Authors: Chandra Prasath R, Dr. A. Aleeswari Sir
Abstract: Customer satisfaction in housing finance has become a make-or-break factor. India's housing finance sector is expanding at roughly 20–22% annually, and with that growth comes stiffer competition. This study looks at how borrowers at Home First Finance Company (HFFC) in Madurai actually feel about their home loan experience. The firm has serviced middle income first time buyers since inception on February 2010. These people do not have access to such from banks as they largely deal in their business without formal income proofs. HFFC, however, has never acted in a systematic manner so far. We decided to fix that. Using a descriptive research design, we surveyed 75 randomly selected HFFC customers in Madurai. The questionnaire covered loan purpose, interest rates, tenure, processing speed, documentation burden, customer service quality, disbursement transparency, and insurance satisfaction. We ran percentage analyses and Pearson correlation tests on the responses. The headline finding: 84% of customers are satisfied overall. HFFC performs particularly well on tenure flexibility (91% got the tenure they expected) and disbursement communication (every single customer confirmed their CSM walked them through the stages). On the flip side, insurance is a universal pain point—100% of respondents found the Bharati Axa premium steep and wanted more insurer choices. A strong correlation (r = 0.786, p < 0.01) also emerged between receiving a clear interest rate explanation and feeling that rate was fair. We recommend three concrete moves: standardized ROI explanations at sanction, an in-house legal and technical team to cut approval times, and tie-ups with multiple insurers to give customers real choice.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20309281
