely on outdated ideas or stereotypes like every buyer needs 20% down or a 750 credit score. Know what is possible for different borrower scenarios and be able to educate borrowers on their options.
Make no assumptions – ask questions, stay curious and listen. Just because someone is young does not mean they should wait to buy. Similarly, just because someone is in their 40s, don’t assume they know how homebuying works. Every buyer’s situation will be different.
Focus on teamwork. When everyone drops the blame and judgment, collaboration thrives. When you go to work, check your baggage at the door. Or better yet, throw it away and never look back.
Finally, be proactive. Share information on down payment assistance, low downpayment loan options, FHA programs and qualification strategies. These resources will help not only your borrowers but also your colleagues. Help create an environment where everyone has the tools they need to be successful.
The bottom line is, don’t let your baggage hold others back. In lending, every assumption can be a barrier for both the lender and the buyer. Clean thinking creates better communication, better service and better business. You may be surprised who qualifies – if you’re not too distracted by who you think doesn’t.
(Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect policies of the Mortgage Bankers Association, nor do they connote an MBA endorsement of a specific company, product or service. MBA NewsLink welcomes submissions from member firms. Inquiries can be sent to Editor Michael Tucker or Editorial Manager Anneliese Mahoney.)
