“There’s so much misinformation on social media,” Guerra told Mortgage Professional America. “I follow TikTok, and there’s a reason I do. I follow housing industry professionals. I want to hear what agents are saying. I want to hear what loan officers are saying. I want to hear what folks who say, ‘I’m a legend in my industry.’
“They’re giving such bad information out there to prospective buyers on all spectrums, repeat buyers, Boomers, Gen X, millennials, and don’t forget 1.7 million Gen Z buyers just graduated college. They’re looking for jobs now, which means those are your prospective buyers in the future.”
Scare tactics
Guerra said she follows all segments of the market, and enjoys seeing the perspective of young agents in the field. But whether it’s young agents or those who have been in the industry for years, when she sees them sharing misinformation, she feels obligated to step in and correct them.
“I’ve heard things like, ‘Hold on, first-time homebuyers, especially millennials,’” she said. “’The GSEs are going to release foreclosures.’ I will go in there and say, ‘Please do not share this information that is not accurate.’ I almost feel like, as an SVP of community lending, my sole job sometimes is dispelling the myth of what they’ve read on social media and saying that it is not accurate.”
She said the flood of misinformation is not attracting business, but is instead driving younger borrowers out of the mortgage market.