Largely driven by record-low mortgage rates, lending volume surpassed everyone’s expectations in the past year. But as lenders scrambled to keep up with demand, closing errors naturally crept in.
In the wake of this unparalleled volume, companies across the housing industry have been working to increase the efficiencies of the entire lending process – including getting closings correct the first time around. Many lenders looked to digital solutions to make this happen.
A prime example, digital mortgage closing solution Snapdocs reports that its digital closing platform reduces closing errors by 80%. The platform has helped hundreds of lenders close faster by dramatically reducing the number of missed signatures, initials and more. But Snapdocs isn’t stopping there. The company recently announced the launch of Closing Quality Control, an enhancement made specifically for eliminating any remaining errors in the closing process.
Happier borrowers
A recent borrower study by McKinsey found that “getting things right the first time” is the No. 1 improvement borrowers want their mortgage provider to prioritize. The team at Snapdocs took this data to heart when developing Closing Quality Control.
By eliminating errors through Closing Quality Control, lenders will be able to provide a better borrower experience and put their borrower’s needs first. Borrowers are getting more than a faster, more convenient closing. When it’s done right the first time, borrowers avoid missing closing dates and repeating steps in the closing process. This means less stress during escrow, resulting in a gratifying closing experience and happy customers.
And as any lender can attest, satisfied borrowers are more likely to yield referrals. Referral and repeat business is becoming increasingly important to lenders’ success as the refinance boom slows. With fewer refi-eligible borrowers in the market, lenders are seeing a slowdown in volume. Almost half of lenders said that they believe profit margins will decrease in the next three months, according to Fannie Mae’s most recent Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey. There’s never been a more important time to hone in on borrower satisfaction and ensure that not only are your borrowers coming back for future business but also referring friends and family.
Of course, referral business doesn’t stop with borrowers. Having a smooth, error-free closing process will also ensure that real estate agent partners will be more likely to refer new business back to lenders as well.
A more efficient, profitable closing process
Equally as important: an error-free closing translates to a better internal experience for lenders. With Closing Quality Control providing error-free closings, lenders can accelerate funding, improve the employee experience and streamline the secondary marketing process.
For example, eliminating the traditional, yet error-prone, “stare and compare” between loan documents and loan data in the lending process saves time in two ways: first in the initial closing process itself, and second by eliminating the time spent on correcting erroneous documents. By making the closing process as digital as possible, lenders are freeing up the valuable time of their employees, and allowing them to work on more revenue-generating opportunities. Not only does this profit the lender, but it also plays a large role in job satisfaction for mortgage professionals who are now empowered to spend more time generating more business, and less time on labor-intensive, repetitive tasks.
Plus, as funding, post-closing and secondary marketing processes become faster and less labor-intensive, lenders are able to turn credit lines faster, saving on both interest and fees.
When utilizing Closing Quality Control, lenders are able to keep title and escrow agents informed about potential documentation issues sooner. Even before they go to the signing table, agents will have the opportunity to resolve potential issues before they arise. In addition, they’ll be able to quickly resolve any issues flagged after the signing. This helps them create loyalty with lenders and save time remediating issues.
Implementing Closing Quality Control
Closing Quality Control is a feature of Snapdoc’s digital closing platform. As soon as it launches, all lenders who use Snapdocs for their digital closings will have the added benefit of error-free closings. Snapdocs works to automate a number of slow, manual post-closing processes to keep lenders moving efficiently after each closing is complete. To learn more about Snapdocs and Closing Quality Control, visit snapdocs.com.
