​In the mortgaging industry, the homeowner should be the utmost priority. Good service is about more than avoiding negative experiences. It’s about more than forbearances during COVID-19. It’s more than pleasant and knowledgeable customer service. ​It’s about building the mortgaging experience around the homeowner. Providing open communication between the servicer and payment system. Giving clear and prompt answers to inquiries. Convenience.

With the right tech on your side, you can create the ultimate mortgaging experience that puts homeowners first.

Self-Service

‍When it comes responding to homeowner inquiries, the industry standard is to respond in 30 days or less. Often, it does take the full 30 days.Unfortunately though, the homeowner may be dissatisfied. Nobody likes waiting for clunky, outdated legacy systems and phone calls when they have a question with hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line. They might not feel in control of their mortgage experience.That’s why servicers should bring in elements of self-service. Homeowners with direct access to account information will require fewer resources. The servicer can spend less time digging for answers to questions and more time focusing on productivity.Plus, there’s no risk for miscommunications. A homeowner using an intuitive program can find their own answers—or at least enough information to make traditional inquiries faster and more productive.

The User Experience (UX)

‍Do you know why people like smartphones and Google?They put control at a user’s fingertips. They provide personal access to any information that the user wants.Those are the expectations today. People want clear, immediate answers to their questions about their mortgage. Providing a platform that lets homeowners access their own information gives them that power.People want that today more than ever during the COVID-19 crisis. For one, the pandemic is taking more and more decisions out of their hands. Second, it’s making people lead increasingly digital lives, and all the capabilities of person-to-person customer service must be available online or through an app.Additionally, homeowners will expect their servicers to adapt to such challenges and help them through hardships.The pandemic has given loss mitigation a whole new importance. Smooth loss mitigation is vital to more and more homeowners as the economy struggles. But it takes more than forbearances to be a homeowner-first servicer.Focus on creating a convenient experience. That means reducing the amount of effort a homeowner has to put in. Allow them to take charge of the loss mitigation approval process. Put the application online or on your app and let them know if they’ve qualified faster.
Allow homeowners to take charge of their mortgage journey.‍

How to Become Homeowner-First (Hint: Upgrade Your Platform)

‍The best mortgage servicers don’t settle for simply improving lender operations. Rather, they also make the homeowner’s life easier. The easiest way to achieve this is by becoming homeowner-first.Your mortgage servicing platform should be able to provide the following benefits:

• Automatically detect errors, ensuring faster response and correction

• Reduce homeowner stress through intuitive UX and technology
• Provide transparency for the homeowner about payoff amounts, escrow accounts, terms, etc.
• Support omnichannel communication to reach people where they are
• Connect service platforms and payment systems through modern means (such as Plaid)

Contemporary technology is a great way to minimize friction and maximize efficiency. Plus, it’s a key differentiator for mortgage servicing systems, most of which are terribly outdated.

‍Final Thoughts

‍People today want ease and efficiency wherever possible. As a mortgage servicer, the number one priority is putting the homeowner first. So, providing ease and efficiency is critical.  By building the mortgage service experience around self-service and the user experience, you put the homeowner first. Would you like to learn more about what a homeowner-centric mortgage servicing team brings to the table?