One challenge that your buyer clients may face when applying for a mortgage are “trigger leads,” where after a lender makes a credit inquiry, a crediting reporting agency (CRA) can sell this information to third parties. The criticism of trigger leads is that they happen without the consumers’ knowledge and can result in spam marketing…but that may be changing.
The U.S. Senate has passed the bipartisan Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, which restricts trigger leads. The corresponding bill in the House passed on June 23. The bill will need the signature of President Donald J. Trump before becoming law.
This bill states that trigger leads can only be used during limited scenarios, such as an active real estate transaction, and curb sale of mortgage inquiry information without receiving the applicant’s permission to sell.
Previous efforts to restrict trigger leads have been supported by the mortgage industry. Upon the recent passage of the House bill, Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) President and CEO Bob Broeksmit praised the effort.
“The passage of this consequential bill…is another important step forward in our fight to provide relief for consumers who face a torrent of unwanted emails, texts and phone calls the moment they apply for a mortgage. After two years of unrelenting advocacy efforts, MBA and its members are more optimistic than ever that the abusive use of mortgage credit trigger leads is close to an end.”
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) also expressed support for the legislation passing, calling the practice of trigger leads “abusive.”
“The National Association of REALTORS® strongly supports this legislation and has advocated for measures that enhance transparency, consumer control and privacy in the mortgage process, said Shannon McGahn, NAR executive vice president and chief advocacy officer. “As the bill moves forward on Capitol Hill, NAR urges lawmakers to prioritize the privacy and protection of American homebuyers.”
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