What does a Home Loan Agent Do?

A direct selling agent (DSA) is an individual that partners with banks and NBFCs to sell financial products in their name. Lending firms contact DSAs to expand their business. And in exchange for their services, agents earn a percentage of the total loan amount they sell. A home loan agent is a DSA that specializes in offering the best home loans with the most competitive interest rates to their clients. They also help borrowers with various aspects of the mortgage loan application process. 

Duties and responsibilities of a home loan DSA

• Assess borrower’s needs: The primary duty of a home loan agent is to evaluate their clients’ income, assets, and credit scores to help them choose the best loan product for their needs. They help their prospects make informed financial decisions. 

• Verify documents: A home loan agent runs background checks, conducts credit checks, and verifies all their clients’ documents to hasten the loan application process. Since home loans have a repayment tenure of around 10 to 20 years, home loan agents explicitly discuss their client’s income and backup options to ensure that they can pay it back comfortably. 

• Guide loan applicants: A home loan agent also helps loan applicants to ensure that their documents are in order and guarantee a faster loan disbursal experience. Borrowers work with home loan agents to ensure that the loan sanction process is streamlined without any hassles. 

• Negotiate loan terms: Home loan agents help their clients get the best deals on loan interest rates. They act as the mediator between the lender and the loan applicant and help negotiate better loan terms and repayment tenure for their clients. 

• Answer customer queries: A home loan agent is also available during official working hours to resolve customer doubts. They are also responsible for explaining the features and unique selling points of their products to the customers to help them make better buying decisions. 

• Follow up with customers: A home loan agent follows up with their prospects after making a sales pitch to enquire if they need more information or help with anything. They also keep their clients informed of the loan application process, let them know how things are proceeding if they need to submit more documents, and the like. 

• Protect their clients’ privacy: Another duty of a home loan agent is to respect their client’s personal space and never share their personal information, income details, and sensitive documents with anyone else. A DSA agent must also never mislead their client with wrong information or sell fraudulent schemes. 

• Adhere to laws: A home loan agent always drafts up contracts, follows up with prospects, and facilitates loan applications according to the rules and regulations of the state. 

Skills required to work as a home loan agent

• Financial knowledge: A home loan agent must know their way around interest rates, repo rates, credit scores, repayment tenures, monthly EMIs, and other loan requirements. A thorough knowledge of finance and their lender’s product inventory will help them to assess borrower needs and recommend the best home loan with the lowest interest rates to them. 

• Marketing skills: Home loan agents must research their competitors and understand their strengths and weaknesses to position their lender’s products in a way that compels their target audience to choose them. They should be able to come up with creative marketing tactics to win over their consumers. 

• Communication skills: A home loan agent also breaks down difficult financial concepts and explains the loan terms, repayment procedures, and other conditions to consumers. Their primary job is to ensure that their consumers know what they are signing up for if they avail of home loans. 

• Attention to detail: A home loan agent must be detail-oriented in analyzing and reviewing applications and financial statements to ensure that the customer has a hassle-free experience when applying for loans.

• Project management skills: A home loan DSA acts as an intermediary between the lending firm and the consumer. They must have effective time-management skills to take care of their client’s paperwork and also maintain records for their lenders. 

• Professional conduct: A home loan agent often holds meetings with potential customers in non-work environments like cafes or over phone calls. They must be professional at all times, maintain a calm demeanor, and never overstep boundaries. 

Eligibility criteria to work as a home loan agent

• Age: You must be over 18 years of age to work as a home loan agent in India. 

• Citizenship: If you are not an Indian citizen, you cannot work as a home loan agent anywhere in the country. 

• Qualifications: You do not need college degrees in accounting, banking, or finance to work as a home loan agent. However, you need acute mastery over your lender’s product information because you need to explain their features and unique selling points to the customers to win them over. 

• CIBIL score: Although it is not a compulsory requirement, you should have an excellent credit history if you want to work as a home loan agent. Lending institutions may find it difficult to trust someone with poor CIBIL scores to handle someone’s finances. 

• Additional requirements: Prospects tend to lean towards DSA agents who speak their language for familiarity and shared cultural nuances. If you speak the regional language of your lender’s operating area, you may make more sales as a home loan agent. 

Documents required to work as a home loan agent

• Identity proof: Aadhar card, Voter ID, PAN card

• Address proof: Passport, driving license, utility bills

• Tax details: Form 16 and other income tax documents

• Bank details: Your latest three months’ bank transaction details

• Income proof: Salary slips if you worked at an organization, payment invoices if you were self-employed as a freelancer, and business address proof if you run a business

• Registration form: Completed registration form of the ‘Home loan DSA Partner Program’ of the bank or NBFC you want to partner with. 

Is working as a home loan agent profitable?

A home loan is one of the most expensive, if not the most crucial purchases of one’s life. Individuals reach out to DSA agents to help them choose between the scores of options available in the market. Make sure to choose a well-known lending firm to work as a home loan DSA. Well-known lending firms offer better networking opportunities, flexible working conditions, and higher pay. A larger firm also has a variety of financial products. You can apply for home loan DSA registration at Andromeda Loans. They are known for their quick loan disbursals, generous DSA compensation rates, and minimal paperwork.