Moving your Mortgage Lending Business Online
These days, we expect everything to be available online, at top speed, and with maximum convenience. Why should acquiring a mortgage be any different?
Thanks to this philosophy, automated mortgage brokering has rapidly grown in popularity. Advances in data collection and analysis make it relatively simple to assess an online applicant’s risk with a minimal amount of information. Are you ready to take advantage of this innovative technology?
Appeal to Young and Old
As time goes on, an increasing share of your customer base will be Millennials – a plugged-in generation that is used to the convenience of online shopping. They may become frustrated with the pace of the traditional mortgage loan application and approval process, and turn to automated alternatives. Catering to Millennial preferences may be necessary to grow your mortgage business in the future.
What about the older portion of your customer base? They may be leery at first, but most will see the immediate advantages of online mortgage shopping. Your customers can receive conditional approval for a loan in a very short time, all from the convenience of their homes – and, during the follow-up, you can provide options for those who prefer face-to-face contact and personal interaction. You may be surprised to learn how comfortable many of your older customers are conducting traditional personal finance activities online.
More and more people of all ages are finding realtors on the Internet and visiting houses virtually to start their homebuying journey. The inherent efficiencies of the digital world are bringing more of the process online as well, including finding a lender and closing on a new home.
A Win-Win Situation
The convenience of online mortgage shopping works both ways. Your customers enjoy a simple application and rapid approval process, and you enjoy a streamlined system that allows you to serve your customers more efficiently and handle more loans in less time. Shorter processing times and quicker closings mean satisfied customers and greater profits for your business.
Customers will see the advantage of online mortgage loans – and so will your competitors. Some of those competitors will adopt online mortgage capability. If you don’t follow suit, can you maintain a competitive advantage?
Choose Your Platform Wisely
Once you decide to take the plunge and add online mortgage loan capability to your mortgage business, you must carefully research your options. The choice of a software platform could make or break your business. Price is important, but nowhere near as important as proven performance and excellent customer service.
Before choosing a platform, ask the vendor for references that have experience using that platform and follow up with a phone call. This way, you can get feedback on the real-world pros and cons of that software and see how it will translate to your business. Continue your due diligence by checking the company website and independent online reviews – after all, isn’t online the best place to look for reviews of an online service?
Adapt or Else
It can be scary adapting to a new method of performing a task you’ve done for years, but the advantages of online mortgage lending are clear and the online trend is very likely to continue. Embrace the new technology, and learn how to use it to your advantage. Otherwise, you run the risk of joining typewriter salesmen and telegraph operators in the dustbin of history.
