The home buying and mortgage business is anything but a typical nine-to-five operation. That’s why access to 24-hour accessible technology behooves everyone in the process, from borrowers to lenders to realtors. An automated borrower portal can both satisfy the neediest of customers and serve the just-get-it-done-quick crowd for a positive lending experience — and likely repeat business. Here’s why.
Yes, this is technically three reasons in one, but they all describe the modern customer’s need for transparency. Approximately 94 percent of consumers are likely to be loyal to a brand that offers complete transparency. A borrower portal gives your customers a wide-lens look at the full loan process, from origination to closing, and lets them keep track of status updates. They’re able to complete their tasks at their own pace and at a time that works for them: When selecting how to apply for a loan, 37 percent of homeowners said the convenience of applying online and completing their loan at their own pace and time of day was most important.
The mortgage process can often feel like a game of telephone among the lender, borrowers and realtors – who are also some of the busiest people with hectic schedules. Instead of trying to catch the right people at the right time, all parties can come together at the same virtual table through the borrower portal to tag up on their tasks so the process keeps moving — and everyone is clear on where things stand. Nearly one in three borrowers said a faster process would have improved their mortgage application experience. An automated portal can virtually shoulder-tap the next person in line to speed the process along and eliminate manual phone call and email nags.
Having everything in one place certainly can create a positive perception for borrowers — especially months or years down the line when they may need you again. By using a simple login to open an electronic, secure file cabinet to all their signed documents and lending history, your customers have fewer reasons to take their next loan anywhere else.
When borrowers were asked to select what could have improved their latest mortgage application experience, two of the top answers were, as previously mentioned, a faster process and a simpler application. But the top answer across all generations? More face-to-face interaction and communication with their lender. This may seem like a counterintuitive point when reading an article about how great borrowing portals are, but take a second. Borrowing portals create an all-in-one, user-friendly process not to eliminate the role of the lender – but to enhance the human element. By freeing up time normally spent ferrying documents and notifications, lenders can better assist borrowers – especially first-time borrowers – through the mortgage process.
Borrowers most often find their mortgage lender through a referral. Connect your sales pipeline to the borrower portal by automating the referral process. Allow current satisfied customers to easily send your information or input referral information into your system to generate more leads – and set up the next customer for success. Pre-populated forms and a seamless introduction can ensure a trusting relationship from the start, creating the ideal customer pipeline for all stakeholders.
Learn more about secure borrower and realtor portals here: Take me to Lodasoft.