"And just like that, with the exchange of a few emails, possibly never having met with your borrower face-to-face, your origination process is underway and the mortgage collaboration has begun."
By: Todd Hougaard for Tomorrow's Mortgage Executive
Email is everywhere. Everyone uses it, and it’s generally accepted as part of everyday life. If you aren’t accessing email on your desktop, you’re most likely connected instantly through your phone. Whether for business or personal use, this is how almost everything gets done. From meeting invites to news alerts, purchase receipts to run-of-the-mill emails from family, seemingly all major transactions in life are touched by this communication method, including the mortgage process. People spend anywhere from 4-6 hours a day on email – and whether you agree or not that this is a good use of time, email is seemingly here to stay. But how does this relate to mortgage collaboration?
Things have arguably become more efficient thanks to email, particularly in financial services, especially the mortgage process. Think about your company’s origination process. To start, borrowers typically receive an email confirmation, letting them know any number of details about their loan application. From there, the title agent will send an email containing details of the property and requesting any required information. Real estate agents will keep their clients informed by emailing status updates and details pertaining to next steps. And just like that, with the exchange of a few emails, possibly never having met with your borrower face-to-face, your origination process is underway and the mortgage collaboration has begun. In general, efficiency gains from these changes have been significant and helpful. Companies everywhere are encouraged to go all-digital, to eliminate paper, to respond quickly using technology. Email is an integral part of this strategy today.