BORROWER BLUES
Broker Clients Say Frustration Is High How automation can relieve borrower complaints BY JOEY MCDUFFEE | SPECIAL TO NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL
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fter one of the craziest years on record, brokers and loan officers will enter 2021 with much to be thankful for, including low rates and more than enough borrower demand to go around. At the same time, there’s a prevailing feeling of missed potential. Nothing tapped into this feeling better than the J.D. Power’s 2020 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study. Released in November, the survey found that overall borrower satisfaction rose six points on a 1,000 scale from last year. Yet borrowers weren’t happy with long loan processing times and lackluster customer service and self-serve options, according to the survey. To be sure, a global pandemic contributed to these problems, as soaring volumes created bottlenecks for almost every lender. Yet a great deal of what is causing borrower frustration is within a lender’s control to fix. And with a robust spring homebuying season approaching, there’s no better time to do so than now.
THE KEYS TO HAPPINESS
According to the J. D. Power survey, one of the biggest frustrations many borrowers have is with infrequent communications from originators. The challenge is in striking a balance between too little communication and too much, both of which can negatively impact the borrower experience. Some communication is obvious. Disclosures need to be sent and returned at certain times based on regulatory requirements and underwriter requests require the borrower’s attention. But if you’re sending too many emails and texts to the borrower, the borrower may start ignoring them and miss an important message, such as the need to provide an updated paystub for underwriting. Too little communication, on the other hand, and the borrower may
think you’re ignoring them—and may look elsewhere for help. Through automation, however, loan officers can communicate much more effectively with borrowers with branded reach outs and reminders that can be sent with the right frequency depending on each borrower. Creating this “just right” Goldilocks approach boils down to leveraging data to understand the status of each borrower and reaching out at the appropriate time based on the time to close and the borrower’s individual behavior. Automation also helps brokers and loan officers create the ideal level of assistance for each unique borrower. While today’s younger borrowers appreciate a self-service mortgage experience, most still like having the mortgage process being laid out for them step by step and having access to on-demand assistance when they need it. While they may be able to spell the word “mortgage,” most don’t know all the ins and outs of what they need in order to get their loan processed and closed. Fortunately, we have more options now to merge a digital self-serve experience with more personalized
training and help to put the broker or loan officer into the position of trusted advisor. Previous attempts to bridge this gap were done with online chat via the lender, broker or loan officer’s website, usually with substandard results. Anyone who has tried using chatbots understands the vast majority are no better than the typical automated phone tree, and usually much worse. More recent technologies, however, allow loan officers to “co-browse” and video share with borrowers as they fill out applications online and provide help whenever it’s needed. If the borrower runs into trouble, the loan officer can assist and explain the need for certain information or clarify what the borrower is being asked for. These tools can provide intuitive real-time training and assistance sessions that make the application process go much more smoothly.
IDENTIFYING THE RIGHT TOOLS From a sales perspective, it’s more crucial than ever to use mobile technology to stay connected with
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