eMortgage Archives

3 Digital Trends You Should Be Aware Of

Every lender wants to manufacture and sell loans as quickly as possible and create happy, lifelong customers. Unsurprisingly, digital technology plays an important role in helping to achieve these goals.

When mortgage volumes were high it was easy to put off, but now moving from a refi to purchase market it’s going to be even harder to differentiate yourself to compete for and capture what business there is. Now is the time to implement technology that will give you that competitive edge., it can be easy to put aside plans to adopt digital mortgage processes and simply deal with the business in front of you. A bird in the hand, as they say.

Lenders Going Digital Are Soaring

Last year, global consulting firm Infosys surveyed 1,000 global financial services firms with more than $1 billion in assets on their digital transformation efforts, It found that almost all respondents had doubled their digital transformation initiatives during the 12 months of the pandemic. But that’s not the interesting part. One fifth of respondents didn’t just double their efforts—they quadrupled them. As a result, they saw a 2.4% higher profit level than the average respondent. In addition, the survey found that the more companies digitized the loan application process for borrowers, the greater profits they saw.

More First-Time Borrowers Prefer Digital Options

According to Fannie Mae’s Q1 2021 National Housing Survey, first-time homebuyers were more willing to authorize lenders to access their financial records electronically compared to repeat homebuyers. Specifically, 41% of first-timers favored digital processes compared to 33% of repeat buyers. One would think that the pandemic was a major factor behind this trend. Most first-time buyers said it wasn’t—they just preferred doing things digitally. Most were younger buyers who grew up using mobile phones and digital apps and were more comfortable using the same tools to get home financing.

Personalization Matters

In spite of the two above trends, it’s wise to remember no two borrowers are the same. JD Power’s 2021 US Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study, released last November, found lenders that tried to streamline mortgage refinances with a “one-size-fits-all” digital approach actually saw a reduction in customer satisfaction. What borrowers really enjoyed, the study found, was a personalized borrowing experience that blended technology with professional human guidance. In fact, such a strategy was determined to be key to retaining younger customers. If there’s any common truth behind these trends, it’s that the ability to provide a digital mortgage experience is critical—yet a lender’s digital strategy must be rich and flexible enough to accommodate all customers, whatever their preferences may be.

The best way to implement such a strategy is by enlisting a digital mortgage partner capable of providing the entire array of eMortgage products and services, from SMARTDocument® creation to hybrid eClosings to full paperless eClosings with remote online notarization (RON). To date, SigniaDocuments is one of the few companies that offers all of these services from a single platform. If you’re ready to make 2022 the year you achieve your eMortgage goals, give us a call at 1-877-7SIGNIA or email us at [email protected].

The Big Divide Between eMortgages & Customer Support

Some of you may be living this—we only hear about it. One of the most frequent complaints about eMortgage technology vendors involves customer service and support, or lack thereof.

Too often, the support and attention lenders receive from their tech partners is far worse than they expected. So, what is causing this big divide, and how can lenders bridge it and get the service they deserve

Bureaucracy and empty promises are common…

A 2021 Forrester Consulting survey of B2B sellers and buyers found that buyers are 34% more likely to do business with sellers that master the customer experience. But while all survey respondents agreed that the most important traits of a good customer experience were trustworthiness and reliability, many B2B providers failed to deliver—and only one in four understood that making repeated mistakes can cost them a client.

When it comes to adopting eMortgage technologies, we find that one of the biggest causes of a poor customer experience is that too many providers are riddled with bureaucracy and make decisions by committee. As a result, lenders often receive mixed messages about what a technology provider can actually do. Worse, they find themselves waiting for technologies to be created or customized for their needs—which sometimes never happens.

…and accurate, useful information is not

In 2019, Gartner surveyed 1,100 B2B customers and found that nearly 90% of respondents say they are often presented with high quality, relevant information from B2B providers, but have difficulty making sense of it. More than half—55%—found the type of information they received made it difficult to compare other providers, and 44% found the information was contradictory.

We find this to be pretty common when it comes to eMortgage and document services. While they may come with great sales pitches, most solutions rarely live up to their claims. And because they aren’t getting accurate, easy-to-understand information, lenders often end up spending excessive time and wasting their limited IT resources only to achieve lackluster results.

How our customer service stands apart

Lenders have a growing number of options when it comes to eMortgages. But between growing regulatory oversight and a hyper-competitive housing market, they have enough challenges on their plate to worry about whether the vendors they choose will deliver.

That’s why we at SigniaDocuments pride ourselves on our excellent customer service. From the moment we start working with a prospective client, we provide only high-quality information about eMortgages and our eClosing and SMARTDocument^® services in a way that makes sense. Our team has decades of experience in delivering digital mortgages and many are original pioneers in the space. They will ensure you have a complete understanding at every stage of the setup process.

We also provide flexible, customized solutions that empower our clients to implement eMortgages quickly and easily, whether it’s SMARTDocuments, full eClosings with remote online notarizations (RONs), eMods, or eVault and MERS eRegistry services. And there’s no bureaucracy here to slow things down—we offer direct access to company leaders, so we’re able to respond quickly to any client’s unique needs.

By the way, our parent company, Evolve Mortgage Services, has helped lenders with every component of the mortgage process for the past 30 years, from loan origination and pricing technology to underwriting, closing and due diligence services. Trustworthy, proactive customer service is baked into our DNA.

If you’re ready to experience what great customer service feels like—and take a giant leap forward on your eMortgage goals—give us a call at 1-877-7SIGNIA or email us at [email protected].