Are Robots Gunning for Your Job?

Robots taking over the world has been a common theme in science fiction. But as technology has progressed, much of what used to be viewed as fiction has become reality.

Even in our industry, automation is quickly transforming the homebuying experience for borrowers and lenders. And there have been tremendous benefits — so much so that mortgage professionals are wondering whether they may someday be replaced by technology.

So, should you be worried?

More Borrowers Want to Do it Themselves…

According to Fannie Mae’s 2018 National Housing Survey, two-thirds of all mortgage borrowers are interested in a fully digital mortgage process. A majority also said they wanted to complete the process in one month — at least a week shorter than the average closing time today.

What that means is that most borrowers are ready to start the mortgage process themselves. And today they can do that. New technologies have enabled lenders like Embrace to create a streamlined, personalized approach to getting a mortgage that makes collecting information very simple and stress-free, such as being able to auto-populate the borrower’s banking information straight into the loan application.

By collecting borrower information and automatically pulling credit reports and verifying the borrower’s assets and income, lenders can often provide a fully underwritten pre-approved mortgage before borrowers ever step foot into an open house. Especially in tight markets, this ability gives the borrower a huge head start over other buyers competing for a home. And when given access to mobile apps, borrowers can also track their loan’s progress, so they feel more confident in the process.

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…But They Can’t Do It Alone

Regardless of how well technology can help homebuyers, however, getting a mortgage and buying a home is a very personal and often emotional endeavor. Only another human being can understand what it’s like — and so far, only a human mortgage expert can help borrowers determine what their needs and goals are and get them across the finish line.

In spite of the growing number of tools available to today’s homebuyers, we have found that most borrowers still want and need a human expert to guide them through the process. But to do it effectively, loan officers must focus on the borrower relationship and maintain a high level of communication with the customer throughout the process. In the same way that technology improves the borrower’s experience, technology is also helping loan officers track the borrower’s progress online and respond promptly to their requests for help.

While borrowers leverage technology to transmit key information to the lender and begin to wade through different mortgage products, loan officers should be prepared to leverage the knowledge they’ve gained about each borrower’s needs and goals and help clients choose the best financing for their needs.

How We Leverage ‘Robots’ and Humans

At Embrace, we believe both automation and human expertise are important components of creating the perfect mortgage experience. The trick is blending both pieces to customize the level of service for each borrower to deliver an optimum result.

Embrace is committed to the customer experience and the technology to meet today’s consumer expectations. Through our specially designed Empower loan origination system, we provide our loan officers with enhanced tools and features across multiple channels that enable them to sell loans more efficiently while creating an unbeatable customer experience.

For example, we recently integrated the CompassPPE product and pricing engine and mobile application into our loan origination system, which creates a more streamlined method of pricing loan scenarios and delivering them to borrowers via mobile devices, tablets, or laptops.

The bottom line is that technology can and likely will replace more human processes as time goes on. But for loan officers who remain focused on delivering a more efficient and streamlined experience to borrowers, their futures remain quite bright. If you want to experience how Embrace blends technology into the loan officer’s role and is raising the customer’s experience to new levels, drop us a note at [email protected]

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