Providing a recap for conferences such as these is always difficult because there is always so much valuable feedback from lenders and partners alike. However, some of the most talked about buzz topics this year were centered around better loan process workflow, which is always top of mind for lenders, and the borrower experience.
In the early days of mortgage lending, the only way to ensure that the transaction would meet all of the state, federal and investor requirements was to use the right forms. Each type of loan came with a pre-defined stack of documents that would have to be completed in order to correctly process the transaction. As government regulators worked to make the process safer and more understandable to consumers, additional disclosure forms were added to the stack. Today, a typical loan file, containing all of the required forms, could be many inches thick.
As new regulations are constantly being introduced within the mortgage industry, today’s lenders are increasingly searching for new products and services to lessen the stress and strain of managing new changes. While adding in new technology may further confuse some, by employing the right approach, lenders can significantly mitigate the headache new regulations bring about by using electronic documents to simplify processes without incurring significantly higher expenses.
In most cases a college graduate has higher earning potential than someone with just a high school diploma. In a competitive job market, it’s an advantage to have a degree.
Consumers and regulators are pushing for mortgage transactions with less paper, more electronic signatures and the higher customer satisfaction that comes along with them. One challenge has been the need to keep the Loan Origination System (LOS), the lender’s database of record, in sync with the document vendors that supply modern electronic disclosure and closing documents. That’s changing now that innovative doc prep software is making it easier to accomplish a two-way LOS data exchange.
It’s already been seven months since the Truth-in-Lending/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Integrated Disclosures (TRID) went into effect. Many lenders were adequately prepared for the changes by integrating new technologies within their organizations. However, many lenders are still struggling to adjust to the “new normal” that is TRID compliance.
We cannot ignore the transformation that is occurring in the residential housing market today. Relatively unchanged since the 1950s, the housing market will soon (and in some markets is already) be catering to a new breed of American homeowners, Millennials. Young professionals, who have never lived in a world without a global, online information network, are the future of the mortgage industry. They have widely different concerns from their predecessors. The mortgage industry needs to be prepared to address all of these concerns at every level of the mortgage process.
How many completely paperless mortgages did you close and deliver this year? For most lenders, the answer is still zero.
Getting a mortgage is a big deal. You’d think all lenders would recognize this and make extra effort to ensure the borrower experience is as smooth as possible. But just do a little online research, and you’ll learn that most lender reviews and blog posts reveal that the majority of borrowers are unhappy, dissatisfied customers.
